Gen. Benjamin Grierson's cavalry division. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the only soldier to rise from the rank of private to general during the U.S. Civil War. August 12, 2021. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis at the Battle of Brices Crossroads in northeastern Mississippi. Death of Nathan Bedford Forrest's Brother at the Battle of Okolona February 23, 2022 Map of Okolona Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program. Local lawyer and radio host Rose Sanders said, "Glorifying Nathan B. Forrest here is like glorifying a Nazi in Germany. His acts have photographed themselves upon the hearts of thousands, and will speak there forever. Apr 6, 2013. Browse 85 nathan bedford forrest stock photos and images available or search for nathan bedford forrest statue to find more great stock photos and pictures. He used his cavalry troops as mounted infantry and often deployed artillery as the lead in battle, thus helping to "revolutionize cavalry tactics",[3] although the Confederate high command is seen by some commentators to have underappreciated his talents. Sister: Mildred Forrest (1831-1841) Brother: Bedford Forest (b. Nearly ruined as the result of this failure, Forrest spent his final days running an eight-hundred-acre farm on land he leased on President's Island in the Mississippi River, where he and his wife lived in a log cabin. [144] Another member wrote, "N. B. [13] Forrest's family lived in a log house (now preserved as the Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home) from 1830 to 1833. [242], In 2000, a monument to Forrest was unveiled in Selma, Alabama. #1. [62] Forrest chased Streight's men for 16 days, harassing them all the way. [95][96][97], Following the cessation of hostilities, Forrest transferred the 14 most seriously wounded United States Colored Troops (USCT) to the U.S. steamer Silver Cloud. One of the wounded Matlock men survived and served under Forrest during the Civil War. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's polarizing presence has hung over Memphis since he moved here in 1852 his legacy cemented by a giant statue that loomed over. Nathan Bedford Forrest (13 July 1821 - 29 October 1877) was a Lieutenant-General of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and the founder of the Ku Klux Klan terrorist group. White Americans who made up the KKK hoped to persuade black voters that returning to their pre-war state of bondage was in their best interest. Forrest is often erroneously quoted as saying his strategy was to "git thar fustest with the mostest". [129], On July 5, 1875, Forrest gave a speech before the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association, a post-war organization of black Southerners advocating to improve black people's economic condition and gain equal rights for all citizens. [33], Forrest had twelve brothers and sisters; two of his eight brothers and three of his four sisters died of typhoid fever at an early age, all at about the same time. [193][194], Many memorials have been erected to Forrest, especially in Tennessee and adjacent southern states. Nathan Bedford Forrest. [68] Gould shot Forrest in the hip, and Forrest mortally stabbed Gould. Afterwards, he admitted to 'gentlemanly lies'. Gen. James H. Wilson, defeated Forrest at the Battle of Selma on April 2, 1865. [193][194] The Sons of Confederate Veterans threatened a lawsuit against the city. nathan bedford forrest statue 85 Nathan Bedford Forrest Premium High Res Photos Browse 85 nathan bedford forrest stock photos and images available or search for nathan bedford forrest statue to find more great stock photos and pictures. The poor deluded negroes would run up to our men fall upon their knees and with uplifted hands scream for mercy but they were ordered to their feet and then shot down. [80], On April 12, 1864, Forrest's men, under Brig. "Preserve untarnished the reputation you have so nobly won". Laying down the body, Forrest spread his handkerchief over his dead brother's face and, calling on a member of his escort to remain with the corpse, he mounted his horse and said to those who were present: "Follow me.". Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821 in rural Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Nathan Bedford Forrest Title Lieutenant General War & Affiliation Civil War / Confederate Date of Birth - Death July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877 Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the most polarizing figures of the Civil War era, was born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee - a small town on the Duck River. The exhumation and reburial were the results of a campaign that began after the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. [173] The Klan's violent tactics backfired, as Grant, whose slogan was "Let us have peace", won the election and Republicans gained a majority in Congress. 5.] The effort was spearheaded by Take 'Em Down 901, an organization dedicated to removing Confederate iconography founded by activist Tami Sawyer. ", "Sons of Confederate Veterans 'Put to Rest for Eternity' Gen. Nathan Bedford in Columbia, Tennessee", Animated History of The Campaigns of Nathan Bedford Forrest, General Nathan Bedford Forrest Historical Society, List of Union Civil War monuments and memorials, List of memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic, Confederate artworks in the United States Capitol, List of Confederate monuments and memorials. [80] Booth and his adjutant were killed in the battle, leaving Fort Pillow under the command of Major William Bradford. This monument stands as testament of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Nathan Bedford Forrest. and The Mansion ), none of the eleven fictions that mention . The group was a loose collection of local factions throughout the former Confederacy that used violence and the threat of violence to maintain white control over the newly enfranchised formerly enslaved people. Forrest was elevated in Memphiswhere he lived and diedto the status of folk hero. In 1845, Forrest married Mary Ann Montgomery (18261893), the niece of a Presbyterian minister who was her legal guardian. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a cotton plantation owner, horse, and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave trader. For this, he would later be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general on March 2, 1865. [255] Sexton said that he believed the removal of the bust "aligns with the teaching of communism. [94] These statements were contradicted by U.S. Army survivors and by the letter of a Confederate soldier who graphically recounted a massacre. [159], In an 1868 interview by a Cincinnati newspaper, Forrest claimed that the Klan had 40,000 members in Tennessee and 550,000 total members throughout the Southern United States. A contemporary newspaper account from Jackson, Tennessee stated that "General Forrest begged them to surrender", but "not the first sign of surrender was ever given". At once "a soft-spoken gentleman of marked placidity and an overbearing bully of homicidal wrath," Forrest is best remembered for the combination of brilliant military leadership and flamboyant bravery that drove his Confederate cavalry troops from victory to victory on the . For other uses, see, Klan prosecution and Congressional testimony (1871), sfn error: no target: CITEREFNewton2014's (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFSelect_CommitteePolandScott1872 (, church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, List of American Civil War generals (Confederate), Nathan Bedford Forrest bust in the Tennessee General Assembly building, Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, "Tennessee to remove bust of Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from state Capitol", "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home", "Lieutenant-General N. B. Forrest and His Campaigns", "Civil War Myths, Mistakes and Fabrications", "The Fort Pillow Massacre. [117] He eventually attempted, but it was too late. Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. I think people may make insensitive comments. The plans triggered outrage, and around 20 protesters attempted to block the construction of the new monument by lying in the path of a concrete truck. [13] His blacksmith father was of English descent, and most of his biographers state that his mother was of Scotch-Irish descent, but the Memphis Genealogical Society says that she was of English descent. He attended Georgia Institute of Technology from 1924 to 1934, and was commissioned in the Cavalry from West Point in 1928. . Forrest probably organized a statewide Klan network in Georgia during these visits. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Many in the United States, including President Grant, backed the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave voting rights to Americans regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". Nathan Bedford Forrest. Our Confederate Ancestors: Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and His Men in Action. Consequently, his role at Fort Pillow was a stigmatizing one for him the rest of his life, both professionally and personally,[229][230] and contributed to his business problems after the war. [215], The Forrest Hill Academy high school in Atlanta, Georgia, which had been named for Forrest, was renamed the Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy in April 2021 after the Atlanta Braves baseball star who had died less than three months prior. "[126] A memorial to him, the first Civil War memorial in Memphis, was erected in 1905 in a new Nathan Bedford Forrest Park. Amazon affiliate links: We may earn a small commission from purchases made from Amazon.com . Historians have differed in their interpretations of the events at Fort Pillow. Forrest led other raids that summer and fall, including a famous one into U.S. Army-held downtown Memphis in August 1864 (the Second Battle of Memphis)[114] and another on a major U.S. Army supply depot at Johnsonville, Tennessee. Tom Hanks' title character in the film Forrest Gump remarks in one scene that his mother named him after Nathan Bedford Forrest and "we was related to him in some way". Meskipun para cendekiawan umumnya mengakui kemampuan Forrest dan keterampilannya sebagai pemimpin kavaleri dan pakar strategi militer, ia masih menjadi figur kontroversial dalam sejarah rasial, khususnya karena . The Republicans had nominated one of Forrest's battle adversaries, U.S. war hero Ulysses S. Grant, for the Presidency at their convention held in October. [109] When Sturgis's Federal army came upon the crossroads, they collided with Forrest's cavalry. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, but in 1904 his remains were interred in Memphis's Forrest Park. [24] In 1859, he bought two large cotton plantations in Coahoma County, Mississippi and a half-interest in another plantation in Arkansas;[25] by October 1860, he owned at least 3,345 acres in Mississippi. [208] In 2013, the board voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school. Tucker. Nathan Bedford Forrest had two brothers who also served as Confederate officers during the Civil War: Colonel Jeffrey Edward Forrest and Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Anderson Forrest. RebelForrest.com | "Rebel Forrest" is a one-hour documentary on Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) and has been presented at film festivals in Knoxville. Report of the Sub-committee", "Abraham Lincoln to Cabinet, Tuesday, May 03, 1864 (Fort Pillow massacre)", "Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and the KKK", "General Nathan Bedford Forrest Versus the Ku Klux Klan", "Memphis daily appeal. Park Office / Visitor Center. Mary Frances . As the Klan's first national leader, he became the Lost Cause's avenging angel, galvanizing a loose collection of boyish secret social clubs into a reactionary instrument of terror still feared today. He then mounted a second horse, shot out from under him, forcing him to mount a third horse. In the ensuing raids, he was pursued by thousands of U.S. soldiers trying to locate his fast-moving forces. Forrest was blamed for the slaughter in the U.S. press, and this news may have strengthened the United States's resolve to win the war. [171][172] Forrest played a prominent role in the spread of the Klan in the Southern United States, meeting with racist whites in Atlanta several times between February and March 1868. [6], Forrest's most decisive victory came on June 10, 1864, when his 3,500-man force clashed with 8,500 men commanded by U.S. Army Brig. Nathan Bedford Forrest Quotes. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years. Achilles Clark, a soldier with the 20th Tennessee cavalry, wrote to his sisters immediately after the battle: The slaughter was awful. Nathaniel Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821-October 29, 1877) was a Confederate Army general during the American Civil War. They were later reburied in Columbia, Tennessee. Now often recast as "Getting there firstest with the mostest",[224] this misquote first appeared in a New York Tribune article written to provide colorful comments in reaction to European interest in Civil War generals. Forrest became involved sometime in late 1866 or early 1867. [201], A monument to Forrest in the Confederate Circle section of Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Alabama reads "Defender of Selma, Wizard of the Saddle, Untutored Genius, The first with the most. Conflicting accounts of what occurred were given later.[87][88][89]. "[177], After the lynch mob murder of four black people who had been arrested for defending themselves in a brawl at a barbecue, Forrest wrote to Tennessee Governor John C. Brown in August 1874 and "volunteered to help 'exterminate' those men responsible for the continued violence against the blacks", offering "to exterminate the white marauders who disgrace their race by this cowardly murder of Negroes". The following scene satirically depicts Hanks as Forrest in a Ku Klux Klan outfit, donning a hood and being superimposed into Klan footage from The Birth of a Nation. [243] On March 10, 2012, it was vandalized, and the bronze bust of the general disappeared. On May 9, 1865, at Gainesville, Forrest read his farewell address to the men under his command, urging them to "submit to the powers to be, and to aid in restoring peace and establishing law and order throughout the land. In 1871, the U.S. Congressional Committee Report stated that "The natural tendency of all such organizations is to violence and crime, hence it was that Gen. Forrest and other men of influence by the exercise of their moral power, induced them to disband". It is reported that he had killed seven persons with this sword during the war. [141][142] Brian Steel Wills quotes two KKK members who identified Forrest as a Klan leader. [172] In Louisiana, 1,000 blacks were killed to suppress Republican voting. The losses were a deep blow to the black regiment under Sturgis's command. [31] He was known as a tireless rider in the saddle and a skilled swordsman. [13], Forrest served with the main army at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 1820, 1863, in which he pursued the retreating U.S. Army and took hundreds of prisoners. Forrest died of acute complications from diabetes at the Memphis home of his brother, Jesse. 100. When was Nathan born? 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