[62] Forrest chased Streight's men for 16 days, harassing them all the way. [120] A portion of his command, now dismounted, was surprised and captured in their camp at Verona, Mississippi on December 25, 1864, during a raid of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad by a brigade of Brig. 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. [132], Forrest reportedly died from acute complications of diabetes at the Memphis home of his brother Jesse on October 29, 1877. In 1866, Forrest and C.C. McCreanor contracted to finish the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, including a right-of-way that passed over the ridge. Sister: Mildred Forrest (1831-1841) Brother: Bedford Forest (b. "Preserve untarnished the reputation you have so nobly won". [63][64][65], Not all of Forrest's exploits of individual combat involved enemy troops. In 2013, Forrest Park in Memphis was renamed the Health Sciences Park amid substantial controversy. Their great-grandfather, Shadrach Forrest, moved between 1730 and 1740 from Virginia to North Carolina, where his son and grandson were born; they moved to Tennessee in 1806. [144] Another member wrote, "N. B. Birth: 6 Jul 1801 in NC Death: 1837 in Salem,Tippah,MS PEDI: birth Father: Nathan Forrest b: 28 Oct 1776 in ,Orange,NC Mother: Nancy Shepherd Baugh b: 16 Apr 1778 in VA Marriage 1 Mariam Beck b: Abt 1801 in SC Married: 1820 in Gallatin,Bedford,TN Children 1. The illness also claimed Forrest's twin sister, Fanny. [81] What happened next became known as the Fort Pillow Massacre. Either could have been the officer in charge of the event Lucius recalls in The Reivers - "legend to some people maybe. [216], Forrest is considered one of the Civil War's most brilliant tacticians by the historian Spencer C. [4] While scholars generally acknowledge Forrest's skills and acumen as a cavalry leader and military strategist, he is a controversial figure in U.S. history for his role in the massacre of several hundred U.S. Army soldiers at Fort Pillow, a majority of them black, coupled with his role following the war as a leader of the Klan. In the hasty retreat, they stripped off commemorative badges that read "Remember Fort Pillow" to avoid goading the Confederate force pursuing them.[111]. [105] Here, the mobility of the troops under his command and his superior tactics led to victory,[106][107] allowing him to continue harassing U.S. forces in southwestern Tennessee and northern Mississippi throughout the war. There, with the labor of over a hundred prison convicts, he grew corn, potatoes, vegetables, and cotton profitably, but his health steadily declined. Park Office / Visitor Center. In June 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and became one of the few soldiers during the war to enlist as a private and be promoted to general without any prior military training. The Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 77 acres (0.31 km 2) of the Okolona battlefield. They commissioned him as a lieutenant colonel and authorized him to recruit and train a battalion of Confederate mounted rangers. I think people may make insensitive comments. [57] Again, Bragg ordered a series of raids to disrupt the communications of the U.S. Army forces under Grant, which were threatening the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Tennessee officials voted Thursday to remove the bust of a Ku Klux Klan and Confederate leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the State Capitol and into the Tennessee State Museum. [116] Facing a disastrous defeat, Forrest argued bitterly with Hood (his superior officer) demanding permission to cross the Harpeth River and cut off the escape route of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's army. He did not say it that way, and nobody who knows anything about him imagines that he did.[226]. [55], Promoted on July 21, 1862, to brigadier general, Forrest was given command of a Confederate cavalry brigade. Joint Resolution on the Subject of Retaliation", "KKK leader on specialty license plates? [12][13] Forrest was the first son of Mariam (Beck) and William Forrest. Nathan Bedford Forrest Escape From Fort Donelson Strain DuncansMarketplace (207) $995.00 Nathan Bedford Forrest American Civil War Double Sided Maple Veneer Wooden Christmas Ornament CivilWarChristmas (73) $16.95 FREE shipping Nathan Bedford Forrest Print Poster American Civil War General FroehlichArtStudio (32) $59.99 Others have tried to remove Forrest's bust from the Tennessee House of Representatives chamber. [244] An online petition at Change.org asking the City Council to ban the monument collected 313,617 signatures by mid-September of the same year.[245]. Forrest's notoriety only increased . "[146] Forrest was the Klan's first and only Grand Wizard, and he was active in recruitment for the Klan from 1867 to 1868. [172] In Louisiana, 1,000 blacks were killed to suppress Republican voting. Forest of Confederate fame was at our head, and was known as the Grand Wizard. 1 Review. On April 21, Capt. The historical record does not support his repeated denials that he knew a massacre was taking place or that he even knew a massacre had occurred at all. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a cotton plantation owner, horse, and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave trader. [73][74][75], On December 4, 1863, Forrest was promoted to the rank of major general. General Forrest graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School in December 1939 with duty to the 17th Bombardment Group from December 1939 to February 1941 . 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. He was not as successful in railroad promotion as in war, and, under his direction, the company went bankrupt. As soon as they received the U.S. reply, they moved forward at the command of a junior officer, and the U.S. forces opened fire. [204][205] A monument to Forrest at a corner of Veterans Plaza in Rome, Georgia was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909 to honor his bravery for defending Rome from U.S. Army Colonel Abel Streight and his cavalry.[206]. He married Mary Ann Montgomery on 25 September 1845, in Hernando, DeSoto, Mississippi, United States. The school unveiled its latest mascot, a winged horse named "Lightning" inspired by the mythological Pegasus, during halftime of a basketball game against rival Tennessee State University on January 17, 1998. His opponent, U.S. Army Brig. [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. In what would be known as the Third Battle of Murfreesboro, a portion of Forrest's command broke and ran. Forrest was known for his leadership of Confederate cavalry raiders during the war, leading them at the Fort Pillow massacre of 1864 and in numerous raids on Union supply lines. 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. [90] Forrest's men were alleged to have set fire to a U.S. barracks with wounded U.S. Army soldiers inside[91][92] In defense of their actions, Forrest's men insisted that the U.S. soldiers, although fleeing, kept their weapons and frequently turned to shoot, forcing the Confederates to keep firing in self-defense. Gen. James Chalmers, attacked and recaptured Fort Pillow. Morton. [47], Forrest won praise for his performance under fire during an early victory in the Battle of Sacramento in Kentucky, the first in which he commanded troops in the field, where he routed a U.S. Army force by personally leading a cavalry charge that Brigadier General Charles Clark later commended. [145] According to Jack Hurst's 1993 biography, "Two years after Appomattox, Forrest was reincarnated as grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. "[71][72] The story that Forrest confronted and threatened the life of Bragg in the fall of 1863, following the battle of Chickamauga, and that Bragg transferred Forrest to command in Mississippi as a direct result, is now considered to be apocryphal. He had exhausted his fortune during the war, and with the abolition of slavery he lost one of his most valuable avenues for making money. [108] Forrest set up a position for an attack to repulse a pursuing force commanded by Sturgis, who had been sent to impede Forrest from destroying U.S. Army supply lines and fortifications. Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. All available carts and wagons were pressed into service to haul six hundred boxes of army clothing, 250,000 pounds of bacon, and forty wagon-loads of ammunition to the railroad depots, to be sent off to Chattanooga and Decatur. This monument stands as testament of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. #1. 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". 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. DEO VINDICE". All of the sidewalks in the park were named after officers who served under himexcept for one, which was named for his war horse King Philip. Newspaper correspondent Sylvanus Cadwallader, who traveled with Grant for three years during his campaigns, wrote that Forrest "was the only Confederate cavalryman of whom Grant stood in much dread". Obelisks in his memory were placed at his birthplace in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Camden.[195]. When Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on 24 December 1887, in Harrison, Texas, United States, his father, Orren Perry Forrest, was 60 and his mother, Cordelia Ann Murphy, was 29. Hood ordered Forrest to conduct an independent raid against the Murfreesboro garrison. Though Forrest had no prior formal military training or experience, he had exhibited leadership and soon proved he could successfully employ tactics. [170], During the presidential election of 1868, the Ku Klux Klan, under the leadership of Forrest, and other terrorist groups, used brutal violence and intimidation against blacks and Republican voters. [32] Although he was not formally educated, Forrest was able to read and write in clear and grammatical English. Plan in Mississippi raises hackles", "Proposed Mississippi License Plate Would Honor Early KKK Leader", "Group Wants KKK Founder Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest on License Plate", "Haley Barbour Won't Denounce Proposal Honoring Confederate General, Early KKK Leader", "Bust of Civil War General Stirs Anger in Alabama", "Petition Against Selma's Ku Klux Klan Monument", "Mayor Wharton: Remove Nathan Bedford Forrest statue and body from park", "Nathan Bedford Forrest statue won't be relocated", "Tennessee House Punishes Memphis For Confederate Statue Removal", "Nathan Bedford Forrest's descendant: Move the bust from Tennessee's Capitol Featured letter", "Gov. 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. Lieutenant Andrew Wills Gould, an artillery officer in Forrest's command, was being transferred, presumably because cannons under his command[66] were spiked (disabled) by the enemy[67] during the Battle of Day's Gap. 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