1825 Pilot Knob Road. In honor of Gen. Forrest's unwavering defense of Selma, the great state of Alabama, and the Confederacy, this memorial is dedicated. Under these laws enforced by Grant and the newly formed Department of Justice, there were over 5,000 indictments and 1,000 convictions of Klan members across the Southern United States. During . 1 Review. [117] He eventually attempted, but it was too late. [143] The title "Grand Wizard" was chosen because General Forrest had been known as "The Wizard of the Saddle" during the war. [132], Forrest reportedly died from acute complications of diabetes at the Memphis home of his brother Jesse on October 29, 1877. Amazon affiliate links: We may earn a small commission from purchases made from Amazon.com . In Georgia, blacks and Republicans also faced a lot of violence. The Confederate States of America a slave narrator cites Nathan Bedford Forrest as the leader of a Confederate army that massacred hundreds of freed slaves in the North shortly after the Civil War, possibly an alternate reference to the Fort Pillow Massacre. Bill Lee Signs Nathan Bedford Forrest Day Proclamation, Is Not Considering Law Change", "Tennessee Governor Slammed Online for Signing Confederate General Proclamation", "Tennessee Gov. 731-593-6445. Richard L. Fuchs, author of An Unerring Fire, concluded: The affair at Fort Pillow was simply an orgy of death, a mass lynching to satisfy the basest of conductintentional murderfor the vilest of reasonsracism and personal enmity. Nathan Bedford Forrest bust at Old Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Ala. Universal Images Group via Getty By Connor Towne O'Neill July 13, 2020 10:00 AM EDT C onfederate General Nathan Bedford. [216], Forrest is considered one of the Civil War's most brilliant tacticians by the historian Spencer C. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest's postwar business career was not as lucrative as his antebellum ventures. [186] His eulogy was delivered by his recent spiritual mentor, former Confederate chaplain George Tucker Stainback, who declared in his eulogy: "Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest, though dead, yet speaketh. [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. [121], In the spring of 1865, Forrest led an unsuccessful defense of the state of Alabama against Wilson's Raid. [251][252] However, since that time, Governor Bill Lee's administration introduced a bill passed by the Tennessee legislature on June 10, 2020 which released the governor from the former requirement that he proclaim that observance each year and a spokesperson for Governor Lee confirmed that he would not be signing a Forrest Day proclamation in July 2020. Forrest had fewer men than the U.S. side but feigned having a larger force by repeatedly parading some around a hilltop until Streight was convinced to surrender his 1,500 or so exhausted troops (historians Kevin Dougherty and Keith S. Hebert say he had about 1,700 men). "[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". After these efforts failed, Klan violence and intimidation escalated and became widespread. 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. As of 2007[update], Tennessee had 32 dedicated historical markers linked to Nathan Bedford Forrest, more than are dedicated to all three former Presidents associated with the state combined: Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson. Bedford Forrest, the great Confederate cavalry officer, died at 7:30 o'clock this evening at the residence of his brother, Col. Jesse Forrest. Nathan Bedford Forrest Wizard of the Saddle (7222843292).jpg 750 1,050; 290 KB. Forrest sent a full charge after the retreating army and captured 16 artillery pieces, 176 wagons, and 1,500 stands of small arms. Known as "the Wizard of the Saddle," Nathan Bedford Forrest was a prominent Confederate cavalry officer whose reputation was stained by accusations regarding his role in the "Fort Pillow Massacre" on April 12, 1864. Klansmen took their orders from their former Confederate officers. The effort was spearheaded by Take 'Em Down 901, an organization dedicated to removing Confederate iconography founded by activist Tami Sawyer. [197] It is now the site of the Arnold Engineering Development Center. [255] Sexton said that he believed the removal of the bust "aligns with the teaching of communism. 1887-1961. [208] At the time the school was all white, but now more than half the student body is black. 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". [15] John Allan Wyeth, who served in an Alabama regiment under Forrest, described it as a one-room building with a loft and no windows. Apr 6, 2013. [144] Another member wrote, "N. B. Grant . [70] Like several others under Bragg's command, he urged an immediate follow-up attack to recapture Chattanooga, which had fallen a few weeks before. 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. Army. "Get there first with the most men". A surgeon removed the musket ball a week later without anesthesia, which was unavailable. 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. According to Richard L. Fuchs, "records concerning the fate of the black prisoners are either nonexistent or unreliable". [207] After several public forums and discussions, Westside High School was unanimously approved in January 2014 as the school's new name. [126], He later found employment at the Selma-based Marion & Memphis Railroad and eventually became the company president. Hicks refused to comply with the ultimatum, and according to his subsequent report, Forrest's troops took a position and set up a battery of guns while a flag of truce was still up. 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. This unit, which varied in size from 40 to 90 men, constituted the elite of his cavalry. "Preserve untarnished the reputation you have so nobly won". Mary Frances . You have been good soldiers. Gene Kizer, Jr. Sherman, who had recognized how formidable an opponent Forrest was in battle during the Civil War, replied after the crisis settled down. At the onset of the war in 1861, Jeffery and Nathan each enlisted as a Private into Captain Josiah White's Tennessee Mounted Rifles, a command that would later be designated the 7th Tennessee Cavalry. This monument stands as testament of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. 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. On November 4, 1864, during the Battle of Johnsonville, the Confederates shelled the city, sinking three gunboats and nearly thirty other ships and destroying many tons of supplies. [243] On March 10, 2012, it was vandalized, and the bronze bust of the general disappeared. [166] Forrest rode to the convention on a train that was stopped just outside of a small town along the way, when he was confronted by a well-known fighter shouting "d----d butcher" and wanting to "thrash" him. [213] The ROTC building at MTSU had been named Forrest Hall to honor him in 1958, but the frieze depicting General Forrest on horseback that had adorned the side of the building was removed amid protests in 2006. A U.S. infantryman on the ground beside Forrest fired a musket ball at him with a point-blank shot, nearly knocking him out of the saddle. [46] Forrest's command included his Escort Company (his "Special Forces"), for which he selected the best soldiers available. Perhaps the most highly regarded cavalry and partisan ( guerrilla) leader in the war, Forrest is regarded by many military historians as that conflict's most innovative and successful general. 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.". August 12, 2021. Legislative Branch-Dixon, Nathan Fellows II - U.S. [176] George Cantor, a biographer of Confederate generals, wrote, "Forrest ducked and weaved, denying all knowledge, but admitted he knew some of the people involved. [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. The Confederates tried to storm the fort but were repulsed; they rallied and made two more attempts, both of which failed. His mother, Miriam, then married James Horatio Luxton, of Marshall, Texas, in 1843 and gave birth to four more children.[36]. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years. In August 2000, a road on Fort Bliss named for Forrest decades earlier was renamed for former post commander Richard T. Nathan became wealthy in the 1850s as a cotton planter and slave trader: he was based in Memphis, Tennessee but owned land in western Tennessee and northern Mississippi. I do not hate it; I am opposing now only the radical revolutionists who are trying to destroy it. In 2013, Forrest Park in Memphis was renamed the Health Sciences Park amid substantial controversy. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [132] Aiming to right his past wrongs, Forrest encouraged African-Americans to "work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly", as well as declaring that "when you are oppressed, I'll come to your relief". The Confederates destroyed much of the U.S. Army's supplies and railroad tracks in the area. [20][42], His superior officers and Governor of Tennessee Isham G. Harris were surprised that someone of Forrest's wealth and prominence had enlisted as a soldier, especially since significant planters were exempted from service. At this, his last public appearance, he made what The New York Times described as a "friendly speech"[178][179] during which, when offered a bouquet by a young black woman, he accepted them,[180] thanked her and kissed her on the cheek. In 1978, Middle Tennessee State University abandoned imagery it had formerly used (in 1951, the school's yearbook, The Midlander, featured the first appearance of Forrest's likeness as MTSU's official mascot) and MTSU president M. G. Scarlett removed the General's image from the university's official seal. [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]. [43] In October 1861, Forrest was given command of a regiment, the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry. Pelican Publishing, Feb 28, 2007 - History - 560 pages. He did not say it that way, and nobody who knows anything about him imagines that he did.[226]. [200] A Tennessee-based organization, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, posthumously awarded Forrest their Confederate Medal of Honor, created in 1977. Over 100,000 men from Tennessee served with the Confederacy, and over 31,000 served with the U.S. [93] The rebels said the U.S. flag was still flying over the fort, which indicated that the force had not formally surrendered. [147][148][149][150][151][152][153], Following the war, the United States Congress began passing the Reconstruction Acts to specify conditions for the readmission of former Confederate States to the United States,[154][155][156] including ratification of the Fourteenth (1868), and Fifteenth (1870) Amendments to the United States Constitution. Removing the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the capitol would move us a step closer toward ensuring that the history we choose to celebrate and honor in our public spaces reflects respect and . As the oldest son,. . 769 Words4 Pages. [94] These statements were contradicted by U.S. Army survivors and by the letter of a Confederate soldier who graphically recounted a massacre. In 1866, Forrest and C.C. [98] The 226 U.S. Army troops taken prisoner at Fort Pillow were marched under guard to Holly Springs, Mississippi and then convoyed to Demopolis, Alabama. Nathan Bedford Forrest In The Civil War Forrest volunteered as a private in the Confederate Army on June 14, 1861, but at the request of Tennessee's governor, Isham G. Harris, he raised and equipped an entire cavalry battalion at his own expense; the former private was made a lieutenant colonel. ", "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. He emptied his Colt Army revolvers into the swirling mass of U.S. Army soldiers and pulled out his saber, hacking, and slashing. By then, all were fully armed with captured U.S. Army weapons. Forest of Confederate fame was at our head, and was known as the Grand Wizard. [140] The organization had grown to the point that an experienced commander was needed, and Forrest was well-suited to assume the role. [182][183] The Macon Weekly Telegraph newspaper also condemned Forrest for his speech, describing the event as "the recent disgusting exhibition of himself at the negro jamboree" and quoting part of a Charlotte Observer article, which read "We have infinitely more respect for Longstreet, who fraternizes with negro men on public occasions, with the pay for the treason to his race in his pocket, than with Forrest and [General] Pillow, who equalize with the negro women, with only 'futures' in payment". A crowd gathers around the Nathan Bedford Forrest monument in Memphis' Forrest Park, 1906 Photo via Wikimedia Commons So, they're digging up old Nathan Bedford Forrest over in Memphis . Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877) was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Forrest's notoriety only increased . Streight's goal changed from dismantling the railroad to escaping the pursuit. Nathan Bedford Forrest Bust.jpg 2,150 2,688; 2.22 MB. "[123], As a former enslaver, Forrest experienced the abolition of slavery at the war's end as a major financial setback. Hood ordered Forrest to conduct an independent raid against the Murfreesboro garrison. Obelisks in his memory were placed at his birthplace in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Camden.[195]. [39] A great-grandson, Nathan Bedford Forrest III (19051943), graduated from West Point and rose to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps; he was killed during a bombing raid over Nazi Germany in 1943, becoming the first American general to die in combat in the European theater during World War II. 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nathan bedford forrest siblings