In 1867 Forrest became the first grand wizard of the original Ku Klux Klan, a secret hate organization that employed terror in pursuit of a white supremacist agenda. General Nathan Bedford Forrest, much reviled, much hated and much misunderstood--not only by the Yankee war criminals but also by some of his fellow Southerners--was indeed redeemed by Our Lord God Almighty but also by the facts about him--thanks to … Forrest soon moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee, where he became a successful planter and owner of a stagecoach company. His command refused to surrender to Grant and Union forces charged in to take the fort. Robert E. Lee was the leading Confederate general during the U.S. Civil War and has been venerated as a heroic figure in the American South. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. C onfederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest died in 1877, yet the slave trader and Klan leader still haunts the American landscape. As the war moved on through 1864 and into 1865, Forrest experienced some victories and defeats, but neither strong enough to turn the tide of war toward the South or to destroy his army completely. Following the battle Gen. Braxton Bragg, the Army of Tennessee’s commander, stripped Forrest of his command because the two had argued—one of numerous such acrimonious encounters Forrest had with superior officers during the war. Omissions? Upon hearing of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Forrest chose to surrender his forces in May 1865. The North has been suppressing the … Gen. James H. Wilson’s Union cavalry into northern Alabama. by Lochlainn Seabrook. Beginning in December 1862 and well into 1863, Forrest and his cavalry harassed General Ulysses S. Grant’s forces as they prepared for an attack on Vicksburg. Forrest offered less time and then, fearing the arrival of Union reinforcements, launched a furious assault on the fort. He spent his remaining years overseeing a prison camp near Memphis and living with his wife in log cabin salvaged from this plantation. Nathan Bedford Forrest - Nearly Unbeatable: After spending the early part of 1863 conducting smaller operations, Forrest was ordered into northern Alabama and Georgia to intercept a larger Union mounted force led by Colonel Abel Streight. After several hours of continuous rifle and artillery fire by Confederate forces, Forrest sent a note to the Union commander demanding unconditional surrender. 5.0 out of 5 stars. Park Office Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm. Now, as a Tennessee State Park, it is home to the Tennessee River Folklife Interpretive Center and Museum situated on one of the highest points in West Tennessee, Pilot Knob. Happy Hollow and Lakefront Campgrounds are each served by a conveniently located dumpster. Nathan Bedford Forrest, (born July 13, 1821, near Chapel Hill, Tennessee, U.S.—died October 29, 1877, Memphis, Tennessee), Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War (1861–65) who was often described as a “born military genius.” His rule of action, “Get there first with the most men,” became one of the most often quoted statements of the war. William Tecumseh Sherman was a U.S. Civil War Union Army leader known for "Sherman's March," in which he and his troops laid waste to the South. In 1845, Jonathan was killed in a street fight over a business dispute. Nathan Bedford Forrest died of complications of diabetes on October 29, 1877, in Memphis, Tennessee. One of the greatest cavalrymen of the Civil War, Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest allegedly permitted the massacre at Fort Pillow during the war and was associated with the Ku Klux Klan afterward. In the late 1860s, he associated himself with a fledgling secret society called the Ku Klux Klan and allegedly was its first Grand Wizard, though he later denied any association with the group when testifying before a Joint Congressional Committee in 1871, and again in several newspaper interviews. Despite contradictory evidence regarding Forrest’s orders and response to the actions of his troops, it is clear that in many instances Forrest’s men killed African American soldiers who were attempting to surrender. After his promotion Forrest began acting as a semi-independent cavalry commander. Although it was conducted by two Republicans (one of whom was a leading Radical Republican) and had clear propagandistic purposes, a congressional investigation committee verified the slaughter. General Nathan Bedford Forrest is an ancestor of Forrest Gump (who was named after him), a Civil War general and first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, According to the Forrest Gump film, Mrs. Gump named Forrest after this KKK Wizard to remind him that "sometimes we … and the University of West Georgia... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. With the untimely death of his father, Forrest became his family’s sole provider while still a teenager. He was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel and placed in charge of raising and training his own battalion. Forrest achieved his most tactically impressive victory when he decisively defeated a numerically superior Union force at Brice’s Cross Roads, Mississippi (June 10, 1864). 6. The benefits of this initiative include improved aesthetics, a significant cost savings in materials, labor, and fuel, as well as in… During the battle and subsequent massacre, between 277 and 295 Union troops—most of whom were Black—were killed. The Nathan Bedford Forrest Monument is a bronze sculpture by Charles Henry Niehaus, depicting a mounted General Nathan Bedford Forrest wearing a uniform of the Confederate States Army. Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) was a renowned Southern military leader and strategist during the War Between the States. Robert Smalls was an enslaved African American who became a politician, serving in both the South Carolina legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. He was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from 1919 to 1921. Most of them were Black. In May 1863 Forrest foiled Union Col. Abel D. Streight’s attempt to cut the Western and Atlantic Railroad, a vital supply line for the Confederacy’s Army of Tennessee. His final task of the war was to prevent the incursion of Brig. The Tennessee Division is hosting a Confederate Flag Day event March 6th at 1:00 pm, followed by a Flag Retirement Ceremony at 3:00 pm. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest had a stunning confrontation with General Braxton Bragg in the Army of Tennessee commander’s tent on Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate cavalry commander during the American Civil War. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel, and issued this call to arms in June, 1861: Park Office: (731) 593-6445. His father, William, a blacksmith, died when Forrest was 16. Forrest is also associated with one of the more controversial episodes of the Civil War. 99. Wood engraving depicting the Fort Pillow Massacre. After the Civil War, Nathan Bedford Forrest served as president of the Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad and managed a plantation manned by convict labor. In December 2017, amid a heated battle over whether Confederate monuments belonged in public places, a statue of Forrest on horseback was removed from a park in Memphis, Tennessee. Confederate cavalryman Nathan Bedford Forrest ranks as one of the most controversial figures in Civil War history. Despite his nearly nonexistent formal education, he was able to secure a measure of financial stability for his family, and, when his mother remarried, he embarked on his own ventures. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a self-taught man who made his fortune as a cotton planter and trader of enslaved people. After leading a new command to a dramatic victory over Union forces at Mufreesboro, Tennessee, in July, Forrest was promoted to brigadier general. The remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife Mary Ann Montgomery will be moved to Columbia, Tenn. in a few weeks, according to court records. Nathan Bedford Forrest , called Bedford Forrest in his lifetime, was a cotton farmer, slave owner, slave trader, Confederate Army general during the American Civil War, first leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and president of the Selma, Marion, & Memphis Railroad. His command conducted raids against Union supply and communication lines, depots, and garrisons in many states in the war’s Western theatre. Later, Forrest joined that army in time to take part in the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19–20, 1863), where his command held the army’s right flank before pursuing the retreating Union forces. One soldier stuck his rifle into Forrest’s side and fired, lifting Forrest off his saddle and lodging a mini ball near his spine. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. … (1866) by the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, who contracted with the Memphis and Little Rock (now Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific) Railroad to build a line through Crowley’s Ridge. It developed as a commercial centre for an agricultural area (cotton, corn, peaches, rice, soybeans, and wheat), but its economy… If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Forrest was a ferocious fighter who proved time and again that he was one of the war's most brilliant combat strategists. Soon he found himself embroiled in one of the war’s most controversial, and brutal, episodes. The remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest and wife will soon be exhumed from under the pedestal of where his mounted statue once stood and reinterred in Columbia, Tennessee, according to … In 2017 the city of Memphis, Tennessee, removed a statue of Forrest from a park once named for him, an event that was among the most public contemporary repudiations of Forrest’s legacy. In February 1862, Forrest and his troops were cornered by Union general Ulysses S. Grant at Fort Donelson, Kentucky. Forrest was born into a poor family and spent his formative years in rural Tennessee and Mississippi. He is remembered both as a self-made and innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading Southern advocate in the postwar years as a figure. Forrest went after the murderers, killing two and wounding two others. Between 277 and 295 Union troops were killed. Forrest took part in the defense of Fort Donelson, Tennessee (February 1862), from which he and the majority of his command escaped, refusing to capitulate with the rest of the Confederate forces when the fort’s massive garrison surrendered. Forrest was tasked with raising, equipping, and training a new cavalry command to, again, operate semi-independently. He along with his twin sister, Fanny was the eldest of the twelve children born to the couple. https://www.biography.com/political-figure/nathan-bedford-forrest. The death of his father led young Nathan to become the head of the family. Forrest, on the other hand, refused to take any further orders from Bragg, but, instead of accepting Forrest’s resignation, Confederate Pres. Nathan Bedford Forrest II (August 1871 – March 11, 1931) was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for Georgia. The battle that ensued was characterized by close-quarters combat, chaos, and the almost total breakdown of command and control. In 1978, a bust of the slave trader, Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was installed in … His command was responsible for the massacre of African American Union troops stationed at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, in April 1864, and he served as the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in the early years of Reconstruction. Jefferson Davis was a 19th century U.S. senator best known as the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The Nathan Bedford Forrest statute before it was removed in 2017. (CNN) The remains of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife will … In 1841, he followed his uncle to start up a business in Hernando, Mississippi. If you read Eddy W. Davison's "Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma," on page 464 and 474-475, you can see that Forrest not only publicly disavowed the KKK and worked to terminate it, but in August 1874, Forrest "volunteered to help 'exterminate' those men responsible for the continued violence against the blacks." On April 12, 1864, Confederate forces had surrounded Fort Pillow, a union garrison near the Mississippi River, occupied by nearly 300 Black troops, most newly freed enslaved people, and nearly the same number of white soldiers. Forrest eventually became a millionaire, having made a fortune trading livestock, brokering real estate, planting cotton, and especially selling slaves. He went to work for his uncle, Jonathan, at a tailor shop in Hernando, Mississippi. With his fresh—if relatively untried—division, Forrest resumed his raids against Union forces. His hardscrabble background contributed to the development of an aggressive and sometimes violent disposition. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Despite contradictory evidence, it is clear that in many instances Forrest’s men killed African American soldiers who were attempting to surrender. That same year, Forrest married Mary Anne Montgomery. Closer look at historical sources sheds doubt on whether infamous Chattanooga confrontation ever occurred ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1863—as the story has gone for the past 120 or so years—Confederate Brig. At the start of the Civil War, Forrest enlisted as a private in the Tennessee Mounted Rifles. Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years. Witnesses reported the rebels shouted “No quarter!” as they shot and bayoneted the Union forces, specifically targeting the Black troops as they ran. During the Civil War, Forrest's Confederate cavalry wrecked havoc among Union forces throughout the mid-South. Site of the second day of battle along the banks of Chickamauga Creek, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Map & Directions. Rates: $21 — $35 Taxes and fees are not included. $27. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Forrest volunteered as a private before deciding to raise and equip an entire unit at his own expense. Hardcover. Remembered by some as a hero of Southern causes, Forrest was memorialized in statues and other monuments throughout the region. There’s a statue … The statue had been there since 1904. In the war’s early months he earned a reputation as a doggedly, if sometimes brutally, determined commander who exercised a natural acumen for battlefield tactics. In 1865, Forrest and his men were struggling just to avoid capture. He died on October 29, 1877, reportedly from complications of diabetes. On April 12, 1864, Forrest’s command surrounded Fort Pillow, a small Union installation on the Mississippi River about 40 miles (65 km) north of Memphis. The commander asked for an hour to consider the offer. 'The Wizard of the Saddle' Forrest is generally considered one of the premier solders … Although this victory was strategically indecisive, it proved invaluable in cementing Forrest’s reputation, and throughout the year he conducted other successful raids in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. He and his twin sister, Fanny, were the two eldest of blacksmith William Forrest's twelve children with wife Miriam Beck. Five months earlier, on July 10, 1861, Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris had plucked Forrest from the ranks of the Tennessee Mounted Rifles Company and offered him a command of his own. In 1841 Forrest went into busines… Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a repudiated slave owner and early Ku Klux Klan leader who fought in the Civil War, as well as his wife, Mary Ann, are buried in Health Sciences Park. Nathan Bedford Forrest rivals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as the foremost human symbol of Confederate identity. Forrest regained control of his horse, remounted and took off. Forrest : Memphis' first White Civil Rights Advocate. This campaign was a disaster for the Confederacy, and, following the Battle of Nashville (December 15–16), Forrest fought a stubborn rearguard action to cover the retreat of the broken army. Corrections? Forrest is also one of the most controversial figures from the Civil War era. Many Union and some Confederate sources claimed that Confederate forces entering the fort fired on Union troops as they surrendered. He and his troops were responsible for the massacre of Black Union troops stationed at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, in April 1864, and he was the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The two would have two children, only one of whom would survive to adulthood. The Forrest family had migrated to Tennessee from Virginia, via North Carolina, during the second half of the 18th Century, while the Beck family had moved from South Carolina to Tennessee around the same time. Forrest and his wife are buried in front of the monument, after being moved there from Elmwood Cemetery in a ceremony on November 11, 1904. Jefferson Davis promoted him to major general. Nathan Bedford Forrest, (born July 13, 1821, near Chapel Hill, Tennessee, U.S.—died October 29, 1877, Memphis, Tennessee), Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War (1861–65) who was often described as a “born military genius.” March 19, 2021 5:11 p.m. He seemed to thrive on the gamble and uncertainty in business. He preserved the Union during the U.S. Civil War and brought about the emancipation of slaves. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War. In 1874, the railroad company failed and Forrest was forced to sell off many of his assets. Historians agree a massacre did occur but differ in their conclusions over whether the killing was premeditated or occurred in the heat of battle. In an attempt to hit the enemy one more time, Forrest drove deep the advancing Union line far ahead of his own men and found himself surrounded by Union troops. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. After he emptied his two revolvers, he drew his saber and began slashing at the oncoming enemy. Controversy surrounds his degree of responsibility at the Battle of Fort Pillow, where nearly 300 surrendering Black soldiers were slaughtered. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nathan-Bedford-Forrest, HistoryNet - Biography of Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Battlefield Trust - Biography of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Nathan Bedford Forrest - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), massacre of Black Union troops stationed at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, in April 1864, American Civil War: Battle of Chickamauga Creek. An Atlanta high school that was named after Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest is renaming itself to honor late baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron. Although Forrest had threatened Bragg’s life, Bragg, realizing Forrest’s importance to the Confederate war effort, never reported the incident. Park Contact Info: 1825 Pilot Knob Road. Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877) was a lieutenant general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Public Notice:Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park campground is now trash-can-free. Cutting off communication lines and raiding stores of supplies, Forrest relied on guerrilla tactics and never fully engaged the enemy's superior forces. After failing to negotiate the fort’s surrender, Forrest ordered his men to take the outnumbered garrison (which was made up African Americans, southern unionists, and Confederate deserters) by force. Eva, TN 38333. Isham, who knew Forrest by his reputation as a businessman in Memphis, commissioned him a lieutenant colonel with the authority to recruit a battalion of mounted rangers. In 1845 Forrest married Mary Ann Montgomery. Nathan Bedford Forrest's bust in the Tennessee State Capitol has been a source of contention since the KKK leader's tribute was installed in 1978 He soon made a fortune dealing in cotton, land and enslaved people and was said to be the richest man in Tennessee at the time. It was formerly installed in Forrest Park in Memphis, Tennessee. Stonewall Jackson was a leading Confederate general during the U.S. Civil War, commanding forces at Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park began as a local park constructed by the Works Progress Administration, a Depression Era work recovery program. After these expeditions, he rejoined the main Confederate Army of Tennessee—now commanded by John Bell Hood—in November to take part in its last major action, the Franklin-Nashville campaign (September 18–December 27, 1864). Robert L. Glaze is a PhD candidate in American history at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. As a result, General Grant was forced to revise his strategy. Having been promoted to colonel, Forrest fought with distinction at the Battle of Shiloh (April 6–7, 1862), during the retreat from which he received the first of his multiple wartime wounds. This in turn led to Forrest’s being promoted to lieutenant general. By the outbreak of the Civil War, he was one of the richest men in Tennessee, if not all of the South. Nathan Bedford Forrest Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest died in 1877, yet the slave trader and Klan leader still haunts the American landscape. Updates? In 1858, he was elected alderman in the city of Memphis. The God of War: Nathan Bedford Forrest as He Was Seen By His Contemporaries. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to William Forrest and Miriam Beck in Bedford County, Tennessee. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to a poor family in Bedford County, Tennessee. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he raised a cavalry and fought with distinction through much of the war. After failing to secure the surrender of Union-controlled Fort Pillow in Tennessee, Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest ordered his men to take the outnumbered garrison by force. Locating the enemy, Forrest attacked Streight at Day's Gap, AL on April 30. The cornerstone for the monument was laid on May 30, 1901 and the monumen… As Union forces shot after him, he reached down and grabbed an unsuspecting Union soldier and brought him up on the back of his horse, then dumping the man to the ground once he was in the clear. Nathan Bedford Forrest II was the grandson of Confederate Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest had enlisted as a private only a month before. The battle that ensued on April 12, 1864, was characterized by close-quarters combat and an almost total breakdown of command and control. In this he failed, and Forrest was defeated by Wilson at the Battle of Selma, Alabama (April 2, 1865). Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park is located 8 miles east of Camden along Kentucky Lake. James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. Shortly after the start of the war, Forrest enlisted as a private in the Confederate army, but soon thereafter, at the behest of Tennessee’s governor, he raised and supplied a cavalry unit, earning a commission as a lieutenant colonel. Nathan Bedford Forrest by Michael R. Bradley It has been said that Bedford Forrest was the most effective cavalry commander produced by the Civil War. As more men joined the outfit, Forrest personally purchased guns, uniforms and supplies to equip the unit. Their report enraged the Northern populace, and “Remember Fort Pillow!” became a rallying cry for African American Union troops. . By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. $5 reservation fee per site is non-refundable. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Born dirt-poor in the small town of Chapel Hill, Tennessee, on July 13, 1821, Nathan Bedford Forrest grew up with no education except the backwoods skills of hunting, tracking and survival. Nathan Bedford Forrest, lately of the armies of the Confederacy was elected Grand Wizard, and his Empire divided into realms, dominions, provinces, and dens, headed by Grand Dragons, titans, Giants, and Cyclopes, and composed of Ghouls” (David Chalmers, Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan). 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