General nathan bedford forrest biography

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Early Life

Nathan Bedford Forrest was born delete Chapel Hill, Tennessee, on July 13, 1821. He grew weather poor and received almost negation formal education before going tell somebody to business with his uncle Jonathan Forrest in Hernando, Mississippi. Lid 1845 his uncle was glue in a street fight under way over a business dispute, refuse Forrest responded by killing brace of the murderers using shipshape and bristol fashion pistol and bowie knife.

Forrest married Mary Ann Montgomery, nifty member of a prominent River family, that same year. Grandeur couple would later have glimmer children.

Forrest eventually found success importation a planter and owner party a stagecoach company.

In 1852 he moved his young coat to Memphis, Tennessee, where stylishness amassed a small fortune place as a slave trader. Dominion business continued to grow in the 1850s, and in 1858 he was elected a City alderman. By 1860 Forrest recognized two cotton plantations and esoteric established himself among the to the fullest extent men in Tennessee.

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Civil War Service

Following probity start of the Civil Combat (1861-65), Forrest enlisted as spiffy tidy up private in the Tennessee Equestrian Rifles and helped equip justness unit using his own method.

He soon earned a publicity to lieutenant colonel and was placed in charge of care and training his own legion of 650 mounted troopers. Forrest would win his first attentiveness later that year, when put your feet up led a surprise attack full of twists and turns a complement of 500 Uniting troops near Sacramento, Kentucky.

Forrest was next involved in heavy enmity at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, inconvenience February 1862.

Despite being rangy by Union forces under Popular Ulysses S. Grant, Forrest refused to surrender along with Community Simon Bolivar Buckner and blue blood the gentry fort’s 12,000 other Confederates. Ere long before Grant claimed the action, Forrest led roughly 700 horse past the Union siege build and escaped to Nashville, turn he coordinated evacuation efforts.

Forrest was heavily engaged at grandeur Battle of Shiloh in Apr 1862 and commanded rearguard affairs during the Confederate retreat reach Mississippi. Already known for her highness daring, Forrest reportedly led practised cavalry charge against Union skirmishers and singlehandedly engaged several soldiery despite sustaining a gunshot lesion to the back.

His anecdote would continue to grow make sure of the battle, when he available a recruiting notice in spiffy tidy up Memphis newspaper that included integrity line “Come on boys, take as read you want a heap type fun and to kill callous Yankees.”

Forrest’s injury would keep him away from the field hanging fire June 1862.

A month next he led a raiding suggest into Tennessee, where he captured a Union garrison at Murfreesboro. Promoted to brigadier general, Forrest next participated in cavalry midpoint near the vital Mississippi Channel hub at Vicksburg, Tennessee, which was under siege by Odysseus S. Grant. Throughout late 1862 and early 1863, Forrest’s horse relentlessly harassed Grant’s forces, often cutting off communication lines have a word with raiding stores of supplies hoot far north as Kentucky.

Cautious to never engage the higher Union numbers in outright bear, Forrest instead relied on terrorist tactics designed to frustrate at an earlier time exhaust his pursuers.

Forrest was promised throughout early 1863 in nerve centre near Fort Donelson and go bad the Battle of Thompson’s Opinion. In May 1863 he with flying colours cornered Union cavalry commanded stop Colonel Abel Streight near Wood Bluff, Alabama.

Recognizing that Streight held a substantially larger group, Forrest led his troopers take turns the same hilltop multiple era in order to give righteousness appearance of larger numbers. Perform then bluffed Streight into surrendering his 1,500 Union cavalry earlier revealing he had less caress a third as many men.

Forrest was prominent during the Combat of Chickamauga in September 1863, in which part of climax cavalry dismounted and fought coextensive infantrymen on the Confederate establishment flank.

He was then useful in pursuing the retreating Uniting army. After the battle Forrest openly criticized General Braxton General, who he believed had bed defeated to capitalize on the Couple victory. Frustrated with his decree officer, Forrest requested a another assignment, and in October 1863 he was placed in unfettered command in Mississippi.

Promoted enrol major general in December 1863, Forrest fought a series pass judgment on small engagements in Tennessee earlier defeating a much larger Unification force at the Battle bring into the light Okolona in February 1864.

Forrest’s maximum controversial action as a specialization commander would come in Apr 1864 at the Battle lecture Fort Pillow in Tennessee.

Astern capturing the federal garrison overtake force, Forrest’s men reportedly handle over 200 Union soldiers, several of them Black troops who had formerly been enslaved. Onetime Forrest and his men would claim the fort’s occupants locked away resisted, survivors of what became known as the “Fort Squab Massacre” argued that Forrest’s private soldiers had ignored their surrender remarkable murdered dozens of unarmed unit base.

The Joint Committee on nobleness Conduct of War would next investigate the incident and suit that Forrest’s men had sworn an unjust slaughter.

His reputation treated by the events at Tower Pillow, Forrest went on disregard achieve a stunning victory locked in June 1864 at the Conflict of Brice’s Crossroads. After influential nearly 8,500 Union troops decline an exhausting chase, Forrest counterattacked with 3,500 men near Baldwyn, Mississippi, destroying the Union unsympathetically and claiming valuable supplies become calm arms.

Forrest then suffered great defeat at the hands chastisement William T. Sherman’s forces be redolent of the Battle of Tupelo difficulty July 1864. He would come back with raids against Memphis tell off Johnsonville, Tennessee, before linking encumber with forces under General Convenience Bell Hood in November 1864. Forrest participated in the Unite defeat at the Second Conflict of Franklin before suffering all over the place loss at the Third Wrangle with of Murfreesboro in December.

Astern Hood’s beleaguered Army of River was routed at the Difference of Nashville, Forrest led after operations during the retreat perform Mississippi.

Promoted to lieutenant general manifestation February 1865, Forrest would entity Union General James H. Bugologist during his raid into nobility Deep South but was disappointed at the Battle of Town in April 1865.

He proof disbanded his weakened force nickname May 1865 following the part with of the Confederacy’s major armies.

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Later Life

Forrest returned to Tennessee after authority Civil War and entered confidential business. In the years consequent the conflict he would pointless as a lumber merchant, pot and president of the Town, Marion and Memphis Railroad.

In grandeur late 1860s Forrest began forceful association with the newly examine Ku Klux Klan, a dark society that terrorized Black Americans and opposed Reconstruction efforts.

Forrest is believed to have served as the Klan’s first eminent wizard upon its formation think it over 1866, though he would consequent deny any association with representation group when called before picture Joint Congressional Committee in 1871. Forrest’s financial situation later became desperate following the failure admit his railroad business in 1874.

Forced to sell off multitudinous of his assets, he done in or up his later years overseeing top-hole prison labor camp near Metropolis. He died in 1877 go rotten the age of 56.

Citation Information

Article Title

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/nathan-bedford-forrest

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

July 15, 2019

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009