GREGORY WADE: Nathan Bedford Forrest and the public memory
Published: July 20, 2015
The lives of controversial figures can be polarizing and agendas are often championed by the skewing of facts. Facts sometimes blurred with circumstances.
As with many things in life, the search for truth often rests squarely in the middle. This certainly seems true regarding Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederate cavalry leader now in the midst of the storm about Southern symbols.
In Williamson County, General Forrest is legendary in Civil War folklore, having fought here in numerous small fights and large battles. Forrest kept Federal authorities off balance during the entire war -- often his enemy's worst nightmare.
To explore the fire in the man, we have to understand his upbringing. Born into poverty, Forrest spent much of his boyhood along the woods and creeks of Bedford County. Simply staying alive was an accomplishment.
Indeed, the boy saw five siblings die of various illnesses by his teen years. After the early death of his father, Forrest was left responsible for the rest of the family in a still frontier wilderness. By age 24, he had killed poisonous snakes and wildcats, as well as the men who killed his uncle in a business dispute.
Clearly, Nathan Bedford Forrest was shaped by the harsh environment of his childhood.
In the 1840s, after moving to north Mississippi, Forrest became a land speculator, planter and slave trader with his offices located in Memphis. He also, ironically, served as a Memphis city alderman -- certainly not lost on today's Memphis leaders who wish to remove his and Mrs. Forrest's remains from Forrest Park (recently renamed Health Sciences Park).
While it is impossible to understand slavery in today's consciousness, it was a legal business not only in the South, but in other parts of the country, including Maryland, Washington D.C., Delaware and Kentucky.
Certainly, there is no doubt the entire concept of slavery was cruel at the least, and Forrest was not opposed to making examples out of a "problem." But most agree he did not generally abuse his slaves if for only pragmatic reasons. In Jack Hurst's balanced biography of Forrest, "Nathan Bedford Forrest," the author notes, "Treating a slave poorly, rendering him or her unable to fulfill their desired role at optimum efficiency, was foolish."
By the time of the Civil War, Forrest progressed from barely surviving to a very wealthy man. Married since 1845, he and his wife had a son, William Bedford Forrest, who at age 15 enlisted with his father in Company E of the Tennessee Mounted Rifles.
Though Forrest had no formal military training, and virtually no education at all, he was obviously able to account for himself. His wealth and stature caught the attention of Tennessee Governor Isham Harris who commissioned the cavalry man to raise a battalion of mounted troops. With customary energy, he left to recruit and outfit his troopers on a quick trip through Kentucky use his own funds to equip his men.
To overview the exploits of General Forrest in the Civil War is not the purpose of this column. But without question he was one of the most successful and feared commanders in the war. He behaved counter in many cases, to traditional military thought.
He exhibited determination at Fort Donelson, where he simply rode through Federal lines, escaping overwhelming enemy forces. He exhibited audacity at Parkers Crossroads by charging "both ways," and he displayed physical strength and courage at Fallen Timbers after receiving a severe bullet wound.
On many occasions, he used the art of bluffing to accomplish the surrender of Federal garrisons with scarcely a shot fired. At Brice's Crossroads his instinctual use of terrain and maneuver led to victory over a much larger opponent. And importantly, his men knew he would not succumb to the period's foolish use of frontal assaults, which wasted countless lives.
Because of the disruption Forrest achieved, Union General Sherman famously declared, "that devil Forrest must be hunted down and killed if it costs ten thousand lives and bankrupts the Federal Treasury."
One battle that would forever tarnish his reputation was Fort Pillow, north of Memphis on the Mississippi River. Circumstances have never been totally clear, but the Federal surrender was poorly executed and the reasons depend on one's interpretation of contradictory facts.
Many of the Federals were Tennesseans, which led to confusion, high emotions and by some accounts, a massacre. Certainly a large number of black Union troops fighting alongside Federal Tennesseans didn't make for a calm situation.
Confederates claimed the Federals never surrendered, continuing to fire while others say it was enraged Confederates seeking vengeance on their black enemies. Some say, if indeed a massacre, Forrest did his best to mitigate the carnage, but he was still responsible.
As a result, Northerners placed the seemingly unnecessary loss of life at the feet of Forrest as soon as the fight made the papers. In his defense, Samuel Caldwell of the Sixteenth Tennessee Cavalry later wrote to his wife, "They (Federals) refused to surrender." Historians have yet to agree on any single explanation.
By spring of 1865 the conflict was about over. Forrest made a last ditch effort to slow the Federal advance deep into Alabama where he finally agreed to surrender. In his farewell address he challenged his men to be good citizens.
He wrote, "obey the laws, preserve your honor, and the Government to which you have surrendered can afford to be, and will be, magnanimous."
The legend of Forrest has many stories and it is a wonder he even survived the war. It is said he lost 29 horses while personally killing at least thirty of the enemy. He led from the front.
No one can deny Forrest was a hard charging commander focused on winning Southern independence. War was violent and he was not afraid of violence to achieve victory. By most accounts, his brilliance in the saddle is undeniable and his performance generally within the realm of accepted warfare.
What is debated today is whether his place in history is one of a great soldier or a racist slave holder. His post-war life shows there was another side of Forrest suggesting he atoned, at least partially, for his prewar life. Coming to a final judgment of the man is complicated.
Like virtually all American icons of every race and background, Forrest's faults as well as attributes are sometimes overstated and misunderstood.
One often misstated myth is that Forrest was part of a violent Ku Klux Klan in the years after the war. While by some accounts he denied being an actual member, it appears Forrest did join the Klan in 1867 at the request of former Confederate General John Gordon.
After two years he disassociated himself because it was becoming violent. Here is a fact. Forrest testified before Congress in 1871 and it was noted "that General Forrest and other men of influence in the state, by the exercise of their moral power, induced other KKK members to disband." (Report of the Joint Select Committee, p. 463)
And there is this. The July 6, 1875, Memphis Daily Appeal details a speech Forrest made to a black community group known as the Independent Order of Pole Bearers Association, his last public appearance before his death two years later. The following is an excerpt of this speech:
"I will say that when the war broke out I felt it my duty to stand by my people. When the time came I did the best I could, and I don't believe I flickered. I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe that I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to bring about peace. It has always been my motto to elevate every man--to depress none. I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms and wherever you are capable of going......Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed, I 'll come to your relief......"
The full text of this remarkable presentation is readily available. It seems logical that Forrest had already made some amends with his black neighbors. Otherwise, why was he invited to speak at a gathering of hundreds?
And during a November evening later that year, upon hearing the Rev George Stainback preach Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, Forrest contemplated his spiritual condition noting he "regretted" many things in his life.
Later, before his death, he told Stainback, "I want you to understand now that I feel that God has forgiven me for all ... I have put my trust in my Lord and Saviour."
Tennessee is currently caught up in the chaos of determining how, if any of our forefathers be remembered. There is fault in Jefferson, Lee and Lincoln. There is also fault in Roosevelt, Kennedy and King.
Perhaps before we take down every symbol we don't "like," we search for the truth and find forgiveness of those from times past.
