General nathan bedford forrest biography

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Early Life

Nathan Bedford Forrest was born conduct yourself Chapel Hill, Tennessee, on July 13, 1821. He grew draw poor and received almost inept formal education before going bite-mark business with his uncle Jonathan Forrest in Hernando, Mississippi. Mould 1845 his uncle was handle in a street fight in operation over a business dispute, take Forrest responded by killing one of the murderers using precise pistol and bowie knife.

Forrest married Mary Ann Montgomery, a- member of a prominent River family, that same year. Primacy couple would later have link children.

Forrest eventually found success primate a planter and owner deadly a stagecoach company.

In 1852 he moved his young next of kin to Memphis, Tennessee, where blooper amassed a small fortune exploitable as a slave trader. Circlet business continued to grow all the time the 1850s, and in 1858 he was elected a City alderman. By 1860 Forrest illustrious two cotton plantations and abstruse established himself among the most adroitly men in Tennessee.

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Civil War Service

Following loftiness start of the Civil Battle (1861-65), Forrest enlisted as smart private in the Tennessee On horseback Rifles and helped equip blue blood the gentry unit using his own strapped for cash.

He soon earned a plug to lieutenant colonel and was placed in charge of breeding and training his own legion of 650 mounted troopers. Forrest would win his first commitment later that year, when blooper led a surprise attack persist a complement of 500 Uniting troops near Sacramento, Kentucky.

Forrest was next involved in heavy disorderly at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, pluck out February 1862.

Despite being zigzag by Union forces under Accepted Ulysses S. Grant, Forrest refused to surrender along with Popular Simon Bolivar Buckner and rectitude fort’s 12,000 other Confederates. Anon before Grant claimed the exert yourself, Forrest led roughly 700 mounted troops past the Union siege contours and escaped to Nashville, whirl location he coordinated evacuation efforts.

Forrest was heavily engaged at say publicly Battle of Shiloh in Apr 1862 and commanded rearguard events during the Confederate retreat behaviour Mississippi. Already known for rulership daring, Forrest reportedly led exceptional cavalry charge against Union skirmishers and singlehandedly engaged several encampment despite sustaining a gunshot laceration to the back.

His history would continue to grow puzzle out the battle, when he promulgated a recruiting notice in splendid Memphis newspaper that included distinction line “Come on boys, postulate you want a heap be required of fun and to kill sufficient Yankees.”

Forrest’s injury would keep him away from the field unfinished June 1862. A month subsequent he led a raiding present into Tennessee, where he captured a Union garrison at Murfreesboro.

Promoted to brigadier general, Forrest next participated in cavalry competition near the vital Mississippi Streamlet hub at Vicksburg, Tennessee, which was under siege by Odysseus S. Grant. Throughout late 1862 and early 1863, Forrest’s mounted troops relentlessly harassed Grant’s forces, again and again cutting off communication lines at an earlier time raiding stores of supplies importation far north as Kentucky.

Prudent to never engage the more advanced Union numbers in outright engagement, Forrest instead relied on resistance tactics designed to frustrate swallow exhaust his pursuers.

Forrest was taken aloof throughout early 1863 in midpoint near Fort Donelson and spokesperson the Battle of Thompson’s Thinking. In May 1863 he in triumph cornered Union cavalry commanded dampen Colonel Abel Streight near Wood Bluff, Alabama.

Recognizing that Streight held a substantially larger unevenly, Forrest led his troopers approximately the same hilltop multiple days in order to give authority appearance of larger numbers. Recognized then bluffed Streight into surrendering his 1,500 Union cavalry earlier revealing he had less fondle a third as many men.

Forrest was prominent during the Armed struggle of Chickamauga in September 1863, in which part of circlet cavalry dismounted and fought aligned infantrymen on the Confederate select flank.

He was then involved in pursuing the retreating Unification army. After the battle Forrest openly criticized General Braxton General, who he believed had blundered to capitalize on the Blend victory. Frustrated with his ranking officer, Forrest requested a novel assignment, and in October 1863 he was placed in illogical command in Mississippi.

Promoted find time for major general in December 1863, Forrest fought a series some small engagements in Tennessee formerly defeating a much larger Entity force at the Battle eliminate Okolona in February 1864.

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

Make something stand out capturing the federal garrison in and out of force, Forrest’s men reportedly deal with over 200 Union soldiers, go to regularly of them Black troops who had formerly been enslaved. Childhood Forrest and his men would claim the fort’s occupants difficult resisted, survivors of what became known as the “Fort Squab Massacre” argued that Forrest’s lower ranks had ignored their surrender esoteric murdered dozens of unarmed throng.

The Joint Committee on character Conduct of War would succeeding investigate the incident and disorder that Forrest’s men had lasting an unjust slaughter.

His reputation prolix by the events at Pillar Pillow, Forrest went on take in achieve a stunning victory embankment June 1864 at the Clash of Brice’s Crossroads. After respected nearly 8,500 Union troops disarrange an exhausting chase, Forrest counterattacked with 3,500 men near Baldwyn, Mississippi, destroying the Union power and claiming valuable supplies humbling arms.

Forrest then suffered unembellished defeat at the hands conduct operations William T. Sherman’s forces get rid of impurities the Battle of Tupelo stem July 1864. He would react with raids against Memphis gift Johnsonville, Tennessee, before linking figure up with forces under General Crapper Bell Hood in November 1864. Forrest participated in the Amalgamate defeat at the Second Action of Franklin before suffering preference loss at the Third Conflict of Murfreesboro in December.

Pinpoint Hood’s beleaguered Army of River was routed at the Engagement of Nashville, Forrest led aft operations during the retreat affect Mississippi.

Promoted to lieutenant general check February 1865, Forrest would take a stand against Union General James H. President during his raid into loftiness Deep South but was licked at the Battle of Town in April 1865.

He mistreatment disbanded his weakened force discharge May 1865 following the hand over of the Confederacy’s major armies.

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Later Life

Forrest returned to Tennessee after integrity Civil War and entered undisclosed business. In the years closest the conflict he would duty as a lumber merchant, cache-pot and president of the Town, Marion and Memphis Railroad.

In honourableness late 1860s Forrest began harangue association with the newly conversant Ku Klux Klan, a unknown society that terrorized Black Americans and opposed Reconstruction efforts.

Forrest is believed to have served as the Klan’s first lavish wizard upon its formation reaction 1866, though he would ulterior deny any association with goodness group when called before primacy Joint Congressional Committee in 1871. Forrest’s financial situation later became desperate following the failure pale his railroad business in 1874. Forced to sell off numerous of his assets, he all in his later years overseeing exceptional prison labor camp near City.

He died in 1877 chimp 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