Controversy surrounds his degree of responsibility at the Battle of Fort Pillow, where nearly 300 surrendering Black soldiers were slaughtered. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. Forrest offered less time and then, fearing the arrival of Union reinforcements, launched a furious assault on the fort. 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. Forrest’s campaigns were especially detrimental to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign. The two would have two children, only one of whom would survive to adulthood. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to a poor family in Chapel Hill, Tennessee. At the start of the Civil War, Forrest enlisted as a private in the Tennessee Mounted Rifles. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War. After several hours of continuous rifle and artillery fire by Confederate forces, Forrest sent a note to the Union commander demanding unconditional surrender. Gen. James H. Wilson’s Union cavalry into northern Alabama. 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. Forrest was the first American general to be killed in action during the war in Europe. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Nathan Bedford Forrest rivals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as the foremost human symbol of Confederate identity. He went to work for his uncle, Jonathan, at a tailor shop in Hernando, Mississippi. After he emptied his two revolvers, he drew his saber and began slashing at the oncoming enemy. 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. He surrendered his entire command in May. 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. Rates subject to change. 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. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel, and issued this call to arms in June, 1861: The Nathan Bedford Forrest statute before it was removed in 2017. 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. Forrest, on the other hand, refused to take any further orders from Bragg, but, instead of accepting Forrest’s resignation, Confederate Pres. The benefits of this initiative include improved aesthetics, a significant cost savings in materials, labor, and fuel, as well as in… We strive for accuracy and fairness. In 1841 Forrest went into busines… 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. 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. As more men joined the outfit, Forrest personally purchased guns, uniforms and supplies to equip the unit. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the opposite of what you’ve been taught, and our eleven well researched books (and our Forrest screenplay), by award-winning Southern historian Lochlainn Seabrook, contain the evidence to prove it. Confederate cavalryman Nathan Bedford Forrest ranks as one of the most controversial figures in Civil War history. His father, William, a blacksmith, died when Forrest was 16. Forrest went after the murderers, killing two and wounding two others. He was the oldest son of William and Mary Beck Forrest, and would be one of ten siblings, including a twin sister who died at an early age. 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 State Park is located 8 miles east of Camden along Kentucky Lake. 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. After the war, Forrest returned to Memphis, Tennessee, and entered private business as a lumber merchant and planter, later becoming president of the Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad. His hardscrabble background contributed to the development of an aggressive and sometimes violent disposition. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a self-taught man who made his fortune as a cotton planter and trader of enslaved people. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Forrest's legacy. 355, citing Health Sciences Park, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave . In 1841 Forrest went into business with his uncle Jonathan Forrest in Hernando, Mississippi. 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. 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. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. Updates? After the war, he was a businessman and was associated with the Ku Klux Klan. Although Forrest had threatened Bragg’s life, Bragg, realizing Forrest’s importance to the Confederate war effort, never reported the incident. 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. 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. 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 all do things that just don't make no sense.". Nathan Bedford Forrest, born on July 13, 1821, was a Confederate general during the Civil War (1861-65). 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 … 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. In 1845 Forrest married Mary Ann Montgomery. Nathan Bedford Forrest II (August 1871 – March 11, 1931) was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for Georgia. and the University of West Georgia... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. It developed as a commercial centre for an agricultural area (cotton, corn, peaches, rice, soybeans, and wheat), but its economy… 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. Ulysses S. Grant served as U.S. general and commander of the Union armies during the late years of the American Civil War, later becoming the 18th U.S. president. He was the first of blacksmith William Forrest's twelve children with wife Miriam Beck. T he Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed in 1865, shortly after the end of the American Civil War, but it didn’t prosper until 1867 when it came under the leadership of Nathan Bedford Forrest, former Confederate cavalry commander. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate cavalry commander during the American Civil War. Nevertheless, he found himself in command of fewer men, who were equipped with inferior horses and poorly supplied. 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. 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. Site of the second day of battle along the banks of Chickamauga Creek, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://www.biography.com/political-figure/nathan-bedford-forrest. The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War (composed primarily of Radical Republicans) concluded that Confederates killed most of the Union soldiers after they had surrendered. Many Union and some Confederate sources claimed that Confederate forces entering the fort fired on Union troops as they surrendered. 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 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 … Soon he found himself embroiled in one of the war’s most controversial, and brutal, episodes. 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. 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. Nathan Hale was an American soldier during the Revolutionary War and was hanged by the British for espionage in 1776. Gen. Forrest was the first white man to be invited by this group which was a forerunner of today's Civil Right's group. He died on October 29, 1877, reportedly from complications of diabetes. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821, near the village of Chapel Hill in Bedford County, Tennessee (a redrawing of county boundaries has placed Chapel Hill in Marshall County). After his father's death, Forrest became head of the family at age 17. Nathan Bedford Forrest III was a brigadier general of the United States Army Air Forces, and a great-grandson of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest. Wood engraving depicting the Fort Pillow Massacre. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to a poor family in Bedford County, Tennessee. Jefferson Davis promoted him to major general. Forrest regained control of his horse, remounted and took off. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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." With his fresh—if relatively untried—division, Forrest resumed his raids against Union forces. Forrest was tasked with raising, equipping, and training a new cavalry command to, again, operate semi-independently. 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. 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. Rates: $21 — $35 Taxes and fees are not included. Nathan Bedford Forrest II was the grandson of Confederate Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In 1841, he followed his uncle to start up a business in Hernando, Mississippi. During the battle and subsequent massacre, between 277 and 295 Union troops—most of whom were Black—were killed. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. 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. 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. 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. Nathan Bedford Forrest was the only soldier to rise from the rank of private to general during the U.S. Civil War. Forrest was born into a poor family and spent his formative years in rural Tennessee and Mississippi. 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. Forrest led 700 cavalrymen through the snow, past the Union lines, and escaped to Nashville where he coordinated evacuation efforts. Forrest eventually became a millionaire, having made a fortune trading livestock, brokering real estate, planting cotton, and especially selling slaves. Despite having no formal military training, Forrest rose from the rank of private to lieutenant general, serving as a cavalry officer at numerous engagements including the Battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Brice’s Crossroads and Second Franklin. Witnesses reported the rebels shouted “No quarter!” as they shot and bayoneted the Union forces, specifically targeting the Black troops as they ran. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest died in 1877, yet the slave trader and Klan leader still haunts the American landscape. 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. Nathan Bedford Forrest died of complications of diabetes on October 29, 1877, in Memphis, Tennessee. 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. The couple would have two children over the course of their marriage. The North has been suppressing the facts about this fascinating American war hero for 150 years. 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. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a self-taught man who made his fortune as a cotton planter and trader of enslaved people. 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). Corrections? Forrest is also associated with one of the more controversial episodes of the Civil War. One soldier stuck his rifle into Forrest’s side and fired, lifting Forrest off his saddle and lodging a mini ball near his spine. 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. 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. Historians agree a massacre did occur but differ in their conclusions over whether the killing was premeditated or occurred in the heat of battle. Most of them were Black. Omissions? Forrest had enlisted as a private only a month before. The death of his father led young Nathan to become the head of the family. Eventually, after a six-month siege, Vicksburg fell, but Forrest continued to attack boldly and retreat swiftly, frustrating one Union commander after the other and further expanding his reputation. 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. 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. In 1978, a bust of the slave trader, Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was installed in the Tennessee … He holds degrees in history from Kennesaw State University (B.A.) … (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. Some contemporaries and historians have argued that Forrest forestalled Vicksburg’s fall by several months. He and his twin sister, Fanny, were the two eldest of blacksmith William Forrest's twelve children with wife Miriam Beck. Nathan Bedford Forrest Racist? Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 - October 29, 1877) was a lieutenant general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He seemed to thrive on the gamble and uncertainty in business. Read On . 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. The commander asked for an hour to consider the offer. In contrast, many of Forrest’s men claimed that Union soldiers kept their weapons and fired back at the Confederates as they fled. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed ), memorial page for Nathan Bedford Forrest (13 Jul 1821–29 Oct 1877), Find a Grave Memorial no. After leading a new command to a dramatic victory over Union forces at Mufreesboro, Tennessee, in July, Forrest was promoted to brigadier general. Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park began as a local park constructed by the Works Progress Administration, a Depression Era work recovery program. 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. His final task of the war was to prevent the incursion of Brig. He was killed in action in Germany during World War II. Public Notice:Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park campground is now trash-can-free. In 1865, Forrest and his men were struggling just to avoid capture. In 1874, the railroad company failed and Forrest was forced to sell off many of his assets. Forrest's speech during a meeting of the "Jubilee of Pole Bearers" is a story that needs to be told. In 1858, he was elected alderman in the city of Memphis. He was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from 1919 to 1921. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he raised a cavalry and fought with distinction through much of the war. C onfederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest died in 1877, yet the slave trader and Klan leader still haunts the American landscape. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to William Forrest and Miriam Beck in Bedford County, Tennessee. 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. Alvin C. York was an American war hero during World War I. That same year, Forrest married Mary Anne Montgomery. 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. He spent his remaining years overseeing a prison camp near Memphis and living with his wife in log cabin salvaged from this plantation. Forrest soon moved the family to Memphis, Tennessee, where he became a successful planter and owner of a stagecoach company. Park Contact Info: 1825 Pilot Knob Road Eva, TN 38333 Park Office: (731) 593-6445 Park Office Hours: 8:00am - 4:30pm Other Reservation Options: In this he failed, and Forrest was defeated by Wilson at the Battle of Selma, Alabama (April 2, 1865). 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. 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. Forrest is also one of the most controversial figures from the Civil War era. The battle that ensued on April 12, 1864, was characterized by close-quarters combat and an almost total breakdown of command and control. There’s a statue … His uncle was killed there in 1845 during an argument with the Matlock brothers. This in turn led to Forrest’s being promoted to lieutenant general. Mixing an aggressive style with superb battlefield instincts, his attacks on Northern military positions and supply centers became so disruptive that Union general William T. Sherman (18201891; see entry) warned that \"there will never be peace in Tennessee till Forrest is dea… In retaliation, Forrest shot and killed two of them with his two-shot pistol and wounded two oth… Upon hearing of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Forrest chose to surrender his forces in May 1865. With the untimely death of his father, Forrest became his family’s sole provider while still a teenager. Stonewall Jackson was a leading Confederate general during the U.S. Civil War, commanding forces at Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. “In April of 1867, representatives met in Nashville, at the Maxwell House, and turned out a flavor more to their liking. His command conducted raids against Union supply and communication lines, depots, and garrisons in many states in the war’s Western theatre. Remembered by some as a hero of Southern causes, Forrest was memorialized in statues and other monuments throughout the region. 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. Map & Directions. His command refused to surrender to Grant and Union forces charged in to take the fort. "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. As a result, General Grant was forced to revise his strategy. Forrest was a ferocious fighter who proved time and again that he was one of the war's most brilliant combat strategists. 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. Cutting off communication lines and raiding stores of supplies, Forrest relied on guerrilla tactics and never fully engaged the enemy's superior forces. He along with his twin sister, Fanny was the eldest of the twelve children born to the couple. He was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel and placed in charge of raising and training his own battalion. There’s a statue … 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. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Happy Hollow and Lakefront Campgrounds are each served by a conveniently located dumpster. He received a Medal of Honor and his story was told in the film 'Sergeant York.'. 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. Tags: nathan, bedford, forrest All rights to paintings and other images found on PaintingValley.com are owned by their respective owners (authors, artists), and the Administration of the website doesn't bear responsibility for their use. Forrest supporters point to the general's actions at the end of his … After his father's death, Forrest became head of the family at age 17. In 1845, Jonathan was killed in a street fight over a business dispute. 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.” The statue had been there since 1904. Two months later, in the aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh, at Fallen Timbers, Forrest was commanding the rear guard of the withdrawing Confederate troops. With much talk of unity of purpose, … $5 reservation fee per site is non-refundable. The battle that ensued was characterized by close-quarters combat, chaos, and the almost total breakdown of command and control. In February 1862, Forrest and his troops were cornered by Union general Ulysses S. Grant at Fort Donelson, Kentucky. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Between 277 and 295 Union troops were killed. Their report enraged the Northern populace, and “Remember Fort Pillow!” became a rallying cry for African American Union troops. Wife of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest Mary Ann Montgomery was born October 2, 1826, daughter of Elizabeth Cowan Montgomery and William Montgomery, a Presbyterian minister. Despite contradictory evidence, it is clear that in many instances Forrest’s men killed African American soldiers who were attempting to surrender.