Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Their marriage of thirty-two years produced one son and a daughter who died in infancy. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to William and Miriam Beck Forrest in Bedford County, Tennessee in 1821. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Capt Forrest Tenn Cav Confederate States Army, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. As the Klan's first national leader, he became the Lost Cause's avenging angel, galvanizing a loose collection of boyish secret social clubs into a reactionary instrument of terror still feared today. [120] A portion of his command, now dismounted, was surprised and captured in their camp at Verona, Mississippi on December 25, 1864, during a raid of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad by a brigade of Brig. During this time, Nathan had barely survived a typhoid epidemic that ravaged the region and took the lives of three of his siblings, including his twin sister. Brother of Frances Ann Forrest Learn more about managing a memorial . Forrest probably organized a statewide Klan network in Georgia during these visits. Stuart and Philip Sheridan, he was the finest cavalry leader of the whole war. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. William Bill Forrest was born in Desoto County, Mississippi on September 26th, 1846 to Nathan Bedford and Mary Ann Forrest. [14] He and his twin sister, Fanny, were the two eldest of 12 children. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. [110] Sturgis ordered his infantry to advance to the front line to counteract the cavalry. [143] The title "Grand Wizard" was chosen because General Forrest had been known as "The Wizard of the Saddle" during the war. This is a carousel with slides. 0:04. After properly introducing himself, Forrest asked permission to call on Mary Ann. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Services were held at Court Avenue Presbyterian Church in Memphis, and an oration was given by Jefferson Davis. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. I hope I am a better man now than then. "I do think it was God ordained and really 901 means something. In his one-of-a-kind book, "Give 'Em Hell Boys!," Forrest scholar, Forrest relation, Southern historian, and award-winning author Lochlainn Seabrook handily remedies this situation. [24] In 1859, he bought two large cotton plantations in Coahoma County, Mississippi and a half-interest in another plantation in Arkansas;[25] by October 1860 he owned at least 3,345 acres in Mississippi. According to the City of Memphis, the Nathan Bedford Forrest, James T. Mathis, and Jefferson Davis statues have been released to the descendants . Forrest became well known for his early use of maneuver tactics as applied to a mobile horse cavalry deployment. John Goodwin, of Forrest's cavalry command, forwarded a dispatch listing the prisoners captured. [216] Forrest fought by simple rules; he maintained that "war means fighting and fighting means killing" and the way to win was "to get there first with the most men". The next month, he captured the Union garrison with its stores at Murfreesboro, and on July 21, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general, and began a long and illustrious association with the Confederate Army of Tennessee. According to Con-federate Veteran, young Willie attempted to join his father and two uncles into the Tennessee Mounted Rifles, but his age and small size disallowed him. His younger sister, Francis Fannie Ann was born in 1849 but passed away at age 6 in 1854. [189], On July 7, 2015, the Memphis City Council unanimously voted to remove the statue of Forrest from Health Sciences Park, and to return the remains of Forrest and his wife to Elmwood Cemetery. I accept it more particularly as it comes from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God's earth who loves the ladies I believe it is myself. Forrest's legacy as "one of the most controversialand popularicons of the war" still draws heated public debate. Even so, he never completely adjusted to the new realities of the postwar South. Family members linked to this person will appear here. WGA 11th cousin GEDCOM Note Bio notes: Confederate General like his father GEDCOM Note view all A surgeon removed the musket ball a week later, without anesthesia, which was unavailable. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. After success in achieving the objectives specified by Hood, Forrest engaged Union forces near Murfreesboro on December 5, 1864. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The remains of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife Mary are no longer resting at Health Sciences Park as of Monday, June 7th, at 9:01 a.m. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. He passed away on 7 FEB 1908 in Memphis, Shelby, TN. [60][61], The Union Army gained military control of Tennessee in 1862 and occupied it for the duration of the war, having taken control of strategic cities and railroads. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. In July 1864, he stood off USA General A.J. Wife of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. This browser does not support getting your location. [4] While scholars generally acknowledge Forrest's skills and acumen as a cavalry leader and military strategist, he has remained a controversial figure in Southern racial history for his main role in the massacre of several hundred Union soldiers at Fort Pillow, a majority of them black, coupled with his role following the war as a leader of the Klan. The Tennessee Historical Commission denied removal on October 21, 2016, under the authority granted it by the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act of 2013, which prevents cities and counties from relocating, removing, renaming, or otherwise disturbing without permission war memorials on public property. Forrest was elevated in Memphis in particularwhere he lived and diedto the status of folk hero. In the battle of Fallen Timbers, he drove through the Union skirmish line. The Klan's activity infiltrated the Democratic Party's campaign for the presidential election of 1868. [126], He later found employment at the Selma-based Marion & Memphis Railroad and eventually became the company president. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. Make sure that the file is a photo. His other memorial can be seen here: Jeffrey Edward Forrest Civil War Confederate Officer. He was promoted to major general on December 4, 1863. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. All available carts and wagons were pressed into service to haul six hundred boxes of army clothing, 250,000 pounds of bacon and forty wagon-loads of ammunition to the railroad depots, to be sent off to Chattanooga and Decatur. Forrest had fewer men than the Union side but feigned having a larger force by parading some repeatedly around a hilltop until Streight was convinced to surrender his 1,500 or so exhausted troops (historians Kevin Dougherty and Keith S. Hebert say he had about 1,700 men). Impressed with his gallantry Mrs. Montgomery agreed. Capt. [132] According to Forrest biographer Jack Hurst, writers present at the public viewing of Forrest's body and at the funeral procession noted many black citizens among them. "[126] A memorial to him, the first Civil War memorial in Memphis, was erected in 1905 in a new Nathan Bedford Forrest Park. Bill suffered a stroke during the screening of "The Klansman" in 1908 and died less than 24 hours later, and was buried in Memphis. Bill suffered a stroke during the screening of "The Klansman" in 1908 and died less than 24 hours later, and was buried in Memphis. Make sure that the file is a photo. [226] Forrest's claim that the Fort Pillow massacre was an invention of Northern reporters is contradicted by letters written by Confederate soldiers to their own families, which described extreme brutality on the part of Confederate troops. "[253] In 2021 Sexton voted against the removal of the bust of Forrest from the Tennessee State Capitol and into the Tennessee State Museum, but only one politician agreed with him and the bust was removed. William was 15 years old. Smith at Tupelo, where Forrest was wounded while directing the pursuit of retreating Federal troops. blacksmith. Streight's goal changed from dismantling the railroad to escaping the pursuit. [157] According to Wills, in the August 1867 state elections the Klan was relatively restrained in its actions. His cavalry destroyed railroad and blockhouses and blockaded shipping on the Tennessee River, disabling and capturing several Union vessels before destroying the Union supply depot at Johnsonville. The crowd of mourners was estimated to include 20,000 people. They were later reburied in Columbia, Tennessee. [62] Forrest chased Streight's men for 16 days, harassing them all the way. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. Marriage Although there are a number of differing accounts of the events that took place in the summer of 1845, Forrest did meet his future wife in a notable and romantic way. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. One of the wounded Matlock men survived and served under Forrest during the Civil War. In what would be known as the Third Battle of Murfreesboro, a portion of Forrest's command broke and ran. I generali degli Stati Confederati d'America erano collocati gerarchicamente in quattro livelli.. Il grado pi elevato era quello di general ("generale"): il termine per, oltre ad essere specifico di un livello di comando (comandante d'armata), anche la denominazione generica per tutta la categoria degli ufficiali generali, tanto che, nell'uso corrente, si tende a specificare nel primo . GREAT NEWS! "[123], As a former slave trader and slave owner, Forrest experienced the abolition of slavery at war's end as a major financial setback. They had two children; a son, William Montgomery Bedford, born in 1846, and in 1848 a daughter, Frances, who died when she was five years old. [180], In response to the Pole-Bearers speech, the Cavalry Survivors Association of Augusta, the first Confederate organization formed after the war, called a meeting in which Captain F. Edgeworth Eve gave a speech expressing strong disapproval of Forrest's remarks promoting inter-ethnic harmony, ridiculing his faculties and judgment and berating the woman who gave Forrest flowers as "a mulatto wench". Drag images here or select from your computer for CAPT William Montgomery Forrest memorial. These lightning blows of Forrests caused USA General William Tecumseh Sherman great alarm. William Hugh Montgomery 1792 - 1829 . or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Bio notes: Confederate General like his father. Now often recast as "Getting there firstest with the mostest",[223] this misquote first appeared in a New York Tribune article written to provide colorful comments in reaction to European interest in Civil War generals. [192][193] The Sons of Confederate Veterans threatened a lawsuit against the city. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? He was the first born of two children. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. In the winter of 1862-63, he was continually active in raiding the enemys lines of communication, and succeeded in severing Grants communications in western Tennessee in December 1862. He thanked Forrest for the offer and stated that had war broken out, he would have considered it an honor to have served side by side with him. At the head of a mounted brigade, he took a brilliant part in General Braxton Braggs autumn 1862 campaign. Verify and try again. Modern historians generally believe that Forrest's attack on Fort Pillow was a massacre, noting high casualty rates, and the rebels targeting black soldiers. In July 2021, Tennessee officials voted to move Forrest's bust from the State Capitol to the Tennessee State Museum. On May 3, Forrest caught up with Streight's unit east of Cedar Bluff, Alabama. Obelisks in his memory were placed at his birthplace in Chapel Hill, Tennessee and at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Camden.[194]. He was more like a father to them than a brother. [43] In October 1861, Forrest was given command of a regiment, the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry. CSA General Joseph E. Johnston, the Confederate general whose greatness lay above all in calm and critical judgment, said that Forrest; had he had the advantage of a thorough military training, would have been the great central figure of the war.. Learn more about merges. [112] Concerned about Union supply lines, Maj. Gen. Sherman sent a force under the command of Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith to deal with Forrest. The Horrors and Cruelties of the Scene Intensified. He reportedly had 30 horses shot from under him, and personally killed 31 men in hand-to-hand combat, saying I was a horse ahead at the end.. In April 1864, in what has been called "one of the bleakest, saddest events of American military history",[5] troops under Forrest's command at the Battle of Fort Pillow massacred hundreds of troops, composed of black soldiers and white Tennessean Southern Loyalists fighting for the Union, who had already surrendered. Hood ordered Forrest to conduct an independent raid against the Murfreesboro garrison. Newspaper correspondent Sylvanus Cadwallader, who traveled with Grant for three years during his campaigns, wrote that Forrest "was the only Confederate cavalryman of whom Grant stood in much dread". [243] An online petition at Change.org asking the City Council to ban the monument collected 313,617 signatures by mid-September of the same year.[244]. Prominent ex-Confederates, including Forrest, the Grand Wizard of the Klan, and South Carolina's Wade Hampton, attended as delegates at the 1868 Democratic Convention, held at Tammany Hall headquarters at 141 East 14th Street in New York City. [170], Forrest testified before the Congressional investigation of Klan activities on June 27, 1871. Explore the catalogue according to effect, room or colour. [82][83][84] According to historians John Cimprich and Bruce Tap, although their numbers were roughly equal, two thirds of the black Union soldiers were killed, while only a third of the whites were killed. He was wounded three times, at Fort Donelson, at Harrisburg and at Spring Hill, Tenn. . Oops, we were unable to send the email. [12][13] Forrest was the first son of Mariam (Beck) and William Forrest. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. 2008 - 2022 INTERESTING.COM, INC. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. The time 9:01 is significant to Memphis Greenspace President Van Turner. The Confederate . The following scene satirically depicts Hanks, as Forrest in a Ku Klux Klan outfit, donning a hood and being superimposed into Klan footage from The Birth of a Nation. By this time, his fame as a cavalry leader had become legendary, and his exploits continued until the end of the war. The Forrest statue was placed in 1904 amid the passage of Jim Crow-era segregation laws and the Davis statue was placed in 1964 amid the battle for civil rights, according to Memphis Mayor Jim . . [252], In June 2020, after Black members of the Tennessee House of Representatives unsuccessfully asked it to eliminate a state celebration of Forrest, Representative Cameron Sexton opined: "I dont think anybody here is truly racist. Try again later. "[146] Forrest was the Klan's first and only Grand Wizard, and he was active in recruitment for the Klan from 1867 to 1868. Forrest had to recruit a new brigade, composed of about 2,000 inexperienced recruits, most of whom lacked weapons. [30][44], Public debate surrounded Tennessee's decision to join the Confederacy and both the Confederate and Union armies recruited soldiers from the state. Throughout the balance of 1864, though the greatest efforts were made by the Federals to crush him, General Forrest raided in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama, with almost unvarying success. On November 4, 1864, during the Battle of Johnsonville, the Confederates shelled the city, sinking three gunboats and nearly thirty other ships and destroying many tons of supplies. Sorry! Forrest, who was a Freemason,[7] joined the Ku Klux Klan in 1867 (two years after its founding) and was elected its first Grand Wizard. His rearguard action during the Confederate retreat from Nashville undoubtedly saved the Army of Tennessee from extinction. Year should not be greater than current year. Forrest set up winter headquarters at Hopkinsville, in southwestern Kentucky, on December 20, lodging his troopers in floored tents as they contended with the cold and an outbreak of measles. Tom Hanks' title character in the film Forrest Gump remarks in one scene that his mother named him after Nathan Bedford Forrest and "we was related to him in some way". Forrest continued to lead his men in small-scale operations, including the Battle of Dover and the Battle of Brentwood until April 1863. Nathan Bedford Forrest was born to a poor family in Bedford County, Tennessee. William Bill Forrest was born in Desoto County, Mississippi on September 26th, 1846 to Nathan Bedford and Mary Ann Forrest. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. William Bill Forrest was born in Desoto County, Mississippi on September 26th, 1846 to Nathan Bedford and Mary Ann Forrest. He had exhausted his fortune during the war, and with the abolition of slavery he lost one of his most valuable avenues for making money. A statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, is seen defaced with hot-pink paint on Dec. 28, 2017, after it was vandalized in Nashville. There, with the labor of over a hundred prison convicts, he grew corn, potatoes, vegetables and cotton profitably, but his health was in steady decline. [246] The City Council then voted on December 20, 2017, to sell Health Sciences Park to Memphis Greenspace, a new non-profit corporation not subject to the Heritage Protection Act, which removed the statue and another of Jefferson Davis that same evening. More than 100,000 men from Tennessee served with the Confederacy and over 31,000 served with the Union. Forrest was blamed for the slaughter in the Union press, and this news may have strengthened the North's resolve to win the war. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? [81] Forrest's men immediately took over the fort, while Union soldiers retreated to the lower bluffs of the river, but the USS New Era did not come to their rescue. The Civil War scholar Bruce Catton writes: Forrest used his horsemen as a modern general would use motorized infantry. Geni requires JavaScript! He had a few successes in the slave trade and investments in business and real estate, and slowly accumulated the capital to buy Mississippi and Arkansas plantations. Was given by Jefferson Davis was God ordained and really 901 means.. Elections the Klan was relatively restrained in its actions or suggest changes to the memorial manager virtual,! And eventually became the company president, Mississippi on September 26th, 1846 to Nathan Bedford was. 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