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Charles River Editors
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Account of the Battle of Nashville (Illustrated)
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Account of the Battle of Nashville (Illustrated)
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Nathan Bedford Forrest Forrest is universally regarded as a courageous and capable cavalry officer, but agreements over his legacy end there. Forrest is controversial today for his actions at the Battle of Fort Pillow, his role in founding the Ku Klux Klan, his rough and rugged frontier past, his opposition to Reconstruction, and the perception of him as the South’s toughest, most partisan officer.
Forrest was the only soldier to rise from the rank of private to general during the U.S. Civil War. At once "a soft-spoken gentleman of marked placidity and an overbearing bully of homicidal wrath," Forrest is best remembered for the combination of brilliant military leadership and flamboyant bravery that drove his Confederate cavalry troops from victory to victory on the battlefield. His subordinates feared him (he shot those who turned tail), as did his enemies (he rarely lost a fight). General Sherman once said that Forrest must be "hunted down and killed if it costs 10,000 lives and bankrupts the [national] treasury." Detractors point out that Forrest never has been exonerated from the Fort Pillow massacre, in which many Union soldiers, most of them black, were slaughtered after attempting to surrender. Following the war, he went on to found the Ku Klux Klan.
Forrest displayed his grit from the beginning. Forrest distinguished himself first at the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862. His cavalry captured a Union artillery battery and then he broke out of a Union Army siege headed by Ulysses S. Grant. While some Confederate generals advocated surrender, and General Buckner did so, Forrest rallied nearly 4,000 troops and led them across the river. He continued to serve with distinction in the West throughout the war, and is credited for killing more than 30 men in battle.
After the battle of Nashville, which decimated John Bell Hood’s army, Forrest wrote an account of his role that became part of The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This edition of his account includes illustrations and maps of the campaign, and it also includes pictures of the important commanders of the battle.
Forrest was the only soldier to rise from the rank of private to general during the U.S. Civil War. At once "a soft-spoken gentleman of marked placidity and an overbearing bully of homicidal wrath," Forrest is best remembered for the combination of brilliant military leadership and flamboyant bravery that drove his Confederate cavalry troops from victory to victory on the battlefield. His subordinates feared him (he shot those who turned tail), as did his enemies (he rarely lost a fight). General Sherman once said that Forrest must be "hunted down and killed if it costs 10,000 lives and bankrupts the [national] treasury." Detractors point out that Forrest never has been exonerated from the Fort Pillow massacre, in which many Union soldiers, most of them black, were slaughtered after attempting to surrender. Following the war, he went on to found the Ku Klux Klan.
Forrest displayed his grit from the beginning. Forrest distinguished himself first at the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862. His cavalry captured a Union artillery battery and then he broke out of a Union Army siege headed by Ulysses S. Grant. While some Confederate generals advocated surrender, and General Buckner did so, Forrest rallied nearly 4,000 troops and led them across the river. He continued to serve with distinction in the West throughout the war, and is credited for killing more than 30 men in battle.
After the battle of Nashville, which decimated John Bell Hood’s army, Forrest wrote an account of his role that became part of The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This edition of his account includes illustrations and maps of the campaign, and it also includes pictures of the important commanders of the battle.
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