That Devil Forrest A succession of commanders realized Forrests talent as a raider and used him to wreak havoc behind Union lines. When war came in 1861 his father and his uncles enlisted in the Confederate Army. Forrest probably organized a statewide Klan network in Georgia during these visits. [6], Forrest's most decisive victory came on June 10, 1864, when his 3,500-man force clashed with 8,500 men commanded by Union Brig. [166] Forrest rode to the convention on a train that stopped in a small Northern town along the way, where he faced a protester who wanted to fight the "damned butcher" of Fort Pillow. In June 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and became one of the few soldiers during the war to enlist as a private and be promoted to general without any prior military training. He was in turn a horse and cattle trader in Mississippi, and a slave dealer and horse trader in Memphis, until 1859, when he began planting cotton in northwestern Mississippi. By Connor Towne O'Neill The Nathan Bedford Forrest statue located along Interstate 65 in Nashville, Tennessee. . Geni requires JavaScript! All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. The bronze casting of more than heroic size (one and one-half life size), weighs 9,500 pounds. [192][193] The Sons of Confederate Veterans threatened a lawsuit against the city. He married Mary Ann Montgomery on 25 September 1845, in Hernando, DeSoto, Mississippi, United States. He married Jane Taylor Cook in 1868 in Hernando, Mississippi and they had four children. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Their marriage of thirty-two years produced one son and a daughter who died in infancy. 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. [4] Forrest was born in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1871. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. 1858. [40], After the Civil War broke out, Forrest returned to Tennessee from his Mississippi ventures and enlisted in the Confederate States Army (CSA) on June 14, 1861. The long spring 1864 raid of USA General James H. Wilson, one of the ablest of the Union cavalry generals, pushed Forrest back to the defense of the Confederate ordnance center at Selma, Alabama, where Forrest was finally defeated on April 2, 1865. based on information from your browser. Learn more about managing a memorial . [102] The Chicago Tribune said Forrest and his brothers were "slave drivers and woman whippers", while Forrest himself was described as "mean, vindictive, cruel, and unscrupulous". [240] Barbour refused to denounce the honor. According to survivors, many blacks were killed after they had surrendered. The Klan's violence was primarily designed to intimidate voters, targeting black and white supporters of the Republican Party. 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. Try again. The family moved to Hernando, Mississippi in 1834, where William was a blacksmith and farmer. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. He moved his family to Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee and is found on the census there in 1860, He was a planter. After a brief courtship, the couple wed on September 25, 1845. . Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. ", "Sons of Confederate Veterans 'Put to Rest for Eternity' Gen. Nathan Bedford in Columbia, Tennessee", Animated History of The Campaigns of Nathan Bedford Forrest, General Nathan Bedford Forrest Historical Society, List of Union Civil War monuments and memorials, List of memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic, Confederate artworks in the United States Capitol, List of Confederate monuments and memorials. This browser does not support getting your location. Cav. Obey the laws, preserve your honor, and the government to which you have surrendered can afford to be and will be magnanimous. Hicks refused to comply with the ultimatum, and according to his subsequent report, Forrest's troops took a position and set up a battery of guns while a flag of truce was still up. When Captain William Montgomery Forrest was born on 28 September 1846, in Hernando, DeSoto, Mississippi, United States, his father, General Nathan Bedford Forrest, was 25 and his mother, Mary Ann Montgomery, was 19. Nathan always maintained close ties to his family and watched over them as best he could. Also called 18th Battalion, 26th Battalion, Balchs Battalion and McDonalds Battalion. Our Arctic Series Cold Climate Heat Pumps are both the most advanced and cost effective air source heat pump on the market, with the ability to heat your home, office, shop, and pool/hot tub. WILLIAM MONTGOMERY FORRESTmarried Jane Taylor Cook Forrestandhad 3children. [69] Forrest was thought to have been fatally wounded by Gould but he recovered and was ready to fight in the Chickamauga Campaign. [207] In 2013, the board voted 70 to begin the process to rename the school. In 1869, Forrest expressed disillusionment with the lack of discipline in the white supremacist terrorist group across the South,[8] and issued a letter ordering the dissolution of the Ku Klux Klan as well as the destruction of its costumes; he then withdrew from the organization. He reported for training at Fort Wright near Randolph, Tennessee,[41] joining Captain Josiah White's cavalry company, the Tennessee Mounted Rifles (Seventh Tennessee Cavalry), as a private along with his youngest brother and 15-year-old son. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. On February 3, 1863, Forrests command suffered a defeat at Dover, Tennessee, while under the command of Major General Joseph Wheeler. He was the first born of two children. Then, following redeeming victories at Thompsons Station and Brentwood that spring, Forrest stopped a Union raid led by Colonel Abel Streight through northern Alabama in April and May 1863. Hood ordered Forrest to conduct an independent raid against the Murfreesboro garrison. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. 410 to overrule the city. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. His uncle was killed there in 1845 during an argument with the Matlock brothers. Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 October 29, 1877), called Bedford Forrest in his lifetime, was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. In the wake of the Confederate victory at Chickamauga in September 1863, Forrest urged Bragg to pursue the defeated Federals, but he did not. Similar accounts were reported in many Southern newspapers at the time. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Enter a grandparent's name. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Failed to delete memorial. Nathan Bedford Forrest became one of the leading cavalry figures of the Civil War. [48][49] Forrest distinguished himself further at the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862. [192][193], Many memorials have been erected to Forrest, especially in Tennessee and adjacent Southern states. [11], Nathan Bedford Forrest was born on July 13, 1821, to a poor settler family in a secluded frontier cabin near Chapel Hill hamlet, then part of Bedford County, Tennessee, but now encompassed in Marshall County. General Forrest would be remembered only as a daring and successful guerrilla cavalry leader, were it not for the one great and indelible stain upon his name. Nathan Bedford Forrest II (August 1871 March 11, 1931) was an American businessman who served as the 19th Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from 1919 to 1921,[1][2][3] and as the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan for Georgia. Some kept going, right into the river, where a number drowned, and the swimmers became targets for marksmen on the bluff. [73][74][75], On December 4, 1863, Forrest was promoted to the rank of major general. Avoiding attack by never staying in one place long, eventually Forrest led his troops during the spring and summer of 1864 on raids into west Tennessee, as far north as the banks of the Ohio River in southwest Kentucky and into north Mississippi. We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each person's profile. Drag images here or select from your computer for CAPT William Montgomery Forrest memorial. Forrest's grandson, Nathan Bedford Forrest II (18721931), became commander-in-chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans[38] and a Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia and secretary of the national organization. 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. For this, he would later be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general on March 2, 1865. [247] Brett Joseph Forrest, a direct descendant of Nathan, spoke in support of the bust's removal. Historian Court Carney suggested that "embarrassed by their city's early capitulation during the Civil War, white Memphians desperately needed a hero and therefore crafted a distorted depiction of Forrest's role in the war. Sorry! [239][238] The Mississippi NAACP petitioned Governor Haley Barbour to denounce the plates and prevent their distribution. Forrest had to recruit a new brigade, composed of about 2,000 inexperienced recruits, most of whom lacked weapons. He acquired several cotton plantations in the Delta region of West . In June 1862, he assumed command of a cavalry brigade. [250][251] However, since that time, Governor Bill Lee's administration introduced a bill passed by the Tennessee legislature on June 10, 2020 which released the governor from the former requirement that he issue a proclamation of that observance each year, and a spokesman for Governor Lee confirmed that he would not be signing a Forrest Day proclamation in July 2020. [99] President Abraham Lincoln asked his cabinet for opinions as to how the Union should respond to the massacre. 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). Forrest became involved sometime in late 1866 or early 1867. Not realizing that the rest of his men had halted their charge when they reached the full Union brigade, Forrest charged the brigade alone and soon found himself surrounded. The list included the names of 7 officers and 219 white enlisted soldiers. William served in the Cavalry Division under his father Nathan Bedford Forrest. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. [169] These developments worked to the advantage of the Republicans, who focused on the Democratic Party's alleged disloyalty during and after the Civil War. Sherman, who had recognized how formidable an opponent Forrest was in battle during the Civil War, replied after the crisis settled down. [63][64][65], Not all of Forrest's exploits of individual combat involved enemy troops. Resentful of Braggs ineptitude and poor treatment of him during the Chickamauga Campaign, the fiery cavalryman bitterly denounced his superior officer. Achilles Clark, a soldier with the 20th Tennessee cavalry, wrote to his sisters immediately after the battle: The slaughter was awful. Make sure that the file is a photo. By then, all were fully armed with captured Union weapons. [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". Passing of William Montgomery Forrest It has been said that he went to a play in Memphis about his father General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Confederate States presidential election of 1861, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nathan_Bedford_Forrest&oldid=1134336241, Confederate States Army lieutenant generals, People of Tennessee in the American Civil War, Articles with dead external links from August 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2007, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata namespace mismatch, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Raids in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi, early December 1862 early January 1863, Farewell address to his troops, May 9, 1865, This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 05:09. CONTENT MAY BE COPYRIGHTED BY WIKITREE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. His men were devoted to him, admiring his stature, commanding air, courtesy, even his ferociousness. [172] On March 31 the Klan struck, killing prominent Republican organizer George Ashburn in Columbus.[172]. In 1834, Nathans father packed the family up and moved to a small farm in northern Mississippi. And I now cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to the officers and men of my command, whose zeal, fidelity and unflinching bravery have been the great source of my past success in arms. Montgomery Shelby S9866 White's Co. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4LH-RSS, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8T2-T2N, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD8Q-6Q1, http://sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com/tsla/history/military/pension006.htm, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDW8-DXD, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8578580/william-montgomery-forrest, "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (, "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (. The losses were a deep blow to the black regiment under Sturgis's command. Consequently, his role at Fort Pillow was a stigmatizing one for him the rest of his life, both professionally and personally,[228][229] and contributed to his business problems after the war. 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. Bill suffered a stroke during the screening of "The Klansman" in 1908 and died less than 24 hours later, and was buried in Memphis. Services were held at Court Avenue Presbyterian Church in Memphis, and an oration was given by Jefferson Davis. [255] After the Forrests' remains were removed from Memphis, they were reportedly buried in Munford, Tennessee[256] until their reburial in Columbia in September 2021 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He sold his cotton plantation in 1867, and for some years was president of the Selma, Marion and Memphis Railroad, but resigned in 1874. [80] The fort was manned by 557 Union troops, 295 white and 262 black, under Union commander Maj. L.F. Mary used her strength of faith to overcome her husbands anger and resentments. Through the KKK, he sought to restore white conservative Democrats to power. Frances A. Fanny Forrest 1848-1854 Paternal grand-parents, uncles and aunts. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. For other uses, see, Klan prosecution and Congressional testimony (1871), sfn error: no target: CITEREFSelect_CommitteePolandScott1872 (, church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, List of American Civil War generals (Confederate), Nathan Bedford Forrest bust in the Tennessee General Assembly building, Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, "Tennessee to remove bust of Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from state Capitol", "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Nathan Bedford Forrest Boyhood Home", "Lieutenant-General N. B. Forrest and His Campaigns", "Civil War Myths, Mistakes and Fabrications", "The Fort Pillow Massacre. 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