Nathan Bedford Forrest: From Private to Confederate General

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The two most fascinating characters to come out of the Civil War were Abraham Lincoln and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Lincoln because of his political savvy, perseverance and impact on America for generations to come.

Forrest for his savagery, battlefield tactics and dichotomy as a man.

Nathan Bedford Forrest went from an enlisted private to a Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army during the war.

His main adversary during much of the fighting agreed with me. “The General was the most remarkable man the Civil War produced on either side,” wrote Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, a merciless crusader in his own right.

Forrest was born in Tennessee. He and his twin sister Fanny were the eldest of 14 to settlers in a one-room cabin on the frontier. At 16, Nathan’s father died, and he became the bread winner for his hungry clan.

Entering into business as a blacksmith with his uncle, Forrest was skilled and ruthless at the get-go. His uncle was killed during a business argument in the street versus local brothers. Forrest took revenge, killing two and wounding two others with a bowie knife thrown to him in the melee, foretelling of the future General’s temperament and tenacity in a fight.

Forrest's business acumen also illustrated his ability to prosper. His ventures included livery stables, a stagecoach line, brickyard, cotton farming and, most profitable, interstate slave trading. It is thought Forrest ultimately traded thousands of slaves, confining them in “slave jails” close to markets, transporting these poor souls by trains throughout the realm, making him one of the wealthiest men in the South. Basic personal history almost incomprehensible to fathom, but true.

As the Civil War broke out, Forrest took his zeal for business and applied it to the military, wanting to protect his holdings, the South's independence and way of life.

Forrest enlisted in Tennessee with his brother Jesse and son William. After seeing how ill-equipped his regiment was, Forrest volunteered, with his own money, to acquire horses and supplies to help the cause. The Governor of Tennessee took note and commissioned him as a lieutenant colonel, authorizing the future General to recruit and train a regiment of Tennessee Volunteers.

His recruiting poster read, “Let’s have some fun and kill some Yankees!”

Tennessee was a split state, supplying the second largest contingent of troops for the Confederacy, 135,000, and the largest number of Union troops from a southern State, 51,000: 31,000 whites and 20,000 black freemen.

He rarely drank or chewed tobacco and instead turned his focus on discipline, physically punishing any subordinate who defied him or underperformed. Many refused to serve in his strict command, but those who did revered him.

Forrest and his troops could ride for days, show up unexpectedly, fight, capture or destroy vast amounts of supplies where least anticipated and escape to do it again.

Early in the war, the South lost strategic Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River and Henry on the Tennessee, and surrendered 12,000 rebel soldiers to General Grant at Donelson, much to the chagrin of Forrest who, with 700 others, managed to escape.

It’s a military standard when you are defeated and retiring from the field of battle to order a cavalry unit to protect your withdrawing army, the rearguard. Retreating from the Battle of Shiloh at the end of the disastrous second day for the Rebels, Forrest and his regiment were ordered to protect the vanquished Army of the Mississippi as thousands of battered, wounded and beaten Southern men made their way from the Shiloh battlefield back to Corinth Mississippi, 15 miles south.

Lore has it, Forrest led a charge into a skirmish line to slow the Union pursuit. Unbeknownst to the commander, his men stopped at the line and he was the only one to charge through into the full Yankee regiment behind. Surrounded, he unloaded his pistols then, wielding his sabre, slashed away, trying to escape. At point blank rage, a Yank shot Forrest in the leg. Wounded, he grabbed the wounded soldier, picking him up by his collar, throwing the private behind him on his steed, shielding him, taking bullets as our Southern warrior galloped away. The Union soldier was pummeled, horse and Forrest hit but he broke away. That’s the type of story that makes legends. A month later, Forrest had the mini-ball removed from his pelvis.

The documentary film shown in the theater at the Shiloh National Battlefield depicted that incident, leaving you wanting to know more.

When I asked Woody Harrell, the Superintendent of the Shiloh and Corinth National Battlefield if that story was factual, he smiled. “No doubt Forrest was a fearless cavalryman, having had 29 horses shot out from under him during the war. I don’t question much when I hear fantastic stories about his leadership and exploits.”

Shiloh was but the beginning of Nathan Bedford Forrest's military feats that became legendary and caused his tactics to be studied by European military figures, including Germany’s Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox.”

Yes, lore has it he came to Virginia and Tennessee in the 1930’s to study Stonewall Jackson’s and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s inventive maneuvers.

More on Rommel next time as we look at the incredible life, victories and lasting ramifications on the South by one Nathan Bedford Forrest.

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Bob Ford’s History will appear in each edition of the Weekender, Midweek and Corner Post. You can find more of Bob’s work on his website bobfordshistory.com and videos on YouTube, TikTok and Clapper