THE CIVIL WAR: THE TRUE STORY BOOK 1

A sad Forrest Story

J.D.R. Hawkins
One bullet can make a man a hero... or a casualty.

Life is Short
Over the past week, I have been faced with a personal situation that has left me thinking about my own mortality and about how fragile life is. Since I am a Civil War author, I have read and written about death a lot, and have incorporated many soldiers' journal entries into my writing. Here is an example from my nonfiction book, Horses in Gray, of one faithful steed who served during the Civil War. Roderick was a war hero who gave his life for his beloved commander, General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

On the morning of March 5, Union general John Coburn's troops approached Confederate forces stationed near Thompson's Station, a small train depot nine miles south of Franklin, Tennessee. Skirmishing continued all day. At 10:00 a.m. the following morning, Confederate guns announced the opening of the battle. Coburn ordered a charge, but the Confederates drove them back. Forrest led a frontal attack while mounted on his favorite war horse, Roderick. The dark chestnut Saddler had a reputation among Forrest's men as being an unusually loyal horse and reportedly had often trotted after Forrest in camp like a hunting dog. Roderick was so loyal that he even tried to come into Forrest's tent on occasion. The devoted steed was hit three times by enemy fire, but despite his suffering he valiantly struggled forward. Realizing the severity of Roderick's wounds, Forrest rode to the rear. He handed Roderick over to Willie before returning to the front on a fresh mount. Roderick was attracted to the sounds of battle. He broke away and galloped across the battlefield in search of Forrest. The brave war horse leapt three fences on his way. Just before reaching Forrest, he received his fourth and fatal wound. He died at Forrest's side. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Forrest left Roderick and returned to the battle. Roderick was buried not far from where he fell, near the small Buford family plot, although the exact location of his grave was never marked.

General Forrest may have deceived his enemy time and time again, demanding surrender or else with little more than Quaker guns and a hand full of troops. However, there is no fooling animals, and his horses seemed to find something loveable about one of the Confederacies hardest hitting Generals.

Roderick was a great race horse and much renowned as such. One of the sad things about the War of Northern Aggression was many Southerners, being fine horsemen, brought their best horses to war. Many lines were wiped out, too.  Roderick just loved Forrest and loved it when they raced together down a country road! He saved Forrest's life a few times, notably at Parkers Crossroads. Forrest had to negotiate a dangerous ridge under fire, and was on Roderick. If he'd stumbled or slipped or wasn't fast enough, there would have been no Wizard of the Saddle. Even the Yankees cheered!

Here is a poem about this sad event

T h e G e n e r a l 's M o u n t

by

J a c k K n o x

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THE BLOOD from deep inside
Began to color flecks of foam about the bit.
And pink the moisture in his heavy breath.

And yet the pain,
Sharp and searing hot,
Appeared to make no difference in his stride..
For this great chestnut gelding,

Dark with sweat,
Was all a war horse;
In his pace
And in his sinew,
Bone and blood . . . and in his heart.

The towering General, light-reined horseman
-- Light in the saddle too --
Felt the shot
That hit the horse beneath him.

There is
Some indescribable communion
Between a man and horse
Who've shared the roughest roads,
The longest hours,
The hardest battles;
A singleness of spirit, faith unflagging.