THE CIVIL WAR: THE TRUE STORY BOOK 1

Nathan Bedford Forrest: once a hero and always a hero

One of the greatest Confederate heroes, a man who was raised in Tippah County, is the victim of a modern day massive misinformation program designed with but one goal in mind - to find a villain upon whom to pile all the blames of racism.

The great man of whom I am referring too is none other than Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, our Bedford Forrest.
Did I note a look of consternation on your face as you read that name? Did I see a smirk of disgust, a raised eyebrow, a sigh of... you gotta be kidding?

Well, feel right at home with that initial reaction because that is what most of us have been "taught" to believe.

Well, I can tell you the facts are there, and they are true facts, but the history we have been taught and the true history are not the same.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was raised in Tippah County (now Benton County), just outside the small town of Salem (destroyed by the Yankees). He worked the land himself, cut trees, pulled stumps, tilled and planted the soil, and along with his mother and brothers harvested the crops. Anyone with a modicum of sense knows how difficult and demanding those days were.

Forrest entered the trading business after leaving the farm, he invested wisely, bought slaves, and eventually became a wealthy man. It must be noted here that although he was a slave trader, an accepted and unremarkable profession of that era, he never split a family up when he sold them and never knowingly sold a slave to a cruel master. In fact, several slaves approached Forrest and begged him to buy them from their cruel masters because they knew he would resell them to a decent new owner. (Note: there were hundreds of slave traders in that era, very common both North and South).

When the war started, Forrest asked 45 of his slaves (which he considered as servants) to join him, offering them their freedom after the war, no matter how it turned out. They all joined him and although they had numerous opportunities to desert him, 44 stayed by his side until the end of the war. In fact, part of his special command escort later called "the green berets" (ironic isn't it), consisted of the most elite and best soldiers available, and among them were eight black men. (Surely you are aware that nearly 100,000 black men fought for the Confederacy?).

As for General Forrest's battle record, it cannot be denied or downplayed. After his surrender, when asked by a Union Officer who he thought his greatest general was, General Robert E. Lee replied, "Sir, a gentleman I have never had the pleasure to meet, General Nathan Bedford Forrest."

German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (the Desert Fox), studied Forrest's battle tactics as did the U.S. Army's 'Ole Blood and Guts" General George S. Patton, and General 'Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf. The Institute for Military Studies concluded that the Battle of Brice's Crossroads (won by Forrest), was perhaps the most spectacular display of tactical genius during the war. Union General William T. Sherman (the real butcher) said that he would get "that devil Forrest" if it cost him 10,000 lives and broke the US treasury. Sherman sent four successively larger armies after Bedford, and he decisively defeated each one.
Of the 54 engagements Forrest was in, he lost only one. He had 29 horses shot out from beneath him and was wounded at least 8 recorded times, most likely many more. When the chips were down, Forrest would provide a victory. When the Confederacy's back was against the wall, Bedford always came through. He was revered by a slowly dying nation because "ole Bedford" always delivered, always 'whooped' the **** Yankees every time.
The only black mark on his war record was alleged to be the Fort Pillow incident, where he was accused of killing unarmed black soldiers. History completely vindicates him of this unfair charge. Although some incidents did occur at Fort Pillow, they happened before Forrest arrived and he was absolutely furious. The action that triggered those incidents was the cowardly running away of numerous white Union soldiers who left the black Union soldiers to defend the fort. The tenacity and pride of the black soldiers (with their white officers) would not allow them to surrender which made the men of Colonel Chalmer's unit mad, resulting in some depredations.