Collection
Publication
Vintage (1994), Edition: Reprint, 448 pages
Description
He was a fierce and controversial Civil War officer, an unschooled but brilliant cavalryman, an epic figure in America's most celebrated war. A superb tactician and ferocious fighter, Nathan Bedford Forrest revolutionized the way armies fought in the course of rising from private to lieutenant general in the Confederate Army. In this detailed and fascinating account of the legend of the "Wizard of the Saddle," we see a man whose strengths and flaws were both of towering proportions, a man possessed of physical valor perhaps unprecedented among his countrymen. And, ironically, Forrest-the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan-was a man whose social attitudes may well have changed farther in the direction of racial enlightenment over the span of his lifetime than those of most American historical figures.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member dswaddell
A very insightful book that gives a thourough review of Nathan Bedford Forrest emphasizing neither the good or the bad but reporting on both. Gives an understanding of the mans life both before and after the war years.
LibraryThing member Eagleduck86
This detailed, nuanced biography includes what Paul Harvey would call . . . THE REST OF THE STORY:
Three years before his death, Nathan Bedford Forrest experienced a religious conversion, after which he became an advocate of racial reconciliation.
Three years before his death, Nathan Bedford Forrest experienced a religious conversion, after which he became an advocate of racial reconciliation.
LibraryThing member santhony
I ordered this biography of Confederate cavalry General, Nathan Bedford Forrest, strictly out of morbid curiosity. Despite being widely regarded as one of the most effective cavalry commanders in modern history, Forrest is also almost universally condemned as one of the worst human beings to serve
It has been my experience that biographers tend to fall in love with their subjects, and frequently devolve into hagiography. I was curious to see how any biographer could possibly attempt to rehabilitate Forrest. And while the author in this case certainly tries to paint Forrest in the best possible light, he at least presents most of the facts associated with certain, unsavory aspects of Forrest’s life and military career.
It would be simple to paint Forrest a monster, especially in light of current customs and mores. Before the War, he was a slave trader in Memphis. He was, at times, brutally violent, both before and during the War. However, these character traits, taken by themselves should not necessarily condemn a man that was born and raised in the circumstances in which he found himself. War is about killing people and the type of warfare practiced by many in the western theater of the American Civil War was especially brutal.
Forrest was a brilliant tactician and possessed unquestioned and incredible courage in the heat of battle. He frequently defeated opposing troops that outnumbered him sometimes five or ten to one, many times by exercising duplicity and aggressive tactics. He was, however, a terrible subordinate and clashed with almost every military superior to which he was attached. As a result, Forrest was most effective as an independent raider as opposed to participating as a part of a larger engagement.
Forrest is largely associated with the massacre of federal troops (many of whom were African-American) following the capture of Fort Pillow. He was unquestionably in charge, and while the author attempts to downplay his involvement in the massacre, there is little doubt that he took little action to alleviate the killing of troops attempting to surrender. Many times in his life, both before, during and after the War, Forrest succumbed to terrible rages in the heat of the moment, only to show remorse and regret afterward. It is easy to imagine the events that transpired at Fort Pillow being a result of just such a rage.
Following the War, the author takes great pains to show Forrest as a conciliator and a man of reason during the Reconstruction Period, and while the Ku Klux Klan of the era was not the same organization that was reformed in the Jim Crow south of the early 20th century, it certainly participated in many violent voter suppression activities and terrorist acts against freed slaves of the region; and Forrest was a founding member and Grand Dragon.
So, largely, Forrest was a man of his times. Granted, a particularly violent man who found himself as the very talented leader of a cavalry brigade, with orders to create widespread mayhem and kill Union soldiers. He turned out to be very good at both. In the midst of battle and in a killing rage, he led what turned into a cold blooded massacre at Fort Pillow. After the War, faced with many of the abuses of Reconstruction, he again exercised leadership which though proving to be effective, also exceeded the bounds of acceptable behavior, even for the period in which he lived. While it is easy to condemn such a man wholesale, some allowance must be made for the time and place. So, in effect, he was not the worst man in the world, only one of the worst.
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in the Civil War. This is based largely on the massacre of African-American soldiers at Fort Pillow by Confederate troops under his command, and the fact that he served as one of the organizers and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in the years immediately following the War.It has been my experience that biographers tend to fall in love with their subjects, and frequently devolve into hagiography. I was curious to see how any biographer could possibly attempt to rehabilitate Forrest. And while the author in this case certainly tries to paint Forrest in the best possible light, he at least presents most of the facts associated with certain, unsavory aspects of Forrest’s life and military career.
It would be simple to paint Forrest a monster, especially in light of current customs and mores. Before the War, he was a slave trader in Memphis. He was, at times, brutally violent, both before and during the War. However, these character traits, taken by themselves should not necessarily condemn a man that was born and raised in the circumstances in which he found himself. War is about killing people and the type of warfare practiced by many in the western theater of the American Civil War was especially brutal.
Forrest was a brilliant tactician and possessed unquestioned and incredible courage in the heat of battle. He frequently defeated opposing troops that outnumbered him sometimes five or ten to one, many times by exercising duplicity and aggressive tactics. He was, however, a terrible subordinate and clashed with almost every military superior to which he was attached. As a result, Forrest was most effective as an independent raider as opposed to participating as a part of a larger engagement.
Forrest is largely associated with the massacre of federal troops (many of whom were African-American) following the capture of Fort Pillow. He was unquestionably in charge, and while the author attempts to downplay his involvement in the massacre, there is little doubt that he took little action to alleviate the killing of troops attempting to surrender. Many times in his life, both before, during and after the War, Forrest succumbed to terrible rages in the heat of the moment, only to show remorse and regret afterward. It is easy to imagine the events that transpired at Fort Pillow being a result of just such a rage.
Following the War, the author takes great pains to show Forrest as a conciliator and a man of reason during the Reconstruction Period, and while the Ku Klux Klan of the era was not the same organization that was reformed in the Jim Crow south of the early 20th century, it certainly participated in many violent voter suppression activities and terrorist acts against freed slaves of the region; and Forrest was a founding member and Grand Dragon.
So, largely, Forrest was a man of his times. Granted, a particularly violent man who found himself as the very talented leader of a cavalry brigade, with orders to create widespread mayhem and kill Union soldiers. He turned out to be very good at both. In the midst of battle and in a killing rage, he led what turned into a cold blooded massacre at Fort Pillow. After the War, faced with many of the abuses of Reconstruction, he again exercised leadership which though proving to be effective, also exceeded the bounds of acceptable behavior, even for the period in which he lived. While it is easy to condemn such a man wholesale, some allowance must be made for the time and place. So, in effect, he was not the worst man in the world, only one of the worst.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
448 p.; 5.14 inches
ISBN
067974830X / 9780679748304
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