Gen. Forrest was the alround better cavalryman he learned and use the layouts of the wood and the hill and did alot of fight off of the horse to make the over side think it was foot soilders and it was not.
lt paul kepper
It was more an observation that while Lee was the quintessential Noble Gentleman, Forrest was very much more of a frontiersman type. If he thought someone he was addressing was an idiot, he'd say so.
I don't trust things indicating that he was either a Great Guy or the Devil Incarnate, so I'm inclined not to make much of Fort Pillow without having evidence that I know of to indicate it. "found innocent" is hardly the same as innocent, just as "found guilty" is hardly the same as guilty.
Whatever his merits and flaws morality wise, he was a tough opponent and a highly capable man. That's the part of the man relevant to this thread, in my opinion.
__________________ Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. - Robert E. Lee
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. - Abraham Lincoln
Forrest was by no means innocent. What he was, was a survivor. Yes, he was found not guilty. Many men went home in a box or rotted on the battlefield. Bedford Forrest rode home to Memphis from South Alabama in a mostly upright position. He was in the minority.
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
I'll give ya'll another name who's definitely worth mentioning in this category. 'Fighting' Joe Wheeler from Alabama. Fightin' Joe served the entire duration of the war and from tons of literature that I've read, he was considered by some historians to be the best cavalryman of the the entire conflict.
__________________ Ancestors: Cpt. Isaac H. Vincent, CSA - 47th Alabama Infantry, Company I; Sgt. James B. Stamp, CSA - 3rd Alabama Infantry, Company I; Pvt. William Spivey, CSA - 1st Alabama Infantry, Company G, Perote Guards; Rear Admr. Raphael Semmes, CSA Navy, CSS ALABAMA
Sons of Confederate Veterans - Pvt. Augustus Braddy Camp
"It is really extraordinary to find such nerve and genius in a mere boy. With a Pelham on each flank I believe I could whip the world." Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
...Wheeler? This is the same Wheeler who "rode off into East Tennssee." after a not-very-successful raid on Sherman's railroads (starting August 10), not appearing around the Army of Tennessee "until mid-October."?
Wheeler was disappointing, to put it mildly. What and who indicates he wasn't?
__________________ Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. - Robert E. Lee
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. - Abraham Lincoln
Let me preface this by saying I'm not a Wheeler scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I do live close to his homeland (north Alabama) and know that he is somewhat reverred by local folks today. He was not a Bedford Forrest nor J.E.B. Stuart, just a good confederate soldier who rode a horse most of the time. At least he had the good sense to go after Sherman instead of playing in the sleet in Tennessee in the winter of 1864-65.
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
Let me preface this by saying I'm not a Wheeler scholar by any stretch of the imagination. I do live close to his homeland (north Alabama) and know that he is somewhat reverred by local folks today. He was not a Bedford Forrest nor J.E.B. Stuart, just a good confederate soldier who rode a horse most of the time. At least he had the good sense to go after Sherman instead of playing in the sleet in Tennessee in the winter of 1864-65.
I would say that he was at least a little more than "just a good confederate soldier who road a horse most of the time". He's one of the famous figures of the Confederacy. Don't forget that he commanded one of the two cavalries at Chickamauga.
I found the following links that give Wheeler a little coverage. A lot of the other literature that I have on him isn't in an electronic format.
__________________ Ancestors: Cpt. Isaac H. Vincent, CSA - 47th Alabama Infantry, Company I; Sgt. James B. Stamp, CSA - 3rd Alabama Infantry, Company I; Pvt. William Spivey, CSA - 1st Alabama Infantry, Company G, Perote Guards; Rear Admr. Raphael Semmes, CSA Navy, CSS ALABAMA
Sons of Confederate Veterans - Pvt. Augustus Braddy Camp
"It is really extraordinary to find such nerve and genius in a mere boy. With a Pelham on each flank I believe I could whip the world." Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
Last edited by TheGallantPelham17; 09-02-2008 at 11:18 PM.
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
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