The brothers Forrest

[larry_cockerham]

I'm trying to prepare a presentation on the battle at Sugar Creek, Tennessee Dec 26, 1864 for next week's SCV meeting at our camp. Interesting, to me at least, to look at the contrast in opinions between two opposing generals at the same event:

Forrest: "I halted my command at Sugar Creek, where it encamped during the night. On the morning of the 26th the enemy commenced advancing, driving back General Ross' pickets. Owing to the dense fog he could not see the temporary fortifications which the infantry had thrown up and behind which they were secreted. The enemy therefore advanced to within fifty paces of these works, when a volley was opened upon him, causing the wildest confusion. Two mounted regiments of Ross' brigade and Ector's and Granbury's brigades of infantry were ordered to charge upon the discomfited foe, which was done, producing a complete rout. The enemy was pursued for two miles, but showing no disposition to give battle my troops were ordered back. In this engagement he sustained a loss of about 150 in killed and wounded; many prisoners and horses were captured and about 400 horses killed. I held this position for two hours, but the enemy showing no disposition to renew the attack, and fearing he might attempt a flank movement in the dense fog, I resumed the march, after leaving a picket with orders to remain until 4 o'clock. The enemy made no further attack between Sugar Creek and Tennessee River, which stream I crossed on the evening of the 27th of December."

Wilson:“Darkness again put an end to the pursuit, but it was continued the next day to Sugar Creek, a clear beautiful stream of limpid water running through an unbroken forest to the river. All efforts to bring the enemy again to anything more than a skirmish were futile. The road was lined with abandoned wagons and broken down mules, giving conclusive evidence that the fighting of that campaign was at an end. Beyond the creek Forrest formed line and made a brief show of resistance, but a flank movement by Hammond’s brigade easily turned him out of his position and sent him again to the rear under the cover of darkness. The country in which we found ourselves was the worst we had yet seen. It was entirely stripped of forage and supplies. Our own trains were far in the rear, or haversacks and forage packs were empty. There was absolutely nothing at hand except the beautiful clear spring water of Sugar Creek, but neither men nor horses could live on water alone.”

[larry_cockerham]

The Forrest Boyhood Home should be renamed… Perhaps the Forrest Girlhood Home or simply the Forrest Home? Many of us jump to the conclusion that this place in Marshall County, Tennessee was just the home of Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest. That it was, but only until he was a lad of about 13 years. This small farm was also the home of probably seven Forrest siblings, all the children of William Forrest and Miriam Beck Forrest.

William was a blacksmith, one of the first to enter middle Tennessee. Born in Orange County, North Carolina 6 Jul 1801, he moved with his parents to the Cumberland River valley near Gallatin, Tennessee in 1809 where they remained for about two years before moving to the Duck River area of what was then Bedford County. William married Miriam Beck about 1820, the daughter of Scottish parents who had moved to Caney Springs in 1796 from South Carolina. The young couple made their home briefly in the little community of Chapel Hill near Holts Crossing on the north side of present-day Chapel Hill. It was in this little town that their first children, twins Nathan Bedford and Frances were born 13 July 1821.

By 1823 the young Forrest family moved westward a couple of miles to the house on Pyles Road. There has been speculation that the small cabin in which the twins were born may have also made the trek west and become the one-story room that is the eastern portion of the present building. Further analysis of the logs in the old barn on the property may prove that this barn was built or at least used by William Forrest to operate his blacksmith business or at least shelter some horses. It’s obvious from the very firm soil around the Forrest Home that farming would have been a secondary occupation at best. Caney Creek, a large stream a couple of miles south was completely dry during the weekend of the June 2007 fundraiser. Crops or large herds of animals would have suffered in this climate.

As William and Miriam Forrest with twins Nathan Bedford and Frances moved into their new home, William quickly went to work building his business and his family. Many famous Forrests were born at the Pyles Road residence and spent much of their childhood there.

Daughter Frances Forrest, twin of the Lt. General, died in 1841 in Mississippi. She claimed her girlhood home for about 11 years, same as the General’s claim for boyhood!

Son John Forrest arrived in 1822. He was to later serve his nation in the Mexican war where he was wounded and paralyzed in his legs. He became a gambler in Memphis and worked as a jailer and clerked for his brother Bedford. His claim to the Pyles Road residence as his boyhood home was about eleven years. John Forrest died in 1876.

Son William Hezekiah Forrest arrived in this world in 1825. His claim to the residence as his boyhood home covered nine years. William as an adult ran slave businesses in St. Louis and Vicksburg, buying slaves from brother Aaron before resale. Their company was called Forrest and Maples. William had a home in Memphis and joined the Confederate Army 13 Jul 1861, rising to the rank of Captain. He was wounded 30 Apr 1863 in a charge against Col. Abel D. Streight at the battle of Sand Mountain in Days Gap, Alabama. William died in 1871.

Daughter Mary Forrest was born in 1826. She died at a relatively young age sometime after 1837. Her stay at the Pyles Road residence would have covered about eight years, making her claim to a Girlhood Home!

Son Aaron H. Forrest was born in 1828. He claimed the boyhood home for six years! He owned A.H. Forrest and Company in Vicksburg, Mississippi by 1858, having worked with his brothers in the slave trade. The business closed about 1860. He served the CSA as Captain of the 6th Mississippi Battalion of State Troops, but became ill with pneumonia while commanding an expedition near Paducah, Kentucky in the spring of 1864 and died near Dresden, Tennessee.

Son Jesse Anderson Forrest came into the world 8 Apr 1829. His claim to the boyhood home lasted for about five years! Before the war, he was in the slave trade with his brothers in Memphis. Jesse was Lt. Colonel of the 20th Tennessee Regiment. He served valiantly in Mississippi before joining the AOT in the Tennessee campaign and helping to fight the rear guard action on the retreat. Jesse ran a livery stable in Memphis for several years after the war. He died 14 Dec 1890, leaving a daughter Sally.

Daughter Milly Forrest was born about 1831 and died young after 1837. Another claim to a girlhood home, she lived there about three years!

Twin Sons Isaac Forrest and Bedford Forrest were born about 1834. This is near the time of the family’s move to Mississippi. The twins died at a young age. It may be these two boys who are buried at the Pyles Road residence. More research is needed.

From their porch on Pyles Road, William and Miriam Forrest could have seen a future Mexican War soldier, two future Captains, a future Lt. Colonel, and a future Lt. General at play in the rocky yard. In 1834, the family pulled up stakes and moved westward to better land in west Tippah County, Mississippi in a little community, now extinct, that incorporated as the town of Salem on 11 May 1837.

A son Jeffrey E. Forrest was born in Salem in 1837, just four months after the untimely death of his father William. Jeffrey died in his brother Nathan’s arms after being wounded at the battle of Okalona, Mississippi 22 Feb 1864. He was a Captain of the 7th Tennessee at Ft. Donalson and was later Colonel of the 8th Tennessee Cavalry. He was shot through both thighs at Bears Creek, Mississippi in October 1863. Jeffrey managed a livery stable in Memphis prior to the war.

The Forrest family was a remarkable, tough, part of the history of Tennessee and Mississippi who gave far more than their share of blood and effort in the American Civil War.

Larry D. Cockerham
Nashville, Tennessee 2007

[richard]

Larry, I just read Forrest's account of Sugar Creek and you were correct in saying the the Account of that action by the 9th Indiana was far closer to Forrest's account than that of Wilsons.

One other intresting thing that I discovered is that in at least one of Forrest's reports, he reported no killed or wounded of his men in a 4 hour battle. Yet the other side reported a goodly number of Confederate deaths and wounded.

At least one thing is for sure, CNN wasn't there to get it all wrong.

[larry_cockerham]

The unimproved burial area adjacent to the Dobbs cemetery just south of the battlefieldl is reported to contain the Confederate dead from the battle. The owner of the property has so far protected these graves from any sort of investigation or improvement to the ground. Perhaps they rest at peace. The loss to both sides at Sugar Creek from the consensus of the accounts, must have been more than just skirmish level results.

[larry_cockerham]

While returning from the sutler THE BLOCKCADE RUNNER south of Bellbuckle, TN this past weekend, I stopped by the Forrest home restoration (1821-1833) near Chapel Hill to check the progress of the work. The roof frame is going up on the storage building to the rear (period logs in the walls) and additional work is finally underway on the stone entrance pillars. Little else has changed. As usual, the battle flag was waving gently in the breeze. The sizeable stream nearby the farm is still dry as a bone and has been since last spring. Good thing William Forrest wasn't a farmer!

[cw1865]

For historic preservation the work can be extremely costly. Buildings today are built differently and clearly with cost in mind. One of the problems that they have is that many of the details, even on some relatively modest structures, utilize techniques that utilize tools/techniques that are no longer mass produced or are not in general knowledge anymore.

[larry_cockerham]

We are lucky here in Tennessee in that we have access to some craftsmen who are reasonably competent, but yes quite expensive. The other advantage we have is that this is a labor of love for those of us who like to live in the past and who take this as an opportunity to honor the memory of our own civil war ancestors by preserving the memory of a quite remarkable family. (Even my three Union ancestors get honored, at least by me.)

[larry_cockerham]

Work continues on the restoration of the boyhood and (girlhood) home of the Forrest contingent to the War for Southern Independence. As the home and exterior buildings near completion, the next task is to tackle the barn, the central core of which is believed to have been William Forrest's blacksmith shop. The annual fundraiser and all-day 9-3 celebration is scheduled for Saturday June 21, 2008. My favorite, the annual preparation and work day, is coming May 24, 2008! Any spare gloves, arms and legs are more than welcome to attend. Weedeaters welcome! Located on Pyles Road just west of Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Nathan Bedford, William Hezekiah, Aaron and siblings all got their 'start' here. Eventually a rather extensive museum is planned for the residence. That will be a while developing. Funds, while frugally applied, don't go far at a time.

[larry_cockerham]

Another small piece of trivia, correcting some of my earlier publications...

While working at the site yesterday, I was presented with a transcript of the deed for the Forrest Boyhood Home, plainly dated 1 November 1830 when William Forrest bought the property from the Mayfield family for $588. Hence the Forrest family only lived there approximately three years. Three years in the boyhood of Nathan Bedford Forrest who was born in 1821 is still three years, hence one of several? boyhood homes. Girlhood home too, thanks to a couple of his sisters. The Forrests relocated to what is now Benton County, Mississippi in 1834.

[larry_cockerham]

On that same visit to the Forrest home in Marshall County, TN, I was shown three photos of Confederate grave stones with the names of William Hezekiah Forrest, John Forrest and Aaron Forrest. The owner thought, for some unknown reason, that these were from Hernando, Mississippi. I rather suspect they are all three at Elmwood in Memphis. Can anyone confirm the location of these three graves? Obviously all were at the same location. I haven't been to Elmwood, yet.