The brothers Forrest

[larry_cockerham]

While attempting to track the AOT through the latter part of the war, I discovered a most interesting family. While most folks studying the Forrests tend to concentrate on old Bedford, there was much more to this family, a rather remarkeable lot. I'd very much appreciate your allowing me to post some scant data on some other Forrests in the hope that I can gain some more knowledge and weed out the screw-ups if any? Someone wrote on this board recently that the only man that N.B. Forrest was scared of was his brother William Hezikiah Forrest (not to be confused with son William Montgomery Forrest). This is all I have on William Hezekiah. I could use some references for further research if you've stumled across same in your travels. Thanks!

Capt. William Hezekiah Forrest (third son of William and Miriam Beck Forrest): William ran slave businesses in St. Louis, Missouri and Vicksburg, Mississippi, buying slaves from Aaron. Jack Hurst, in his Nathan Bedford Forrest, A Biography wrote: “The day of the last Forrest and Maples sales recorded in the Register’s office, two younger Forrest brothers, William and Aaron, sold an eighteen-year-old slave named Bob for $1050 to Mary C. Temple.” William had a home in Memphis. He joined the Confederate Army on Jun 14, 1861 as a private along with brothers Nathan and Jeffrey. All were to receive considerably more rank as the war progressed.

July 10, 1862

Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest's brigade passed here enroute to its junction with additional units, to be followed by a further advance on the Federal garrison and stores at Murfreesboro. Leaving Chattanooga on July 9, the brigade here consisted of the 8th Texas Cavalry (Wharton), 2nd Georgia Cavalry (Lawton), and Woodward's Kentucky Cavalry Battalion, with a headquarters unit of 20 men, commanded by Captain William Forrest. Further accessions to strength were to join at McMinnville.

William served as a cavalry officer and led the charge against Col. Abel D. Streight’s column at the Battle of Sand Mountain in Days Gap, Alabama where he was wounded April 30, 1863. William skirmished for two miles before he received a ball through his thigh, breaking the bone. Several of his men were lost in this battle. Col. Streight’s men rode mules from their departure from steamships at Eastport, Mississippi. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest captured Streight’s entire command on May 3, 1864 at Cedar Bluff, Alabama near the Georgia state line. William died in Hickman County, Tennessee b. 1825 - d. 1871

[larry_cockerham]

Here's a little family background information on the Forrests of Marshall County, Tennessee and the list of lesser known Forrest siblings:


William Forrest [Nathan, Shadrack, William, James] was born 6 Jul 1801 in Orange County, North Carolina and died 1837 in Tennessee. When he was eight years old, the family moved north of the Cumberland River not far from Gallatin and two years later in 1808 settled in Duck River in what was then Bedford, now Marshall County, Tennessee. William was a blacksmith by trade and married pretty Miss Miriam Beck who is described as 6 feet tall, 180 pounds. (obviously a hunk of woman) Miriam was of Scottish extraction, her parents having relocated from South Carolina and settled in 1796 near what is now Caney Springs, near Duck River in middle Tennessee. Of the eleven children of William and Miriam, the first was named Nathan Bedford Forrest, the object of our chat. In 1837 William died leaving Nathan the head of the family of his mother, 6 brothers and 3 sisters. Four months after his death, Jeffrey, a posthumous child was born. Six years later, Miriam married Joseph Luxton ca 1843 and to them were born children, 3 boys and 1 girl.


Children of William Forrest and Miriam Beck are:

Nathan Bedford Forrest 13 Jul 1821- 29 Oct 1877

Frances Forrest b. 13 Jul 1821 d. 1841

John Forrest b. 1822 d. 1876 Dresden, Marshall Co., TN

Capt. William Hezekiah Forrest b. 1825 d. 1871 (see later)

Capt. Aaron Forrest b. 1828 Bedford Co. TN d. 1864 Dresden, TN (see later)

Lt. Col. Jeffrey E. Forrest b. Salem, MS 1837 d. 22 Feb 1864 Okolona, Mississippi m. Mary Dyche. Jeffrey was an owner or sales agent of slaves in Memphis.

Lt. Col. Jesse Anderson Forrest b. 8 Apr 1829 d. 14 Dec 1890 m. Sarah Mayberry (parents of Sally Forrest b. 14 Mar 1876) Jesse was an owner or sales agents of slaves in Memphis.

Isaac Forrest, b. 1834 died young

Bedford Forrest b. 1834

Mary Forrest, b. 1826 died young >1837

Milly Forrest b. 1831 died young > 1837

[larry_cockerham]

Information on the other children of William and Miriam Beck Forrest:

All daughters of William and Miriam died early in life. By 1898 all of the sons of William and Miriam Beck Forrest were deceased.

John Forrest (second son) served in the Mexican War and was shot and paralyzed. He was a gambler who worked as jailer and clerk for brother Bedford. He resided in Memphis, Tenn. at Worsham House in 1862.

Always looking for more on this man?

[larry_cockerham]

Capt. Aaron Forrest (fourth son):

He was a partner with his brothers in the slave trade. He owned A.H. Forrest and Company in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1858. Sales stopped in 1860. Researcher Stewart Cruickshank in 2006 has found Aaron as a Captain in the 6th Mississippi Battalion of State Troops. He commanded an operation near Paducah, Kentucky in the spring of 1864 when he was taken ill with pneumonia and died in Dresden, Tennessee. Jack Hurst wrote: “Lt. Col. A. H. Forrest “ is on the Yazoo River with one regiment fighting gunboats and transports”. Stewart is still looking for confirmation of the Lt. Col. rank.

I found this reference to A.H. Forrest in 2006:

HARTFORD CITY was a small river steamer built at McKeesport, Pa., in 1856 and first homeported at Cincinnati, Ohio. In May 1862 she was impressed into Confederate service out of Vicksburg, Miss., to tow rafts and other craft for obstruction of Union gunboat navigation in the Yazoo River. She later transported supplies out of that same Confederate base, but sought refuge in the Yalobusha in July 1863 as the Federal fleet took over control of the Yazoo. On 18 July 1863 Capt. A. H. Forrest, CSA, at Carrollton, Miss., was ordered to send a detachment to burn the steamboats including HARTFORD CITY, said to be located in the Tallahatchie and Yazoo Rivers.

[larry_cockerham]

Forrest’s Battalion State Troops Cavalry, aka 6th Battalion State Troops Cavalry

(from Dunbar Rowland’s "Military History of Mississippi, 1803-1898"; company listing courtesy of H. Grady Howell’s "For Dixie Land, I’ll Take My Stand’)

"Sixth Battalion Mississippi State troops, Capt. A.H. Forrest, near Carrollton, 150 men." General Chalmers’ report at the time of the Federal raid to Grenada, August, 1863. Capt. Forrest was captain of the Sunflower Rangers independent cavalry company. Other companies constituting this battalion have not been identified.

One extract from the Official Records of the War of Northern Aggression:

"HDQRS. FIFTH MIL. DIST., DEPT. MISS. AND E. LA.,
Grenada, July 18, 1863.

Capt. A. H. FORREST, Comdg. Battalion, Carrollton, Miss.:
CAPTAIN: The brigadier-general commanding directs me to say, in reply to your note of yesterday, that you will send a detachment to burn the steamboats Hope, Hartford City, Cotton Plant, and any others <ar38_1017> that may be in the Tallahatchee and Yazoo Rivers. You will also send out detachments southwest and east of you, with orders to burn all cotton, whether belonging to the Government or individuals, leaving the owners only sufficient for the use of their own families. They will commence by burning that nearest the enemy. The enemy are reported to be within 7 miles of Vaughan's Station, and advancing in this direction. You will throw out scouts to observe their movements, and will report them promptly to these headquarters. It is desired that only such cattle as are suitable for beef should be driven out of the bottom.

Your obedient servant, W.A. Goodman , Assistant Adjutant-General."

Stewart Cruickshank in 2006 wrote:

“The story goes that Aaron Forrest died of pneumonia in Dresden the county seat of Weakley County, TN. The DAR Cemetery books of Weakley county have listings of all the burials in Weakley county that have markers. There are only 3 Forrest's buried in Weakley County thru 1978 and Aaron is not listed.”

The following is a Union report from the Tennessee Civil War Sourcebook; (supplied by Joe Stout 2006)

(ca. April 13, 1864 - April 15, 1864 - Scout from Jackson to
Dresden toColumbus, Kentucky

HDQRS. OF THE POST, Columbus, Ky., April 15, 1864.
Capt. J. H. ODLIN, Assistant Adjutant-Gen., Cairo, Ill.:

CAPT.: I have a scout just in from Jackson, Dresden, and that line, and I have every reason to believe his reports reliable. He was employed by Gen.Smith and Col. Waring. He reports as follows: Gen. Forrest has two divisions-First Division, 3,400 strong, which is concentrated at Jackson, Tenn.; Second Division, 2,000 strong, concentrated at Dresden; 1,000 under Duckworth, from Jackson's command. Forrest said that a large force of our troops had landed at Pittsburg Landing, and that he was going to drive them back and across into North Alabama. The Second Division is said to be about to cross at the mouth of the Big Sandy into Middle Tennessee. My scout thinks their object is to get behind Chattanooga, somewhere about Winchester. Col. Aaron Forrest, brother of the general, died at Jackson on Thursday night last. Gen.'s Fitzhugh [Stephan D.?] Lee and Jackson, with 9,000 men, are reported near Memphis. I shall try and rebuild the telegraph between us to-morrow. All the small squads are ordered to join their commands immediately at Dresden, under Gen. Buford, who is on
his march there. I am, captain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WM. HUDSON LAWRENCE, Col., Cmdg. Post.
OR, Ser. I, Vol. 32, pt. III, p. 374. )

It may be that he died in Dresden and the body was taken to Jackson, TN or possibly he may have died in Jackson and not Dresden. This is a Union report so he would probably not have first hand knowledge.

[larry_cockerham]

Jesse Anderson Forrest (fifth son) b. 8 Apr 1829 Chapel Hill, TN d. 14 Dec 1890: Lt. Colonel of 20th Tennessee CSA Regiment. On March 10, 1862 he took command of Co. D in Huntsville, Alabama. He was reported in Ripley, Mississippi 23 Jun 1864. He was in Florence, AL on 21 Sep 1864 with the 20th TN before being wounded in Athens, Alabama siege 23/24 Sep 1864. He was in command of a bold attack on the steamer Belle of Saint Louis near Fort Randolph, Tennessee 27 Oct 1864. He served with the Army of Tennessee during the Tennessee Campaign and helped fight the rear guard on the escape from Nashville. He was paroled with his regiment at Gainesville, Alabama in May 1865. He was running a livery stable in Memphis Oct 2, 1877 as per Jack Hurst.

[larry_cockerham]

Jeffrey E. Forrest (sixth son):

He managed a livery stable in Memphis when the war began. On 11 Mar 1862 he was elected Captain of Co. C of the 7th TN Cavalry. He was in the center of action at the Battle of Ft. Donalson 13 Feb 1862.

The following was published in Jordan and Pryor’s The Campaign of Lt. Gen. N.B. Forrest and Forrest’s Cavalry: in battle at Fort Donelson at Dover “ several of Forrest’s best men fell in this affair and his brother, Lieutenant Jeffrey Forrest, at the lead of the squadron, having his horse hot under him, received a painful contusion by the fall, but nevertheless, kept the field to the last, severely as he suffered”. Jeffrey was shot through both thighs on Oct 1863 at Bears Creek, Mississippi. Jeffrey was ordered to West Point, Mississippi on Feb 4, 1864.

Colonel of the 8th Tennessee Cavalry, he commanded a Brigade in his brother Nathan's division at the Battle of Okalona, Mississippi 22 Feb 1864 and was shot through the neck and died when leading the charge. Born 10 Jun 1838 d. 22 Feb 1864 He was re-interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis in 1868. Jeffrey was born four months after his father’s death and was essentially raised by his brother Nathan.

[larry_cockerham]

From the history of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry:

In the same battle (Okalona), General Forrest ordered Colonels McCulloch's and Jeffery Forrest's (the Generals youngest brother) brigades to make an assault on the Union line. Colonel McCulloch was wounded in the hand and Colonel Forrest was killed with a bullet to his neck. Saddened and angered by his brother's death, Forrest and his escort charged the Yankee line. And Colonel McCulloch, seeing the danger coming upon his General, rallied the troopers near him as he waved his bloody hand in the air calling to his men, "My God, men, will you see them kill your General?" McCulloch and his men broke up the melee, but not before Forrest had personally killed three Federal troopers with his slashing sword. It is also known that the 2nd Missouri Cavalry served as General Forrest personal bodyguard. Upon being promoted to brigade commander, the regiment was then led by his cousin Lieutenant Colonel Robert A. McCulloch for the remainder of the war. Colonel McCulloch also served as the Division Commander in Forrest's Cavalry Corps whenever Brigadier General Chalmers was unable to command.

Forrest's Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 4th Alabama Cavalry Regiment, was organized with Julian's Cavalry Battalion as a nucleus on the 1st of June 1863. It was broken up on 11 July 1864 when four Tennessee companies were transferred to the 18th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment; four Alabama companies transferred to Warren's Cavalry Battalion; and one Alabama Company transferred to Moreland's Cavalry Battalion (Fancher's Company, subsequently Co. "E", Moreland's Regiment). Officers: Col. Jeffrey E. Forrest; Lt. Col. Dew Moore Wisdom; Adj. D. H. Halsey.

[larry_cockerham]

If there's an American family who put more of their energy, personal fortune and blood into the Civil War, I'd like to hear or read about 'em. Whether you agree with their personal characteristics, traits, or political beliefs, seems to me the Forrest brothers at least deserve a salute for their sticking to personal convictions. Any additions, corrections or suggestions for further information on these guys will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. The Forrest Boyhood Home near Chapel Hill, Tennessee is rapidly nearing restoration. Owned by the Sons of Conferate Veterans, it is a worthy candidate for your contributions and is certainly a place that produced a family of warriors.

[ole]

Originally Posted by larry_cockerham

If there's an American family who put more of their energy, personal fortune and blood into the Civil War, I'd like to hear or read about 'em. Whether you agree with their personal characterists, traits, or political beliefs, seems to me the Forrest brothers at least deserve a salute for their sticking to personal conviction. Any additions, corrections or suggestions for further information on these guys will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. The Forrest Boyhood Home near Chapel Hill, Tennessee is rapidly nearing restoration. Owned by the Sons of Conferate Veterans, it is a worthy candidate for your contributions and is certainly a place that produced a family of warriors.

And with that worthy endeavor, Mr. Cockerham, sir, I'll take it to heart and think about it some. Results pending. You made one heckuva good picture of NBF and I'm bound to study up some on what you've said.