Forrest Featured Nathan Bedford Forrest FIRST WITH THE MOST, Robert Selph Henry

I believe Forrest was briefly engaged in the US Army prior to the Civil War. Remember he was 40 when the war started. I don't have sources handy, but it should be easy enough to find. He had to earn enough money to pay for his transport back from Louisiana or the vicinity.

He was trying to get to either the Mexican War or the Texas Revolution? But got stranded around Houston or Galveston and had to either chop wood or dig ditches--something crummy--maybe build fence--to make enough money to get home. I keep thinking it was the Revolution. He would have been too old by the Mexican War and I'm pretty sure he was very young. Didn't he also get sick while he was there?
 
Do I remember 1846 for Mexican War when Lee went to Mexico? Forrest would have been only 25 or so.
 
That's what I'm unclear about. Forrest did go to Texas with a Mississippi regiment to help out with something but he would have been too young for the Texas Revolution and too married for the Mexican War. It was something that went on when he was about 19 or 20, because when he came back he had malaria and it took him almost a year to come back from that. That's when his uncle took him on in the livery business - he was 21 then. I don't know if this little adventure was with the dragoons or not. (Wills said he was a lieutenant in the dragoons, which was a militia unit.) At any rate, the show was over when they got there so nobody paid them, and he took sick. So, sick and broke, he ended up working his way back home. One tough kid is all I can say!
 
Thank you, Diane. I finally figured it out....this was about the time of the Santa Fe Expedition, 1841. Texas was feeling threatened, and there was an expedition to Houston. By the time they got there, the threat was over and they were stranded. Of course, by 1842, Woll was marching on Texas, but that ended up being taken care of.....
 
Santa Fe Expedition? All right! I'm glad a Texan is here - my knowledge of Texan history is really poor! :confused:

President Lamar (#2--Sam was #1) decided that Texans would someday need snow and turquoise jewelry, so he sent an expedition to take Santa Fe. Gee, the Mexicans (after San Jacinto, no less) didn't just cower and turn over all their art galleries and tourist traps, LOL....so they marched the prisoners back to Texas, most of which died on the way. Again, had Forrest gotten caught up in that, we might not be talking about him today. (Larry McMurtry included it in one of his Lonesome Dove prequels).....
 
He might have taken a sack of seed with him - seems there was some sort of promise of lots of land (tax and tariff free for 20 years) in east Texas for volunteers - that would certainly pique a poor kid's interest! Well, I found it was a local militia unit from Tippah County, Mississippi (Browning, Forrest: The Confederacy's Relentless Warrior). Lamar had disbanded the military by the time they got there in March. Bummer - no pay, no land. Wills says he was a lieutenant of dragoons - seems a high rank for his age but I'll bet it was largely because he was the biggest guy in the camp, with brains to go with the brawn. Really very interesting - Charles Lamar, nephew I think of Mirabeau Lamar, was involved in the incident of the Wanderer years later. It always surprises me how intertwined everyone was in that time!
 
At the time, very nearly every young man with older brothers was looking for a piece of ground he could call his. If that was in Texas or Nebraska, no biggie. A huggable sweetie to take care of him and he was off.
 
ole,

You're probably right. Wills thought Forrest wanted adventure, Hurst thought it was his love of soldiering and fighting but Forrest was always an ambitious fellow. If knuckling a few heads for the Republic of Texas would get him several hundred acres of prime land, well, land couldn't be cheaper! It's funny you mention the sweetie - he proposed to his wife the first date. Not much for poetry, flowers and boxes of candy he gave her his resume! I've got money in the bank, I'm working and I'm better looking than those two galoots I just run off - what do you say? Nothing like being direct!
 
Hehee. I can visualize him saying something exactly like that.

You got a better offer? Tell me who and where he is. Bet he's living in California next month.

Ole
 
It's very reminiscent of the scene in Sgt. York where he runs off the guy from his future wife's front porch. He sends her inside to get something (cider?) and then jerks the guy off, whacks him, and sends him on the way. When she comes back, he's the only one sitting there.....Yep.
 
Nathanb1,

Lol! I'm betting that's where they got it - love Sgt. York. They were the same smart-alecks who were laughing at her when her carriage was stuck in the creek. They were there because they'd overheard him make a date with the lady. And, they felt pretty superior - they were upper crust, he was the wrong side of the tracks; they were educated, he wasn't; why one of them was even studying for the ministry, he cussed and gambled - snicker, sneer - who do you think she wants to marry? (Small, quick ruckus.) That's when Mary Ann decided to come into the room - yes, indeed, I believe she already had her sights set on the man she wanted! Forrest made his pitch to her first thing. Glowering after those hastening forthwith from thence, he muttered if she picked one of them fellers she'd always be finding herself stuck in a creek somewhere! He said he'd come back in a week with a marriage license - he did, and I'll just bet he brought the whole wedding party, too!
 
All I did was attempt to write an inept review of an obscure book to answer Bama's question of my thoughts. I'm amazed at the responses from this group. Thanks.
 
I continue to read, trying to make out all them big words. I just read the chapter on Fort Pillow. I believe this is a fair account, no punches held and plenty of evidence and well documented. This is a good book on Forrest's actions in the war. Focuses more on battles than Hurst or Wyeth. Different perhaps, but a lot of good information thrown in that I haven't seen previously.
 
larry_cockerham,

The author seems to have come to the same conclusion Sherman did - a bad battle that got out of hand but on no orders from Forrest. (Such orders would be very much out of character.) I think he did lose control of his men for a while - there was a lot of hatred on both sides there which made it a very unusual battle for Forrest. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have had to ride between his men and the Union men with his sword in one hand and a pistol in the other promising to kill the next guy who fired a shot! He'd been known to do just that so they did stop. This author had a lot more material available to him than previous writers on Forrest - he has some good items in there!
 
I'm anxious to see what he does with Franklin and the retreat from Nashville. So far, so good. There is a full chapter on the klan, but I'm trying not to peek. I keep this book in my Jeep for when I'm waiting on the wife.
 
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