Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest Reinterment

Glad you like my pics..! I took very few pics at the service. It just wasn't appropriate to be snapping photos while the service was being conducted. There were several speakers, including two preachers. The service itself was advertised as approx 45 minutes. It went double that. No shock when I saw who the last preacher was....lol. He spoke at an event of ours back in April :cool:

Lots of people were convinced the rain stoppage was Divine Providence. The first preacher said, he has done a number of dedication services at Confederate Graves over the years, & that every single one of em..... the rain stopped long enough for the service. On the day of (Sat), our hotel was 9 miles from HQ. We literally got drenched on the way there. Couple of our guys wanted to buy umbrellas so we stopped at Dollar General on the way. Here's a pic from that moment...

View attachment 415007

Right before we pulled in to HQ (30-40 min early), it stopped raining. An hour or so after, it rained again....lol. Then all day Sunday.

Yeah man... being able to hold that coin, & stone was amazing. That picture was taken on Friday. Gen Forrest & his wife, were laying in state, inside Elm Springs. The fellas in my group all held it (up to our hearts), before it was taken & placed with the General. It was hard to describe how that felt. Honored would be my best choice of words.

I've shared all the relative pictures. Everything else I have is just road pics of the fellas, & the rest of our journey. Some of which aren't appropriate to share here. :laugh: :cool:
I lack the words.....
 
Give em time.... :wink: That's an expensive endeavor.
No doubt !
Are there any new photos of their gravesite ?

Current search engines only seem to show Ku Klux Klan articles regarding any NBF search.
I'm guessing more new algorithms ?

I'll shut-up before my question devolves into modern politics.
 
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So I asked my commander about it. Some were kin to Forrest while the rest were officers belonging to the Mech Cav.
Thanks !

No doubt the General would be humbled to know so many people attended their third (and hopefully final) reinterment.
But I say again, Forrest probably looked down and had a "Mona Lisa" grin on his face ... when he first learned the SCV has a Mechanized Cavalry Unit.
 
I agree it would have indeed been an honor.. Who were the pallbearers and how were they chosen?

So I asked my commander about it. Some were kin to Forrest while the rest were officers belonging to the Mech Cav.

Depending on the time, there were different sets. I believe that you (Johnny Reb) are correct when it comes to the pallbearers who carried the caskets into Elm Springs on Friday morning.

As for those who are officially listed on the reinterment program, here y'all go...

Pallbearers for Gen. Forrest were the following SCV officials:
- SCV Commander-in-Chief (CiC)
- SCV Lt. Commander-in-Chief
- 5 Past SCV Commanders-in-Chief
- SCV Executive Director

Pallbearers for Mrs. Forrest were the following SCV officials:
- SCV Army of Trans-Mississippi Commander
- SCV Army of Tennessee Commander
- SCV Army of Tennessee Councilman
- SCV Chief of Heritage Operations
- SCV Adjutant-in-Chief
- SCV Judge Advocate-in-Chief
- SCV Chaplain-in-Chief
- Chief of Staff to the CIC
- 1 Past Chief of Staff to the CiC
- 1 SCV Past Commander-in-Chief
- 1 Past SCV Executive Director

(I originally posted images from the program, which included the names of these individuals, not thinking that it could possibly be considered "doxxing;" I apologize for that.)


(NOTE: Due to threatening weather, the caskets were taken back into the Elm Springs mansion after the service. The actual reburial - lowering of the caskets and closing of the graves - took place after the crowds were gone and the property had been closed to the average member; some of those listed as pallbearers above had presumably already left the property by the time the actual reburial occurred, because I know of at least one or two who are not listed that were among the FINAL group of pallbearers.)
 
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I think it's ridiculous that he wasn't reinterred in an actual cemetery. That's the only place casket burials should take place, especially reinternments.
I don’t understand why he was exhumed and moved the first time. As I understand it, his will was quite clear about where he wanted to be buried. Apparently the general’s wishes weren’t good enough for his admirers.

Hopefully his bones can rest in this new spot.
 
I don’t understand why he was exhumed and moved the first time. As I understand it, his will was quite clear about where he wanted to be buried. Apparently the general’s wishes weren’t good enough for his admirers.

Hopefully his bones can rest in this new spot.

The quick answer is that his son thought it would be a good idea.
" More honorable " and such, if they had their own spot in a Memphis park dedicated to their memory.

There are many discussions about this within the Forrest forum.
Our retired Forrest expert diane's comment:

Willie Forrest didn't think he was doing the wrong thing by okaying the transfer of his parents to a large, beautiful park where they would rest with great honor in the permanent eye of the city. He was in his late 60s, a time when one begins to do a lot of reflecting on the past, and he believed his father had gotten the dirty end of the stick after the war and had been unfairly and unjustly tarnished. So, when he was presented with the opportunity to accord his father honors, he saw no reason not to! Seemed like the right thing to do in the Memphis of 1905. Now...he probably should have gone to his father's grave and sat there until his dad spoke up about it! Forrest had made peace with his world and his place in it, and all he wanted was to rest from a violent life with his troopers and his family. People referred to him as 'general' but he referred to himself as 'just Forrest'! As far as he was concerned, a simple little marker with that on it would have been fine.
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/forrest-statue-in-memphis-handed-over-to-scv.166507/page-2

And another thread:

 
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The quick answer is that his son thought it would be a good idea.
" More honorable" and such, if they had their own spot in a Memphis park dedicated to their memory.

There are many discussions about this within the Forrest forum.
Our retired Forrest expert diane's comment:


https://civilwartalk.com/threads/forrest-statue-in-memphis-handed-over-to-scv.166507/page-2

And another thread:

Thanks! I’ll read through these.
 
Thanks !

No doubt the General would be humbled to know so many people attended their third (and hopefully final) reinterment.
But I say again, Forrest probably looked down and had a "Mona Lisa" grin on his face ... when he first learned the SCV has a Mechanized Cavalry Unit.
I can just see him grinnin' ear to ear at that!
 
But I say again, Forrest probably looked down and had a "Mona Lisa" grin on his face ... when he first learned the SCV has a Mechanized Cavalry Unit.
Their caskets arrived on Friday. When they entered Elm Springs, the pathway in, was lined with Mechanized Cavalry members.

oL_VZILaXEufg?cn=THISLIFE&res=medium&ts=1634819567.jpg


The fellas carrying the caskets on this day were all officers in the Mech Cav. They were led by ladies of, The Society of the Black Rose, which is an offshoot of, The Order of Confederate Rose. The OCR is a support group to the SCV.

59oV2we_kMG9A?cn=THISLIFE&res=medium&ts=1634819576.jpg
 
Their caskets arrived on Friday. When they entered Elm Springs, the pathway in, was lined with Mechanized Cavalry members. View attachment 419047 The fellas carrying the caskets on this day were all officers in the Mech Cav. They were led by ladies of, The Society of the Black Rose, which is an offshoot of, The Order of Confederate Rose. The OCR is a support group to the SCV. View attachment 419048
Great pics, thanks for sharing. I hope now they can be left to rest in peace.
 
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