Forrest A Distant Thunder, The Making of Nathan Bedford Forrest

Moe Daoust

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Jun 11, 2018
I offer the following article on Nathan Bedford Forrest, which I wrote several years ago and which has never been published. Any feedback would be most welcome.




A DISTANT THUNDER
The Making of Nathan Bedford Forrest

Maurice D’Aoust​

HIS BRAVERY AND FEROCITY in battle are rarely paralleled in the annals of war. By some accounts he is reputed to have killed thirty men in hand to hand combat - one more than the number of horses shot from under him. Alone, surrounded and severely wounded, this Confederate rider on the storm once cut his way out of his predicament by hauling a hapless Yankee infantryman up onto the rear of his horse thereby creating a human shield against an ensuing hail of bullets. As for his wound, it proved to be but one of four he would suffer throughout the American Civil War. A master in the art of deception, he duped countless enemy commanders into believing they were up against superior numbers. Only after surrendering did his unwitting captives learn that it was they who had actually outnumbered their wily opponent. In all, he would be involved in more than fifty battles and engagements, all the while earning a reputation as an innovative, hard-fighting and tenacious adversary. His philosophy on warfare is best defined by two of his own maxims in which he emphasized the need to “get there first with the most men” and to then “keep up the scare.” Widely known as The Wizard in the Saddle and once likened to the Devil incarnate, his name was Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Without question, Forrest was the most gifted cavalry commander to emerge from the Civil War. What is most fascinating, however, is the fact that the one-time slave trader and plantation owner had never received any military training before the war. Where then did this gentleman from Memphis acquire such a genius for warfare? For that matter, where had he derived his near-legendary ferocity and daring in battle? Who was Nathan Bedford Forrest?

TO UNDERSTAND THE MAN we must first understand the times in which he lived. Nathan, along with a twin sister, was born to William and Mariam Forrest near Chapel Hill, Tennessee on July 13, 1821. The eldest of nine children, he was raised in the old Southern tradition wherein honor was held above all else. More than a mere word, honor was an essential aspect of Southern society throughout the nineteenth century. Bravery; integrity; physical prowess; the value of a man’s word; the respect of others; all of these elements combined to form the fabric of honor. Inexorably linked to a man’s self worth and manifested in his words and actions, honor went hand in hand with reputation. This was particularly so in a small backwoods community such as that in which Forrest was raised.
By all indications, Forrest enjoyed a Tom Sawyer-like childhood that was filled with frolic and adventure in a wilderness setting. There he learned to ride, shoot and hunt, all the while developing some of those less admirable though still essential skills necessary to survive in his rustic surroundings; skills such as fisticuffs, knife-play and eye gouging. It was also during those formative years that young Bedford, as he came to be known by his friends and family, began exhibiting an extraordinary fearlessness. Forrest biographer, Brian Steel Wills, recounts one instance in which the boy and his friends encountered a rattlesnake. Upon sight of the coiled serpent all, except Forrest, scurried in various directions. Perhaps angered at being deserted by his friends or simply refusing to allow his fears to get the better of him, Forrest picked up a sufficiently long and heavy stick and proceeded to club the snake to death. In another instance a then teenaged and fatherless Forrest set out, alone and in the black of night, to kill a panther that had mauled his mother. Putting his dogs onto the scent, Bedford eventually caught up with the ferocious cat, which had been chased up a tree by the dogs. Unwilling to chance missing his mark in the darkness, Forrest, though worn and tired from the chase, kept a vigilant eye on his prey until first light when he finally brought it down with a single shot. From these and similar incidents, it is evident that Forrest exemplified the then widespread belief wherein Southerners stood next to no other people when it came to courage.
In his book Southern Honor, Bertram Wyatt-Brown comments on how the roots to Southern courage can be traced back to the “Celtic Fringe,” a region comprised of Scotland, Ireland and Wales and from which Forrest’s ancestors had immigrated to America. In that “Celtic” tradition, bravery and the protection of one’s family and community were tightly interwoven. Forrest’s encounter with the panther is a prime example of the extent to which many Southerners would have gone in the preservation of that tradition. For him to have not ventured off after the cat would, in the eyes of his family and the community, have left a stain on his honor – a fate neither Forrest nor any other self-respecting Southerner would have allowed himself to endure.

IN 1837, FOLLOWING HIS FATHER’S DEATH, the responsibilities of providing for the family suddenly fell on Bedford’s shoulders. Apparently, the sixteen-year-old took his obligations quite seriously, often working the fields by day and toiling over domestic chores by night. Having been cast into a semi-patriarchal role, it was not long before Forrest’s leadership skills began to surface as he and the eldest of his younger brothers worked side by side, clearing new fields, planting and harvesting crops or tending an ever-increasing drove of livestock. Soon the family, then homesteading in the sparsely inhabited Mississippi wilderness, was prospering as never before. However proud he may have been of that accomplishment, Forrest’s zeal to succeed had been fueled by considerably more than a simple desire to provide for his family. Although not as clearly defined as in an aristocratic society, a pecking order of sorts did exist in the South, the slaves being at the bottom of the heap. Next to these were the poor whites, in which category Forrest and his family would have been included. Just as respect was due to those of higher rank little or none was given to those in the lower sections of society, it not being uncommon for the former to look down upon the latter with condescension. Such treatment Forrest, an extremely proud man, could never have endured.
If only one trait could be attributed to Forrest it would be determination. Some might even describe it as an unbending will that few could break him of once he had made up his mind on something. This and many more traits he would inherit from his mother, a woman of “great force of character, determination of will, and unusual courage. ” Given such a role model, it is not surprising that, rather than simply accepting his lot in life, Forrest would have become intent on raising his family from its menial status. Not satisfied with simply rising above his humble beginnings, he would later amass a personal fortune that, by today’s standards, would, have swelled into the millions. Evidently, Bedford saw, in himself, considerably more than an unschooled crop-farmer from backwoods Tennessee. So too was he bound and determined to ensure that he was perceived as nothing less than an equal amongst his contemporaries.

IN SUCH AN IMAGE CONSCIOUS, clan-oriented society as then existed in the South, it was inevitable that violence would have become a fact of life, especially within the confines of Forrest’s rustic surroundings. Even the slightest insult against a man’s integrity might bring on physical retribution. Fistfights, eye gouging and even murder, whose rates in some parts of the South were as much as twenty times higher than in the North, were daily occurrences. Prevalent as it may have been, violence had a peculiar way of finding Bedford Forrest. One such incident took place in March 1845 at Hernando, Mississippi where Forrest had recently moved to go into business partnership with an uncle. As it happened, the uncle had a number of enemies. The story goes that the nephew, while riding into town one day, happened upon four men who were then on their way to even a score with his relative. A brief discussion ensued and before long, shots were fired, one slightly wounding Forrest and another killing his uncle who’d been standing nearby. Drawing his own firearm, Forrest quickly felled two of his antagonists. As for the remaining two, they apparently lost their stomachs for the fight when confronted by the stalwart Forrest who, out of ammunition, was now brandishing a bowie knife. In yet another grudge-related altercation, Forrest and a lawyer friend – the focal point of this particular grudge – were ambushed as they were riding along an isolated stretch of road. Having killed the lawyer with a blast from his double-barreled shotgun, the bushwhacker then pointed his weapon at Forrest; the only witness to the murder. By then, Forrest had pulled his own weapon out and the two men became locked in an old fashioned Mexican standoff. Unnerved by his unflinching adversary, the would-be assailant eventually lowered his gun and withdrew, only to be arrested later. When word of these two incidents spread through Hernando, Forrest became a local hero and for the rest of his life men would know that, whether on a “point of honor,” in the protection of his family or in self-defense, Bedford Forrest was not a man to be trifled with. In the often-dangerous environment as then existed and in which a man’s survival might conceivably depend on his ability to defend himself, such a reputation was not entirely undesirable.

PRONE AS HE MAY HAVE BEEN to becoming embroiled in violent situations, Forrest seems to have gone out of his way to avoid them, relying instead on intimidation or boldness to settle altercations. This propensity first came to light during a dispute with a neighbor whose ox had been helping itself to the Forrest family’s crops. Unable to secure the neighbor’s cooperation in keeping the animal under control, Bedford warned him that he would shoot the beast the next time he caught it on his mother’s property. To this, the ox’s owner countered by threatening Forrest with like-retribution should any harm come to the animal. Some days later, the neighbor heard the sound of gunfire coming from the Forrest farmstead. Grabbing his gun, he rushed to the scene where he found Forrest, firearm in hand, standing over the dead ox. Although Forrest had warned him not to come any closer, the by now enraged neighbor started to climb over the split rail fence that separated their respective properties. Waiting until the man was on the top rail and in his most vulnerable position, Forrest raised and fired his gun, not so much intending to hit the neighbor as to put the scare into him. Shaken but unhurt, the neighbor fell back onto his side of the fence. Recognizing that it would be unwise to test his adversary’s resolve a second time the neighbor did not press the matter any further. From this and similar experiences, Forrest soon learned that by putting on a bold front he could, more often than not, succeeded in disarming an opponent of his will to fight and thereby avoid violence.

AT THE TIME OF FORREST’S BIRTH, slavery had been in existence for over 200 years in America. Throughout the Antebellum period alone, some two million human beings were bought and sold, representing as much as fifteen percent of the South’s staple crop economy. Clearly, slavery was big business and as in all businesses, so too did that peculiar institution encompass a variety of occupations including overseers, traders and even insurance brokers whose function it was to protect the traders against loss. In typical Southern fashion, Forrest had been raised to regard the slaves as chattels or commodities to be bought and sold. Such was the harsh reality in 1851 when Bedford, now married with two children, moved his family to Memphis, Tennessee. There he became involved in various business enterprises including the operation of a prosperous slave market. From our modern perspective it is easy to criticize Forrest for his choice of professions but in his world successful slave traders were generally regarded as important and respected members of the community; just as he himself was ultimately looked upon by his contemporaries. Contrary to the stereotypical image of a slave trader, Forrest was said to have treated his slaves in a humane fashion, “cleanliness, neatness and comfort being strictly observed and enforced.” The fact he was as successful as he was would tend to support this premise, for no trader with a reputation for selling unhealthy or mistreated slaves would have lasted very long in that highly competitive industry.


NO STUDY ON NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST would be complete without some mention of the controversial April, 1864 Fort Pillow Massacre. It was during this debacle that 229 Negro soldiers were killed, many reportedly after they had dropped their weapons and surrendered. A subsequent Radical Republican-led inquiry concluded that Forrest was responsible for the massacre, having supposedly issued an order to give “no quarter” to the blacks. The evidence supporting this charge is, however weak, if not suspect, being comprised entirely of hearsay evidence. However accustomed he may have been to killing in battle or in self defense, Forrest was not a cold blooded murderer and it is difficult to believe that he would have sanctioned let alone ordered such wanton bloodshed. For him to be directly responsible for such a vile and cowardly act would have stained his personal honor, something Forrest could never have tolerated. Needless to say, reading about the complex and often disturbing Fort Pillow affair requires a measure of objectivity.

BY 1860 FORREST WAS A successful and highly respected citizen of Memphis. As that year drew to a close, however, clouds of war were gathering when South Carolina seceded from the Union. Initially, Tennessee rejected secession, Forrest being one of those against disunion. Following the firing on Fort Sumter, Tennessee ultimately allied herself with the Confederacy and whatever his initial convictions may have been on the matter, Forrest now cast them aside and on July 14, 1861 he volunteered as a private with the Tennessee Mounted Rifles. Shortly thereafter, a group of Memphis citizens petitioned Tennessee Governor Isham G. Harris to give their revered townsman a field command. Harris concurred by granting Forrest a Lieutenant Colonel’s commission and authorized him to raise a regiment of cavalry. By the end of the war, he would rise to the rank of Lieutenant General.
Having given his oath to protect his homeland, Forrest would do so with the same dedication and determination as that which had driven him to protect his family. Some, such as Colonel Abel D. Streight, would learn precisely how determined Forrest could be in the defense of his fledgling country. In a scene reminiscent of the panther episode, Forrest, along with 600 Confederate horsemen, doggedly tracked Streight and his nearly 1,500 Yankee cavalrymen for five days before finally penning his worn and frazzled prey near Rome, Alabama in May 1863. Drawing from yet another of those lessons he had learned so long ago, Forrest then put on a “bold front” by surreptitiously displaying the same men and guns at varying locations so as to give Streight the impression he was surrounded and up against overwhelming odds. Completely duped, Streight surrendered without a fight. This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that Forrest used deceptive strategies as a means of avoiding bloodshed. Indeed, no other Civil War commander was more adept in the art of military artifice.
However much he may have tried to avoid violence, Forrest could and did apply it with a near-ruthless vigor when forced to do so. “War means fighting and fighting means killing” he once stoically remarked. Clearly, those violent environs of his youth had done much to harden him against the brutal nature of warfare. As a cavalryman, most of his fighting took place at close quarters and what killing he did do would have been done either with a double-edged saber, a pistol or a shotgun. Standing at a considerably above average height of 6’2 and weighing 215 pounds, he must have presented a terrifying spectacle to all who were unfortunate enough to come up against him. Even his countenance changed during battle. “His eyes, usually mild in expression, glared like those of a panther about to spring upon it’s prey,” said one of his subordinates. .
Just as he had toiled by his brothers’ side while working his mother’s fields, Forrest now fought alongside the men of his command, often at the forefront. Brave to a fault, he demanded much of himself in battle and so too did he demand nothing less from his troops who, it is said, had learned to fear Forrest more than the enemy. In many respects these same men who now fought by his side and with whom he often shared the same mess table, had become Forrest’s new-found family. As if resuming his familiar patriarchal role, he consistently strove to provide for them, just as he had done for his kin all those years ago. However much they may have feared his wrath, most of those who served under Forrest loved and respected him and would have marched to hell itself had he asked them to.
“In his early battles he was so disregardful of the ordinary rules of tactics, so reckless in personal exposure, that I felt sure his career would be cut short” wrote D.C. Kelley. It was not long before Kelley and others came to realize that Forrest’s supposed recklessness was “both in its result and his [Forrest’s] after-explanation of the reasons on which he acted, consummate generalship.” From his first engagement at Sacremento, Kentucky in December 1861 and throughout the rest of the war, Forrest employed a highly successful though unconventional approach to strategy and tactics that can only be attributed to his backwoods common sense. Using his natural instincts, he quickly mastered the use of flank attacks and became so successful at raiding behind enemy lines as to prompt the British military to study his tactics for years after the war. Mirroring those two Hernando episodes, he consistently turned near impossible situations into victories, often by doing what the enemy least expected. When later asked to explain his extraordinary martial abilities, all Forrest could offer was “I fought by ear.”
As the war drew to a close many, including William T. Sherman, were certain that Forrest would refuse to surrender and resort to guerrilla warfare. They could not have been more wrong. “Further resistance on our part would be justly regarded as the very height of folly and rashness” Forrest told his men in a final address. The same common sense that had guided him through those four turbulent years now told him that the cause for which he had so valiantly fought was lost and that it was time to go home and start putting the pieces of his life back together again. For Nathan Bedford Forrest, the war was over.

FORREST WAS NOT A product of the war as much as the war had simply served as a catalyst in the metamorphosis that was to transform him into one of the greatest military men in history. His rough and tumble youth; his backwoods savvy; an unshakable sense of duty and honor; his unbending will; all had contributed toward that transformation. Having risen above his rustic and unschooled beginnings, Forrest - possibly driven by that heightened sense of honor and its inherent reliance on gaining the respect of others - seems to have become equally set on proving himself an equal amongst his military peers by distinguishing himself on the battlefield. In the end he not only gained the respect of his men and superiors but that of his enemies as well. Even William T. Sherman, the man who had once derided the cavalryman as “that Devil Forrest”, would later concede, “After all, I think Forrest was the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side.”
A complex man, Forrest lived in even more complex times during which violence and slavery were a fact of life and just as we must strive to understand his times so too must we judge him within that context. Having done so, we can not help but to admire him for who he was, as well as for his wartime accomplishments.
 
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Having read most, if not all, of the Forrest biography works available, your article was very accurate and I enjoyed reading it. Revisionist history of Forrest has not been kind to him but I firmly believe he was one of the most interesting and exceptional figures in all of American history. Well done!!
 
Having read most, if not all, of the Forrest biography works available, your article was very accurate and I enjoyed reading it. Revisionist history of Forrest has not been kind to him but I firmly believe he was one of the most interesting and exceptional figures in all of American history. Well done!!
Thanks for your kind words. Obviously, I share in your view on Forrest. I would have loved to have met the man, unless it was in battle and I was wearing blue. You may also be interested in reading some of the other articles I've posted including Antietam: A Perspective.
 
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