General Nathan Bedford Forrest Vest Sells For Amazing Price.

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A vest belonging to General Nathan Bedford Forrest recently sold for over $33,000 at auction. It was purchased back in the 1980's from the Great Granddaughter of the general. The vest is made of a cream-colored cotton, with paisley boteh motifs worked in it with white silk. The vest is fully lined and reinforced inside with thin leather along the lower front. Measuring about 25 inches tall, it has six buttons down the lower front with broad, turned-over lapels above. The adjusting belt and buckle at rear are in place.

Just goes to show that Confederate items as well as Gen Forrest items still command a VERY high price.

photos courtesy of Morphy auctions
Forrest vest-2.jpg
Forrest vest-1.jpg
Forrest vest.jpg
 
Very neat!!! Thanks for showing it; I enjoyed seeing it. Other personally owned items of the general have brought similar high amounts in the past. I wonder who has his saber. I read an article several years ago in Blue and Gray magazine where it stated he had obtained it at a Union Depot after a raid in Trenton, Tennessee or Kentucky? He sharpened it to a razor's edge and supposedly used it several times in dispatching Union soldiers. If if recall correctly, there was a picture of Edwin Bearrs holding the saber along with another individual who I can't recall his name. Again this was a long time ago when I read the article but being a Forrest fan, I usually remember correctly stories associated to him. I believe the article said that the saber eventually belonged to a collector in Dallas, Texas, but I'm not sure of that. Would be good to know where it is and if not in the hands of a private collector, it would be neat to see it publicly displayed somewhere.
 
I wonder who has his saber.
Especially his original ... main most ... saber.
No doubt he used more than a few over four years.

I'm guessing his primary saber remains deep within a Forrest descendent's closet.

Shelby Foote often related the story of how hard it was to convince a Forrest relative to even let him hold Forrest's sword.

Shelby Foote ... being Shelby Foote ... ( to the disdain of the Forrest relative) started swinging the sword over his head.
The relative was scared he would damage the General's sword and everything else in close proximity.
That was a legitimate concern !

:bounce:

But it made Mr. Foote's day.
He sharpened it to a razor's edge and supposedly used it several times in dispatching Union soldiers.

That's a myth, ... it never happened.

Sure, there's no doubt he did make sure his sword was sharp ... but he never used it to "dispatch" Union troops.
 
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When did the general wear it? I would assume it’s very much post war. Could you imagine if it was worn during the war?!
 
When did the general wear it? I would assume it’s very much post war. Could you imagine if it was worn during the war?!
According to the letter with it it was worn late war.
 
I examined the Nathan Bedford Forrest vest today. Gary Hendershott thought the vest dated from 1865 to 1877 when he sold it in 1994. Our estimate of the vest is 1855 to 1859 due to the cut and paisley motif. Truthfully, it is hard to date a civilian vest and I don't know if they can document it was worn during the war, but either way, it is a fascinating piece and the only known surviving garment worn by Forrest.. The vest has sweat stains and what appears to be a couple of bloodstains and the owner hopes a lab will be able to extract DNA before it is sent to the conservator to prepare for display at the National Confederate Museum at Elm Springs to coincide with Forrest's reinternment. The documentation with the vest shows it was originally sold with the stars from Forrest's uniform he was buried in



Mike with Forrest vest.jpg
 
Is there a date set for the reinterment?
Last I heard late September. If they raise the ridiculous/suspicious-to-me $100k for it, which Camps everywhere have been sending what they can.

But I ain't got a Confederate Veteran Magazine all year to see immediate updates. Second year in a row I paid dues and not seen that worthless magazine. I ain't fighting for it anymore like I did when they started that with me last year.
 
I examined the Nathan Bedford Forrest vest today. Gary Hendershott thought the vest dated from 1865 to 1877 when he sold it in 1994. Our estimate of the vest is 1855 to 1859 due to the cut and paisley motif. Truthfully, it is hard to date a civilian vest and I don't know if they can document it was worn during the war, but either way, it is a fascinating piece and the only known surviving garment worn by Forrest.. The vest has sweat stains and what appears to be a couple of bloodstains and the owner hopes a lab will be able to extract DNA before it is sent to the conservator to prepare for display at the National Confederate Museum at Elm Springs to coincide with Forrest's reinternment. The documentation with the vest shows it was originally sold with the stars from Forrest's uniform he was buried in



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Thanks for posting this as it's an awesome piece of NBF history
 
My cousin married a lady in Franklin TN who is a NBF fan, she told me that when she moved to TN years ago, she had the opportunity to buy a home that had been used as a hospital and that Forrest had visited it, she said the home had poplar floors and "just imagine, Forrest walked these floors" but at the time, she was a recently divorced mother of two and she said the home needed a lot of work, she just couldn't swing it.
 
I don't think anyone has been re-intered as many times as Forrest. Must be a record. Where is his latest "temporary" resting place?
SCV Headquarters in Columbia, Tennessee. A good ways off from anything he ever knew, and right off an Interstate in a city quickly becoming a suburb of Nashville which is filled with most likely anti-Forrest Yanks and Californians. And the numbers keep growing.

Bad part is if they put him back where he was originally, or on the property of his boyhood home which the SCV owns he'd probably be left in peace. But the SCV is adamant with the new fundraising campaign they are bringing him "home" which is kind of a slap in the face.

He'll get dug up and his remains destroyed completely in around ten years after the SCV is done killing itself and they are to blame. But this thread is on this VERY interesting vest, not that heartache.
 
SCV Headquarters in Columbia, Tennessee. A good ways off from anything he ever knew, and right off an Interstate in a city quickly becoming a suburb of Nashville which is filled with most likely anti-Forrest Yanks and Californians. And the numbers keep growing.

Bad part is if they put him back where he was originally, or on the property of his boyhood home which the SCV owns he'd probably be left in peace. But the SCV is adamant with the new fundraising campaign they are bringing him "home" which is kind of a slap in the face.

He'll get dug up and his remains destroyed completely in around ten years after the SCV is done killing itself and they are to blame. But this thread is on this VERY interesting vest, not that heartache.
Thanks for the update !

One may love him or hate him, but this entire ordeal is an abomination.

I personally would rather see General and Mrs. Forrest be buried in an undisclosed location (once and for all) ... so that couple can finally rest in peace.
 
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I'm attaching a photo of the "stars" removed from Forrest's uniform when he was buried. They were sold in 1994 and I don't have a clue where they are now. I would truly appreciate any information on their current location. Tomorrow, the Forrest vest will be subjected to another examination to determine the viability of DNA extraction, etc. I hope to take some more photos tomorrow and will share them here.

As for the reinternment, I have spoken with staff at Elm Springs about the reinternment. While they are hopeful for this fall, I personally think it will be next year
forrest stars.jpg
 
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