Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest Reinterment

Viper21

Brigadier General
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Location
Rockbridge County, Virginia
For those unaware, the remains of NBF, & his wife, were removed from Memphis earlier this year. This past weekend, a funeral was held for them at what should be, their final resting place forever. They were moved to the Sons of Confederate Veterans' Headquarters, in Columbia, Tennessee.

The SCV HQ is a huge property, with a historic home (Elm Springs), & museum. Gen Forrest & his wife's graves are prominently displayed between the two. At some point in the future, his monument will be reinstalled as well.

For myself, this was a must attend, once in a lifetime event. So, I headed out on my motorcycle, with a few of my closest friends, & made the journey to Tennessee. From my driveway to HQ is approx 600 miles. What a trip...! Here's a few pics, & such of the event. I hope y'all enjoy em.



** Please respect the fact that, this is not a debate the character or, actions, of NBF thread. **

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This next pic is of SCV HQ in Columbia:

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This next picture is super cool. The stone, & challenge coin, in my hand, were buried with Forrest.

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At the conclusion of the service, there were three volleys fired. Here's one of them:


This is the last volley followed by the bagpipes:



It's really hard to describe just how awesome this experience was. The service was heartfelt, & respectful. Attendance was by invite only, & was limited. I'm convinced that they could've handled, & would've received tens of thousands of guests if they had decided to make it open to the public. There were approx 2,500 of us there. It was great to see some old friends, & just as cool to make some new ones.

Down the road, I hope that more monuments make their way to this destination. They certainly have the space for em. I believe the museum will be worth visiting again in the future. They have a lot of space to display artifacts, & such. It's still in the early stages at the moment. I know I will definitely go back at some point.

The journey there & back was epic. Anybody who rides would've appreciated that aspect as well. The rain sucked but, it's part of riding. If you never get rained on, it's because you don't ride enough :cool:
 
Thanks @Viper21 !

You uploaded that thread faster than I was expecting.

I hope you can share more from this event !

From my driveway to HQ is approx 600 miles. What a trip...!

Roughly a 1200 mile "round trip" journey (on a bike, in heavy rain) is almost impossible to comprehend.
But the SCV Mechanized Cavalry have always been the "special forces".

:smoke:


I found it interesting that the bad weather stopped during the funeral.
There were actually a few slivers of blue sky.

This next picture is super cool. The stone, & challenge coin, in my hand, were buried with Forrest.

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That's a bit more than just "cool".
You must have some very serious connections !


Anyway, thanks again!
And I hope you have more images to share.
 
Last edited:
Thanks @Viper21 !

You uploaded that thread a faster than I was expecting.

I hope you can share more from this event !



Roughly a 1200 mile "round trip" journey (on a bike, in heavy rain) is almost impossible to comprehend.
But the SCV Mechanized Cavalry have always been the "special forces".

:smoke:


I found it interesting that the bad weather stopped during the funeral.
There were actually a few slivers of blue sky.



That's a bit more than just "cool".
You must have some very serious connections !


Anyway, thanks again!
And I hope you have more images to share.
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...

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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:
 
Thanks so much for sharing the pictures and video clips. "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes - perfect. And holding the stone and coin that were buried with the General must have been amazing. A once in a lifetime experience for sure. Thanks again for sharing it with us.
 
Thanks so much for sharing the pictures and video clips. "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes - perfect. And holding the stone and coin that were buried with the General must have been amazing. A once in a lifetime experience for sure. Thanks again for sharing it with us.
You know, I forgot a pretty cool detail.

There were 12 Cannons present for the volleys. One of them was from Virginia. My group escorted it into Elm Springs/HQ. When we turned to enter the property, I started playing Amazing Grace (on the bagpipes) over my bike stereo. Everybody loved it. It was another super cool moment (of many) over the course of that trip.
 
You know, I forgot a pretty cool detail.

There were 12 Cannons present for the volleys. One of them was from Virginia. My group escorted it into Elm Springs/HQ. When we turned to enter the property, I started playing Amazing Grace (on the bagpipes) over my bike stereo. Everybody loved it. It was another super cool moment (of many) over the course of that trip.
The arty firing was awesome, Wish I could have had "The Lost Cause" there to fire.
 
When we turned to enter the property, I started playing Amazing Grace (on the bagpipes) over my bike stereo. Everybody loved it. It was another super cool moment (of many) over the course of that trip.
Did you know that "Amazing Grace" was going to be played later, as part of the service? Or was it just one of those moments of synchronicity that can't really be explained by conventional methods?
 
Did you know that "Amazing Grace" was going to be played later, as part of the service? Or was it just one of those moments of synchronicity that can't really be explained by conventional methods?
I didn't "know" per say, but it IS pretty common at events like this.

I've been to a number of dedications the last few years, & can't think of one that didn't have bagpipes play Amazing Grace. It's usually one of my favorite moments of the event.
 
Here's a couple pics a buddy just sent me:

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I'm so glad to see these images.

But still somewhat very sad.

A Second National Flag covering Bedford's casket, and a Protestant flag for Mary Ann's casket.
Perfect for a very spiritual daughter of a Presbyterian minister and a CSA General.

I'm also impressed that the SCV displayed both of their best portraits at the foot of their caskets.
 
I'm so glad to see these images.

But still somewhat very sad.

A Second National Flag covering Bedford's casket, and a Protestant flag for Mary Ann's casket.
Perfect for a very spiritual daughter of a Presbyterian minister and a CSA General.

I'm also impressed that the SCV displayed both of their best portraits at the foot of their caskets.
As their caskets were taken from Elm Springs to their resting spots, the Order of Confederate Rose ladies were carrying those photos.

I'm sure there will be a professionally done video of the whole thing out before long. There was a semi-professional camera crew there, as well as a drone that was filming. In my 2nd video of the arty volley, you can hear the drone as it was hovering behind me.
 
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