Forrest Should Nathan Bedford Forrest be considered "a great general and an honorable man"?

Should Nathan Bedford Forrest be considered "a great general and an honorable man"?


  • Total voters
    50
  • Poll closed .
One does have to mention Brownlow's Tennessee when discussing what Forrest was thinking when he got involved in the klan. For example, the Democrats were in the minority in the legislature and rather than see the 14th Amendment passed by Tennessee, they decided to deny a quorum by not attending. That's fine...except Brownlow sent the sergeant-at-arms and a posse out to round them up, arrest them and sentence them to die by firing squad. He got them lined up and the squad shot into the air - but not before scaring the bejabbers out of them. Got them into the legislature by tying them up and carrying them in. They didn't have to vote just be there. Well, this is just an example of what was going on and why Forrest considered the regime of Brownlow to be illegitimate. I think he can be forgiven for thinking the inmate was running the asylum!
 
From what I've read on Forrest he was a brilliant cavalry commander but a horrid man and I don't think he started like that at all but success can change people especially self made people like Forrest they become aloof and full of themselves a pale shadow to how they started.

I'm not an expert of Forrest by any means to me he sums up the raw side of the CSA unlike Robert E Lee who brings the cavalier swashbuckling side to the CSA the romantic notion that every boy grows up with of the South outnumbered but fighting with honour and glory.

Nope Forrest was a horrid man in a horrid time who saw god at the end in the hope of some redemption imho.
 
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For those who voted No. Should General Sherman be considered honorable for the atrocities he and his men committed during his march to the sea.
 
For those who voted No. Should General Sherman be considered honorable for the atrocities he and his men committed during his march to the sea.

Well considering all the No voters were virtually all Northerners and those who voted YES were nearly all Southerners I find the poll inconclusive.

I thought you guys ended the Civil War in 1865 hehe.
 
For those who voted No. Should General Sherman be considered honorable for the atrocities he and his men committed during his march to the sea.
You seem to be unaware of the topic at hand. It is not meant to determine whether Sherman was an honorable man, but Forrest.
"Whataboutism" solves nothing and contributes nothing.

That said, You seem to be implying that Sherman was not an honorable man. You also seem to be making a direct comparison of Sherman to Forrest, would these mean you think that Forrest is also a dishonorable man?
 
Isn't there enough talk about Forrest being a member of the Klan?

No.

Isn't there enough proof he was not?

No.

There are links all over the web that state he was not a member.

Proves nothing. There is plenty of evidence he was a member and was actually its leader.


There are plenty of books on Forrest that state he was not a member.


There are plenty of books on Forrest that state he was a member and was actually its leader.


There are plenty of books that say he was?

Yes.

It all depends on YOU, we take in facts and/or information with our own filters.

It also depends on actual evidence, of which there is a good amount that says he was a member.


But in this case, the most liberal web sites state he was not a founding member, so what
does that tell us?

It tells us you think a person's modern politics are important in determining history.
 
Actually, it's not proven - and probably can't be unless someone discovers a long lost trunk in their attic - that Forrest was a member. Moot, though. They acknowledged him as a member whether he'd finished his oath and initiations or not. It would also be hard for him not to be a leader of anything he was involved in, just his nature to take charge. However, it's very important to keep in mind why he involved himself in such a group. Brownlow deserves points for standing up to the klan but he wouldn't have had a klan to stand up to if he had been the least bit moderate. Forrest deserves points for realizing he'd embarked on the wrong path, and for doing what he could in his position to correct his course.
 
If he was not a member, and not a leader, he would not have issued his order regarding destroying the regalia, nor would he have been able to, as some allege, disband the group.
 
If he was not a member, and not a leader, he would not have issued his order regarding destroying the regalia, nor would he have been able to, as some allege, disband the group.

I dunno! Did he? Morton issued the order in one place, Galloway published it in the Avalanche. Neither has the same wording. Forrest said he disbanded it in his testimony but it was pretty clear it didn't disband. There's some question as to whether the title Grand Wizard was a title of authority or a moniker denoting him by his war nickname Wizard of the Saddle. (It happens that they have an Imperial Wizard and a Grand Dragon but Forrest was the one and only Grand Wizard.) If he wasn't a real member he didn't have authority to disband but hoped many would do it. His authority may be derived only from his high status among Southerners.
 
I dunno! Did he? Morton issued the order in one place, Galloway published it in the Avalanche. Neither has the same wording. Forrest said he disbanded it in his testimony but it was pretty clear it didn't disband. There's some question as to whether the title Grand Wizard was a title of authority or a moniker denoting him by his war nickname Wizard of the Saddle. (It happens that they have an Imperial Wizard and a Grand Dragon but Forrest was the one and only Grand Wizard.) If he wasn't a real member he didn't have authority to disband but hoped many would do it. His authority may be derived only from his high status among Southerners.

Don't hurt yourself with all that bending and dancing. :smile:
 
There's some question as to whether the title Grand Wizard was a title of authority or a moniker denoting him by his war nickname Wizard of the Saddle.

I am curious about this Diane, when was Wizard of the Saddle first documented as a nickname? I have always, for the most part, considered it a post-war part of the, pardon the term, Lost Cause writing and memoirs. When and by whom was this used during the war or was it soon after?
 
Looked at the profiles I did say nearly not all , I was bored so had a bit of time hehe.
Thanks for your response!
It's a great day: I learned something new! I wasn't aware that responders to our polls were identified.
 
I am curious about this Diane, when was Wizard of the Saddle first documented as a nickname? I have always, for the most part, considered it a post-war part of the, pardon the term, Lost Cause writing and memoirs. When and by whom was this used during the war or was it soon after?

That's hard to pin down exactly but the best evidence suggests it was given to Forrest by Southern newspapers after his highly successful first Tennessee raid in 1862.
 
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