I voted other! Here's why:
Leadership. To me, it was the uniqueness of Forrest's character. There's a difference between people who can lead and people who are leaders. Those who lead can get the job done or as near to it as it can be done, they have the knowledge, the talent, the resources, the people - a good boss. But a leader, especially a military one, has to have much more. Personality matters, and character matters even more. Forrest did not lie, he was honest with his men, led by example. As he said in his farewell speech, he never sent his troops where he would not go himself. And, except for a couple cases where his superiors had other ideas, he did not. Decisions were made and kept. He would analyze the information from his scouts, collect all the data he could, sound his own mind and feelings. This was where his men would see him walking around in circles - literally! - with his chin on his chest. They didn't bother him - one guy who did got a knuckle sandwich. The general popped him without even looking and then stepped over him every time he passed him on his circle! Once the decision was made he was all in. Which brings us to another essential quality for a leader - passion. Forrest did not like the idea of secession or of war, but once the decision was made he was all in - blood and treasure. He never whistled Dixie, he lived it. Dedication to a cause he was willing to die for, and believed worth dying for, and worth the sacrifice of his men. There was also answering for his decisions. If he made the wrong one and his men paid for it, he owned the mistake. (Except at Tupelo - he said it wasn't his fight and it really wasn't.) There was fairness. Forrest was demanding and required much of his troops but they understood why in the results, which were largely victories. His men trusted him. When they were in a real scrape, they'd say, "Ol' Bedford will figure a way out of this." He usually did. Empathy was another - he did his best to look out for his people and wouldn't fight a battle if he felt too many of them would be lost for too little gain. Overall, they saw that their commander did not require any more of them than he required of himself, and that was a lot. Inspiration came from all these necessary requirements coming together. Forrest's troops would fight for him if nothing else. At Okolona, the Federals outnumbered the Confederates and were aligned for a charge. Forrest, wearing a uniform coat with his dead brother's blood all over it, rode down the line of his cavalry. He looked each man in the eye and quietly said, "Hold this line for me." Each nodded. And they did it. His physical presence on a battlefield changed everything. This personal charisma was why Sherman all but put a price on Forrest's head - no other cavalryman on either side had that dubious honor!
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