"Soldiers of the Seventh Tennessee Cavalry, Ladies and Gentlemen:
"I name the soldiers first, because I love them best. I am extremely pleased to meet you here today. I love the gallant men with whom I was so intimately connected during the late war. You can readily realize what must pass through a commander's mind when called upon to meet in reunion the brave spirits who through four years of war and bloodshed fought fearlessly for a cause that they thought right, and who even when they foresaw, as we all did, that the war must soon close in disaster, and that we must all surrender, yet did not quail, but marched to victory in many battles, and fought as boldly and persistently in their last battles as they did in their first. Nor do I forget those gallant spirits who sleep coldly in death upon the many bloody battlefields of the war. I love them, too, and honor their memory. I have often been called to the side of those who have been struck down in the battle, and they would put their arms around my neck, draw me down to them and say, 'General, I have fought my last battle and will soon be gone. I want you to remember my wife and children and take care of them.' Comrades, I have remembered their wives and little ones and have taken care of them, and I want every one of you to remember them also and join with me in the labor of love.
"Comrades, through the years of bloodshed and weary marches, you were tried and true soldiers. So through the years of peace you have been good citizens; and now that we are again united under the old flag, I love it as I did in the days of my youth, and I feel sure that you also love it. Yes, I love and honor the old flag as much as those who followed it on the other side; and I am sure that I but express your feelings when I say that should our country demand our services, you would follow me to battle as eagerly under that banner as ever you followed me in our late war. It was thought by some that our social reunions were wrong, that they would be represented to the North as an evidence that we were again ready to break out into civil war. But I think that they are right and proper; we will show our countrymen by our conduct that brave soldiers are always good citizens and law-abiding and loyal people. Soldiers, I was afraid that I could not be with you today, but I could not bear the thought of not meeting with you, and I will always try to meet with you in the future. I hope that you will continue to meet from year to year, and bring your wives and children with you, and let them and the children who may come after them enjoy with you the pleasure of your reunions."
N B Forrest, Sept 21, 1877. Speech from his last reunion with his men. He died one month later.
Source: Life of Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Allen Wyeth