Joe, you’re a more forgiving man then me. What if the South had prevailed? How would history have judged Forrest?
Anyone can easily see the world today would be vastly different, had the Confederacy won.
For one thing, slavery would have an impregnable global strong-hold against the world-tide of abolitionism, and may well have survived in some form indefinitely.
Under such conditions Forrest's Civil War role would be considered relatively minor, just as it is today.
But Forrest is noteworthy today for his obvious change of heart by 1875, a change which would not likely come about if the Confederacy won the war.
Btw, long-term readers of these threads know there's more to this old story about my great-grandfather's unit (119th Illinois volunteers) and Forrest.
In my opinion, Forrest saved my great grandfather's life at Dyer Station (Tennessee) in October, 1862, and in return my ggf's unit saved Forrest's life at Tupelo in July 1864.
So I hold no animosity for Forrest, if he had not been the kind of man he was, I could well not be here.