Another interesting tidbit about Forrest. He enlisted 42 slaves to serve in his Cavalry unit. He equipped them with horses and guns and promised to emancipate them at war’s end. 41 of those 42 stuck with him throughout the war. Obviously, with horses and guns they could have left practically any time.
He took leave from his unit to go file the papers and emancipate them all during the war. When asked why he did so, he answered that he was worried he would be killed and wanted to make sure he kept his word to them. Seriously, read his congressional testimony. Its fascinating.
http://www.flatfenders.com/scv/Forrest%20Defense.htm
He must have been a very charismatic man to rise from abject poverty to wealth....from private to general....to have a whole troop of slaves show such loyalty to him - and he to them.
FWIW, I am NOT a “Lost Causer” but I admire Nathan Bedford Forrest. He struck me as an uncommonly honest man. He was a product of his times but, by the end, was supporting freedom, voting and employment by blacks. He also became a Christian shortly before his death.
One of his horses, however, continued to bite anyone wearing blue for years after the war....
;>)
ALL men are imperfect. We need to learn to admire the good and rejoice that an imperfect man may still be a good one! If we cannot admire the good in men with some bad, we can never challenge ourselves to rise above OUR faults and aspire to be better!