Forrest is a guy that I'd like to read and research more about because the conventional "wisdom" I always heard about him was his connection to the KKK and that he was some kind of racist boor. Thanks, I'll look into these two.
The Confederacy had 32 lieutenant generals and full generals. 29 were West Pointers; the other three were Richard Taylor (President's son), South Carolinian Wade Hampton, and a self-made man whose formal education spanned a whopping 3 months: Forrest.
He joined the army as a private, used his personal private funds to outfit his men, and became the only private to rise the rank of general.
Forrest was a master of the cavarly, fantastic as improvisation, and took care of his materiel, men, and horses. His Napoleonic tactics were unprecendented in the War and made the Union pay by "keeping the scare on 'em"
In an 1865 letter, clerk George W. Cables recalled General Forrest:
"Genl. Forrest is a hard worker. Every body about him must be busy. I think he calls for "them clerks" a dozen times a day. He attends to everything himself, sits and talks to every one, knows every one by name, boasts of his personal prowess to his captains, tells everything he intends to do, and tells the same instructions over fifty times in half an hour. When he dictates a letter or telegram he labors for good language, & takes many words to say but little. His brain, however, is as clear as crystal & he seems to think of a dozen things at once, & can keep an office full of clerks writing at one time. He is a tall, plainlooking man. . . . He is dressed in jeans, has iron-grey hair & whiskers, & abominates whistling."
Forrest’s speech to the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association July 5, 1875.
A convention and BBQ was held by the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association at the fairgrounds of Memphis, five miles east of the city. An invitation to speak was conveyed to General Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the city’s most prominent citizens, and one of the foremost cavalry commanders in the late War Between the States. This was the first invitation granted to a white man to speak at this gathering. The invitation’s purpose, one of the leaders said, was to extend peace, joy, and union, and following a brief welcoming address a Miss Lou Lewis, daughter of an officer of the Pole-Bearers, brought forward flowers and assurances that she conveyed them as a token of good will. After Miss Lewis handed him the flowers, General Forrest responded with a short speech that, in the contemporary pages of the Memphis Appeal, evinces Forrest’s racial open-mindedness that seemed to have been growing in him.
“Ladies and Gentlemen I accept the flowers as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races of the southern states. I accept it more particularly as it comes from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God’s earth who loves the ladies I believe it is myself. ( Immense applause and laughter.) I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man to depress none. (Applause.) I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don’t propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect whom you please; vote for the man you think best, and I think, when that is done, you and I are freemen. Do as you consider right and honest in electing men for office. I did not come here to make you a long speech, although invited to do so by you. I am not much of a speaker, and my business prevented me from preparing myself. I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment Many things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I’ll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand. (Prolonged applause.)”
Whereupon N. B. Forrest again thanked Miss Lewis for the bouquet and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. Such a kiss was unheard of in the society of those days, in 1875, but it showed a token of respect and friendship between the general and the black community and did much to promote harmony among the citizens of Memphis.
http://www.tennessee-scv.org/ForrestHistSociety/forrest_speech.html