As usual, Wartie gets it wrong. Forrest did indeed praise the blacks who were part of his unit, but he never said they were "magnificent fighters," What he said, and what is often quoted in discussions of black confederates, is "Those fellows never left me...and better Confederates did not live."
Now note the ellipses there. It's very interesting that the vast majority of times that line is quoted, those ellipses are there. But what was left out? It turns out, upon some deeper digging, that what he said, in full, was "These fellows never left me, drove my teams, and better confederates never lived." So there it is. No magnificent fighters. No black cavalrymen riding alongside Forrest and shooting it out with the yankees. Just more teamsters and another Watie lie exposed.
So then, it is not my original post in #140 that you dispute as inaccurate, nor my statement that: ...and which included black Confederate veterans such as Forrest's wartime drovers and teamsters...?
As for how many were *just* Teamsters [I'm betting you wouldn't denigrate that trade to one of Jimmy Hoffa's lads face-to-face] I'd expect that they were indeed armed and likely rarely used arms; a wise commander does not engage the enemy with his supply train. But at least eight of Forrest's former slaves were among his personal and very armed escort, and those worthies almost certainly engaged in combat alongside the man who had 29 horses shot out from under him.
When the war started, Forrest asked 45 of his slaves (which he considered as servants) to join him, offering them their freedom after the war, no matter how it turned out. They all joined him and although they had numerous opportunities to desert him, 44 stayed by his side until the end of the war. In fact, part of his special command escort later called "the green berets" (ironic isn't it), consisted of the most elite and best soldiers available, and among them were eight black men.
--Dr. Gene Ladnier, author "Fame's Eternal Camping Ground