"After all, I think Forrest as the most remarkable man our 'Civil War' produced on either side.”
It’s been reported that the Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans wants to sponsor a series of state-issued license plates to mark the 150th anniversary of the "War Between the States" including one honoring Gen. Forrest.
Some are urging Governor Barbour to deny this request because they believe Forrest led the Ku Klux Klan after the War Between the States. General Forrest not only denied being a member but was in fact responsible for getting the KKK disbanded.
Some even falsely blame Forrest for the Fort Pillow Massacre even though a Union investigation cleared him. Forrest's speech during a meeting of the "Jubilee of Pole Bearers" is a story that should be told. Gen. Forrest was the first white man to be invited by this group which was a forerunner of today's Civil Right's group. A reporter of the Memphis Avalanche newspaper was sent to cover the event that included a Southern barbeque supper.
Miss Lou Lewis, daughter of a Pole Bearer member, was introduced to Forrest and she presented the former general a bouquet of flowers as a token of reconciliation, peace and good will. On July 5, 1875, Nathan Bedford Forrest delivered this speech:
"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.)
End of speech.
Nathan Bedford 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.
The State of Mississippi should approve the Forrest plate.
PC will not allow any honor towards Nathan Bedford Forres to go further, The governor is afraid that this will be used as ammunition against him as racist rhetoric.
General “Git thar fustest wid tha mostest” Forrest.
ping
Hasn't Barbour come out recently saying that he would veto the legislation authorizing the plate?
This is an issue drawn up by the liberal MSM to smear Haley Barbour. Forrest was a TENNESSEAN. The plate would have to be approved by the Mississippi Senate and House before it gets near the governor. The SCV has not stated that Forrest would be one honored. The proceeds will go to maintain and repair Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’ home. The entire thing was cooked up by liberals to put Barbour between a rock and a hard place.
Bottom line - Barbour said he doesn't think Mississippi legislators will approve the Forrest license plate but declines to denounce it.
LtGen Forrest will always remain in the hearts of those who love freedom and the Constitution. Shiloh, Fallen Timbers, Brice’s Crossroads, Chickamauga, Fort Donelson. Freedom was dear to him and he paid the price a thousand times. It is heartening that in these darkling times we now confront, we can look to Forrest and his kind.
“War is about fightin’, and fightin’ means killin’.” The essence of war distilled in one sentence. One of the greatest self-taught soldiers in history.
Soldiers: The old campaign is ended, and your Commanding General deems this an appropriate occasion to speak of the steadiness, self-denial and patriotism with which you have borne the hardships of the past year. The marches and labors you have performed during that period will find no parallel in the history of this war.
On the 24th day of December, there were three thousand of you, unorganized and undisciplined, at Jackson, Tennessee, only four hundred of whom were armed. You were surrounded by fifteen thousand of the enemy, who were congratulating themselves on your certain capture. You started out with your artillery, wagon trains, and a large number of cattle, which you succeeded in bringing through, since which time you have fought and won the following battles -- battles which will enshrine your names in the hearts of your countrymen, and live in history, an imperishable monument to your prowess:
Jack's Creek, Estinaula, Summerville, Okalona, Union City, Paducah, Fort Pillow, Bolivar, Tishomingo Creek, Harrisburg, Hurricane Creek, Memphis, Athens, Sulphur Creek, Pulaski, Carter's Creek, Columbia, and Jacksonville are the fields on which you won fadeless immortality.
For twenty-six days from the time you left Florence, on the twenty-first of November, to the twenty-sixth of December, you were constantly engaged with the enemy, and endured the hunger, cold and labor incident to that arduous campaign without a murmur.
To sum up, in brief, your triumphs during the past year, you have fought fifty battles, killed and captured sixteen thousand of the enemy, captured two thousand horses and mules, sixty-seven pieces of artillery, four gunboats, fourteen transports, twenty barges, three hundred wagons, fifty ambulances, ten thousand stand of small arms, forty blockhouses, destroyed thirty-six railroad bridges, two hundred miles of railroad, six engines, one hundred cars, and fifteen millions dollars worth of property.
In the accomplishment of this great work, you were occasionally sustained by other troops, who joined you in the fight, but your regular number never exceeded five thousand, two thousand of whom have been killed or wounded, while in prisoners you have lost about two hundred.
Source: The Galveston Daily News, March 15, 1865
One hell of a man!
“No Damned Man Kills Me and Lives!”
The Forrest - Gould Affair
http://www.tennessee-scv.org/fg.htm
AyUff Haley Barbour
and I’ve met him