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n the issue I linked to in the Memphis newspaper does call the group the “Independent Order of Pole-Bearers” and doesn’t mention Association or International. So, you were correct in wondering about the title of the organization. Or did you make up the title you listed yourself?

I think it's made up, but it wasn't by me. Blame the Tennessee SCV

Of course since they claim it was a "predecessor to the NAACP" then that may not be the only thing that was made up.

But I have always respected your scholarship, rustbucket, and would like to ask you a question. I recently read Brian Steel Wills' biography on Forrest and he didn't mention the speech. I'm not aware of any other ones who mention the speech either. Why is that do you think?

Why is that do you think?

It humanizes him and damages the narrative about his founding of the Klan.

I think it's made up, but it wasn't by me. Blame the Tennessee SCV.

I clicked on your link to the Tennessee SCV. They called the organization the "Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association." The Tennessee SCV did not call them the "International Order of Pole Bearers Association" as you did in post 697. You were correct though to say that you didn't find any mention of the "International Order of Pole Bearers Association," as that was not their correct name. You can find mention of them on the web. Apparently their name was misspelling of "pallbearers." See Link.

I suspect you simply made a typo, typing "International" for "Independent."

I have enjoyed posting back and forth with you over the years. You sometimes bring up interesting pieces of history that cause me to think and research the topic. For that I thank you.

My two books on Forrest (Wyeth's and Lytle's) do not mention Forrest's speech to the Pole-Bearers either, but my two books very largely focus on the war with only a short chapter of what happened to Forrest after the war.

But I have always respected your scholarship, rustbucket, and would like to ask you a question. I recently read Brian Steel Wills' biography on Forrest and he didn't mention the speech. I'm not aware of any other ones who mention the speech either.

Apparently Jack Hurst's biography of Forrest [Forrest bio] does include the text of the speech according to some commenters on the following thread: [Scroll down to find Anonymous's [Cash] and Sean Dail's posts about Forrest's speech in a couple of books].

Interestingly, in that thread, Cash says that the book you mentioned, "Brian Steel Wills' biography on Forrest" does discuss the speech, but mislabels it and gives the wrong date for it. I don't know whether Cash is correct. You might double check the book you just read. And, apparently you need check the Hurst book as well before claiming no biographer mentions the speech.

rustbucket, doing the research that some others don't do

I found a book that contains Forrest's speech to the Pole-Bearers: "Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma", by Eddy W. Davison and Daniel Foxx (2007). [Link]. This is yet another book that contains the speech if my previous post referencing comments by others that Hurst's book contained Forrest's speech. I don't have Hurst's book so I can't confirm what the posters said.

The speech starts on page 476 of Davison's and Foxx's book. You can view the speech if you click on "Look Inside" in Amazon's page on the book (see my link above). Search on the word "Pole" and then go to the page 475 reference that comes up. Then scroll down to see the speech on page 476.