[labard1]

I don't know where you read your history of Franklin, but I've never seen any historian who tagged that disaster to anyone but Hood. Forrest expressed his utter contempt for the way Hood threw away the lives of men who could not be replaced, and whose absence led to the total destruction of the army at Nashville (saying that if Hood were not a cripple, he'd thrash him). It is true that Forrest never had a large command, having raised his own several times from scratch. But for ratios of enemy casualties to his own, or for accomplishing ambitious goals when operating with his own (small) forces it's hard to think of anyone else in his league.

[XRdsRev]

I am not blaming Forrest for the debacle at Franklin but what I am saying (and I am not alone in this) is that Forrest's cavalry didn't perform in concert on this occasion. It seems that Forrest allowed one of his brigades to chase after Schofield's wagon trains while 2 of his other brigades pretty much just milled around east of the Harpeth making very little attempt to seriously threaten the Federal river crossing just to the north or to divert attention of the Federal guns in Fort Granger or to attack some of the Federal enfilading artillery east of the Harpeth. It was claimed later that his troops were short of ammunition which may be a credible defense but it seems like Forrest might have been able to do something more substantive during the infantry attack than trying to capture a few wagons (which he wasn't able to do anyway).

Forrest was a good commander but I certainly don't rank him as the greatest General of the Civil War. He was clever, a good fighter and an interesting guy but realistically, his impact on the overall war is too minor to bestow upon him top honors. Sure he effected some Union strategy and tied up thousands of Union troops because of his actions but so did John Mosby who was just a Colonel and who did so with far fewer men.

[BlueLancer]

"...Forrest expressed his utter contempt for the way Hood threw away the lives of men who could not be replaced, and whose absence led to the total destruction of the army at Nashville ..."

Oh, I'm going ever southward to tell my tale of woe,
I'm going back to Georgia to see my Uncle Joe.
You can sing about your Beauregards
Or talk of General Lee ...
But the gallant Hood of Texas
Sure played hell in Tennessee.

Shelby Foote, History of the Civil War
(song allegedly sung by survivors of the Army of Tennessee as they withdrew south after the Battle of Nashville...to the tune of "Yellow Rose of Texas")

That being said, I'm a Longstreet/Joe Johnston man ...
Maneuver the enemy around the field and then force him into a position where he has to attack you (Strategic offensive/tactical defensive)