Nathan Bedford Forrest
Confederate general, cavalry tactician, and first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan
Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, where he became known for his aggressive cavalry tactics and his unusual rise from private to general. After the conflict ended, he became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction.
Before the war, Forrest built a large fortune through horse and cattle trading, real estate, and cotton plantations. He also ran a slave jail in Memphis and was directly involved in the interstate slave trade. In June 1861, after the Civil War began, he joined the Confederate Army. He was one of the few soldiers to enlist as a private and reach the rank of general without any prior military training. As a cavalry leader, he commanded a corps and developed new methods for mobile warfare, earning the nickname "The Wizard of the Saddle." He used his cavalry as mounted infantry and often placed artillery at the front of attacks, helping to change cavalry tactics.
In April 1864, at the Battle of Fort Pillow, Confederate forces under Forrest’s command killed many Union troops after the fort had effectively stopped resisting. Most of the dead were Black soldiers. Northern newspapers and congressional investigations at the time blamed Forrest. Later historians have disagreed about whether the killings resulted from direct orders, a loss of control during the assault, or racialized practices within the Confederate army.
Forrest joined the Ku Klux Klan in the fall of 1866 and was elected its first Grand Wizard in the spring of 1867. The Klan was a secret network of groups across the post-war South that threatened, assaulted, and murdered politically active Black people and their allies. During Forrest’s time as Grand Wizard, Klan groups across the South used violence and intimidation to suppress Black political participation in the 1868 elections, though historians disagree about how much direct control Forrest had over local operations. In 1869, Forrest expressed disappointment with what historians describe as the Klan’s campaign of racial terror and its lack of centralized discipline. He issued a letter ordering the Klan to dissolve and destroy its costumes, then left the organization. Later, he denied ever being a member. In the 1870s, he twice made statements supporting racial harmony and Black dignity, possibly because he had two biracial children. In his final years, he served on a railroad board and farmed President’s Island using convict labor. He died of illness in 1877 at age 56.
Forrest was born on July 13, 1821, to William and Miriam Forrest, a poor settler family living in a frontier cabin near Chapel Hill, Tennessee. His father was of English descent; most biographers say his mother was Scotch-Irish, though a Tennessee Genealogical Society article claims she was also English. He and his twin sister Fanny were the oldest of twelve children. Their great-grandfather Shadrach Forrest moved from Virginia to North Carolina between 1730 and 1740, and both his son and grandson were born there. The family moved to Tennessee in 1806, and William died there the year before Nathan was born. The Forrests lived in a one-room log house with a loft and no windows from 1830 to 1833. In 1834, the family moved to Salem, Mississippi. When his father died in 1837, Nathan became the family’s primary caretaker at age 16. In 1841, he went into business with his uncle Jonathan Forrest in Hernando, Mississippi. In 1845, his uncle was killed there by the Matlock brothers during an argument. In retaliation, Forrest shot and killed two of them with a two-shot pistol and wounded two others with a borrowed knife. One of the brothers later served under Forrest during the Civil War. Forrest’s early businesses included a livery stable, a stagecoach line, and a brickyard. He became known as a Memphis speculator and Mississippi gambler.
In 1858, Forrest was elected a Memphis city alderman as a Southern Democrat and served two terms. He bought two large cotton plantations in Coahoma County, Mississippi, and a half-interest in an Arkansas plantation in 1859. By October 1860, he owned at least 3,345 acres in Mississippi and several cotton plantations in West Tennessee. When the Civil War began in 1861, he was one of the wealthiest men in the South, with a personal fortune he claimed was worth $1.5 million. Forrest stood 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighed about 180 pounds, rarely drank, and did not use tobacco. He was known as a tireless rider and skilled swordsman. Union Army Captain Lewis Hosea described him as having a "striking and commanding presence." Forrest was generally mild-mannered, but his demeanor changed drastically when provoked. Though not formally educated, he could read and write.
- born
- July 13, 1821
- died
- October 29, 1877
- field
- Military, slave trading, Ku Klux Klan leadership
- nationality
- American (Confederate)
- known_for
- Confederate cavalry tactics, Battle of Fort Pillow, first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan
Lore & Background
Before the Civil War, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a horse and cattle trader, real estate broker, and cotton plantation owner, and was also directly involved in the interstate slave trade, including operating a slave jail in Memphis. In June 1861, shortly after the Civil War began, Forrest enlisted in the Confederate Army. He became one of the few soldiers during the war to enlist as a private and be promoted to general without previous military training. An expert cavalry leader, Forrest was given command of a cavalry corps and established new doctrines for mobile forces, earning him the nickname 'The Wizard of the Saddle'. He used his cavalry troops as mounted infantry and often deployed artillery as the lead in battle, helping to 'revolutionize cavalry tactics'. In April 1864, at the Battle of Fort Pillow, Confederate forces under Forrest's command killed a large number of Union troops after the fort had effectively ceased resistance, most of them black soldiers. Contemporary Northern newspapers and congressional investigations held Forrest responsible, while later historians have differed over whether the killings resulted from explicit orders, loss of control during the assault, or racialized battlefield practices within the Confederate army. Forrest joined the Ku Klux Klan in the fall of 1866, and was elected its first Grand Wizard in the spring of 1867. During his tenure as Grand Wizard, Klan organizations across the South used violence and intimidation to suppress Black political participation in the elections of 1868, although historians disagree about the extent of Forrest's direct control over local operations. In 1869, Forrest expressed disillusionment with the Klan's campaign of racial terror and its lack of centralized discipline, and issued a letter ordering the dissolution of the Ku Klux Klan as well as the destruction of its costumes; he then withdrew from the organization. Forrest later denied being a Klan member, and in the 1870s twice made statements in support of racial harmony and black dignity (possibly because he had two biracial children). During the last years of his life, he served on the board of a railroad and farmed President's Island using convict labor. Forrest died of illness in 1877, at the age of 56.
Reader's Guide
Forrest was born on July 13, 1821, to William and Miriam (née Beck) Forrest, a poor settler family living in a secluded frontier cabin near the hamlet of Chapel Hill in Bedford County (present day Marshall County), Tennessee. His father was of English descent, and while most biographers state his mother was of Scotch-Irish descent, an article published by the Tennessee Genealogical Society asserts she was of English descent. He and his twin sister, Fanny, were the two eldest of twelve children. Forrest stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighed about 180 pounds (82 kg), rarely drank, and abstained from tobacco use. He was known as a tireless rider and skilled swordsman, with a 'striking and commanding presence'. He was able to read and write clear and grammatical English, though a poor speller. He was initiated into Freemasonry but did not progress beyond the Entered Apprentice degree. In 1845, Forrest married Mary Ann Montgomery (1826–1893), the niece of a Presbyterian minister. They had two children, William Montgomery Bedford Forrest (1846–1908) and a daughter, Fanny (1849–1854), who died in childhood. There are also reports from 1864 that Forrest had two children, Thomas and Narcissa, with an enslaved woman named Catharine. In 1858, Forrest was elected a Memphis city alderman as a Southern Democrat and served two consecutive terms. He purchased two large cotton plantations in Coahoma County, Mississippi and bought a one-half property interest in an Arkansas plantation in 1859; by October 1860, he owned at least 3,345 acres in Mississippi. By the time the Civil War started in 1861, he had become one of the wealthiest men in the Southern United States, amassing a 'personal fortune that he claimed was worth $1.5 million'.
Did You Know?
- Forrest was one of the few soldiers during the Civil War to enlist as a private and be promoted to general without previous military training.
- He earned the nickname 'The Wizard of the Saddle' for his innovative cavalry tactics.
- Forrest was a notable slave trader, considered one of the 'big four' traders in Memphis, and is believed to have sold thousands of slaves.
- His great-grandson, Nathan Bedford Forrest III, graduated from West Point and became the first American general to die in combat in the European theater of World War II.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"I am opposed to it under any and all circumstances, and in our convention urged our party not to commit themselves at all upon the subject." — Nathan Bedford Forrest "Regarding black voting, as quoted in Report of the Joint Select Committee." — Nathan Bedford Forrest "I never see a pen but I think of a snake." — Nathan Bedford Forrest "Every moment lost is worth the life of a thousand men." — Nathan Bedford Forrest
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