Memphis mayor wants to dig up Confederate General (and his wife!)

www.mediaite.com...

The "Kill the Confederacy 150 years after it died" movement may yet claim another victim; Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. At first glance it seems like a no-brainer I mean the dude was a slave trader before the war, was accused of massacring Black soldiers at Fort Pillow who were attempting to surrender and was the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan. The guy was uber-racist, right? Wrong. One simple fact will refute that idea - namely that when Forrest died he had even more Black mourners than White with some figures as high as 5,000 Blacks alone. Now WHY on God's green Earth would that many Black people bother to join a funeral procession for a man that hated them? Because it's obvious he didn't hate anyone.

After the war Forrest had a conversion to Christianity that was authentic. He had seen enough of war to understand peace and enough of division to understand conciliation. Forrest owned a railroad after the war and he employed Blacks as engineers and other good paying jobs. He made speeches to his fellow Whites stumping for voting rights for Blacks. The personal slaves he had before the war stayed on with him, sharing his home and caring for him as his health deteriorated. He used his fame and popularity gained during the war to help Black people find their place in American society. He should be hailed as a hero of civil rights, not demonized.

The story of Forrest is amazing. No braver man ever fought and he is recognized as a genuine military genius, perhaps the greatest ever produced in America. He was born dirt poor to a large family who lost their father when he was a young teen. Being the oldest male Forrest took over duties as man of the house and through trading slaves and horses became a millionaire by the time he was 30. When the war came he volunteered and spent his fortune to equip his fellow cavalry.

Forrest was always in the thick of the fighting, killing 33 men in personal combat. He was wounded badly several times and once stabbed by a fellow soldier he pulled the knife out of himself, chased the man down and stabbed him to death with it. He was no man to mess with.

While proficient at killing he went ballistic when anyone mistreated a horse or animal. As a slave trader he was known to keep families together, refusing the sell them separately even splitting from his business partner over the issue. He was reputed to have never mistreated a slave.

When the South surrendered the speech Forrest gave his troops is really quite moving and extraordinary in the tone of his pleading to go back to their farms and businesses and start over as Americans again. The Confederacy had lost, that was over and it was time to move on. "obey the laws and be good citizens as you have been good soldiers".

Due to space I'll leave the KKK and Ft Pillow parts for you to research for yourself. Just understand that he was a man with honor who would never allow the massacre of surrendering troops nor would condone violence against Blacks by the KKK. He was a man of his time, growing up in a world where slavery was normal and he took advantage of it to work his family out of poverty. When his state was being attacked he answered the call to defend it as so many men did. Forrest stands for many things: Military genius, restoring national unity after the war, civil rights leader, non-discriminatory business owner, Christian.

I pray these people learn who's grave it is they are trying to disturb and realize the error of their initial reaction.
May Forrest and his wife rest in peace and his place in American history returned to its rightful position.
He was a great Confederate and a great American.
The 2 were never mutually exclusive.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

People in hell want ice water...

originally posted by: Ultralight
a reply to: Asktheanimals

People in hell want ice water...

That may be true but it seems ignorance is a more pressing issue than thirst at the moment.
The reaction to the Charleston shooting has gone way beyond any rational bounds.

Dig him up for what?

To bury him again?



Dear oh dear.

He's dead and gone to what ever awaited him.

What point to this stupidity? Score some sick political points?

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Actually it is the thirsting and wanting that is precisely a pressing issue.

My Gran used to say "Want can be your Master." Want has become a thirst these days and Master of our present.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

He's buried in a prominent part of town.
There's also a large equestrian statue of him.
They want him moved out of town because of his association with the KKK.
It's the same with the klan as both political parties are - could you say either were the same organizations that stand for the same things today they did 150 years ago?
The original KKK was in response to carpetbaggers and Republicans buying up every political position around, not to terrorize blacks.
When the KKK turned violent Forrest denounced it and quit.

I always thought Lee was the best military mind the confederate had not that they were short, Stonewall jackson (shame how he died), Jeb Stuart, Francis (swamp fox) Marion to name a few. Not arguing with you but I had never heard of Forrest being renowned on the battlefield not to say that he wasn't, I was just unaware.

a reply to: seagull

His life is a fascinating read.
Its like some larger-than-life movie script of rags to riches, slave trader to slave hater.
I'm surprised he's never been portrayed in any movie, ever, possibly excepting Birth of a Nation.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Very good to read posts like these. I find it funny that I just recently finished reading a book where General Forrest was heralded as a hero by one of the characters; though, it never mentioned anything aside from his stint in the Confederacy. I don't claim to know the entire legacy of this man, but I have seen Poltergeist enough to know that you never mess with graves.

It's just poor taste, much like the Confederate flags I witnessed flying alongside roadways and on top of cars today. In my eyes, the mayor is nothing more than an animal. Sadly, he will probably go far in politics. Good read. S+F

a reply to: TrappedPrincess

lee was good, not great.

Jackson was great. But Forrest? Greatest cavalry commander in history, and the best general the South had.

North had a couple of great ones, too... Buford. George "slow trot" Thomas. Most of the rest were over rated. Grant. Sherman. Sheridan.

Conservatives seem to be a very un-american bunch.

From being infatuated with Putin to being infatuated with the Confederacy and Confederate generals.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

Absolutely.

I read about him first many, many years ago... Muckraking for the most part. But later I learned more about him from excerpts from diaries of those who knew him best. Remarkable man.

Cavalry genius, on a par with with Subatai of Mongol fame. There's a reason he's in text books at various War Colleges, he developed many of the tactics used by Cavalry/Armour today.

Yes. I'm a fan.

a reply to: Asktheanimals

One of the greatest ironies in American history was that the Ku Klux Klan was founded by a white man who cared about blacks.

And he was referenced in Forrest Gump and Tom Hanks played him briefly.

a reply to: starwarsisreal

...and when it was corrupted by others, he left.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton has called for the removal of the grave of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest from a city park, along with an attached memorial.

Nothing like desecrating a grave to score political points.

Or was Mayor Wharton pushing this proposal prior to the hullabaloo over the Confederate flag? No? Well then...

originally posted by: muse7
infatuated with the Confederacy and Confederate generals.

Brings to mind the Sons of South; Bill Clinton and Al Gore. And Bill clearly
elaborated as to why he kept the Confederate Star on Arkansas State Flag.
Can we expect to see Arkansas change its flag next? Will Hillary face scrutiny
about her allegiance to Bill? Will Bill Clinton repent?

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Wont be holding my breath.

Now on to the real world....Great read AKA, one of the best ever on ATS.
Amazing Grace...

a reply to: muse7

So, now it's "Un-American" to study historical figures?

How very progressive...

originally posted by: muse7
Conservatives seem to be a very un-american bunch.

From being infatuated with Putin to being infatuated with the Confederacy and Confederate generals.

Anymore than the Dixiecrats! Sorry, I mean Democrats.

Yay everyone keep on on the division of left vs right. Who cares about history!

PS a lot of the Anti Putins are Conservatives

Who cares left vs right! Rah rah rah!

originally posted by: muse7
Conservatives seem to be a very un-american bunch.

From being infatuated with Putin to being infatuated with the Confederacy and Confederate generals.

Every great historical person is flawed. It's called being human.

My guess is you are a flawed human as well...We all are, but we can still have respect for each other and our achievements as individuals and as human beings.