Saturday, April 16, 2011

Nathan Bedford Forrest



Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of the greatest, if not the greatest military commander of the civil war. With no formal military education - or any formal education for that matter - he developed some of the most innovative cavalry tactics and planned some of the most complicated strategic attacks seen in the war.

Beware reading the Wikipedia entry about Forrest - it makes him out to be one of the founders of the KKK. He was an early member, but moved to disband the group after it became too violent. It also indicates he was involved in killing a number of black Union troops at Fort Pillow - but an investigation ordered by General Grant and conducted by General Sherman, found no indication that Forrest was responsible for the actions of some of the troops - and according to Forrest post-war, he stopped the massacre.

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