Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest. . , Nathan Bedford Forrest was born in Bedford County Tennessee, July 13, 1821. He was the eldest of nine children born to William and Mariam Beck Forrest. At the age of sixteen, Forrest took on the responsibilities of providing for the family after the death of his father. In 1845 he married Mary Ann Montgomery; they had two children, but only one, William, lived to adulthood. From this beginning Forrest became a self-made millionaire through various business ventures. Much of his wealth would be used to equip troops recruited by him in the war effort against the north. On April 15, 1861, Abraham Lincoln issued a call for troops to invade the South and force the states which had seceded back into the Union. In response, Forrest joined the confederate Army on June 14, 1861. One month shy of his fortieth birthday. He was the only recruit on either side to enlist as a private and rise to the rank of Lt. General. Forrest often defeated larger Union forces led by career officers, and he was often in the thick of the fight. He had twenty-nine horses shot out from under him. He was wounded four times, and is reported to have killed 30 men in hand-to-hand combat. His only defeat was in defense of Selma, on April 2, 1865. In his farewell address, he said, "I have never on the field of battle sent you where I was unwilling to go myself, nor would I now advise you to a course which I felt myself unwilling to pursue." He urged his men to be "good citizens" and to preserve their honor. After the war Forrest helped support widows and orphans of the ones who served under his command. Forrest died October 29, 1877. He and his wife are buried at Elm Springs, SCV Headquarters, Columbia Tennessee.