New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-08

octave pp XXX 66 Harper & Bros
This ,s a notable addition TO the long list OF
Civil War biographies. The brilliant acheVe-
n,ents Of the great Confederate cavalry ieaoer
offer unusual materials for stirring narrauNe'
and Or. Wyeth has made good use OF MS oppo.
tun,tv The episodes OF FORESTS me'eoi'c
career are recorded with great completeness anu
IN a style that is always clear ana inttIes.i"e
"a ,reouentIy exceptionally graphic. What Is
A.,,er the book reveals vast amount OF pains
.aL,rx research and a clear desire to state .ne
800 .,..o~,co, truth II should be added also.
-. enough written from the Southern point OF
- q ,s almost wholly free from partisan pas
IT,, Forrest was designed by nature TO De d
"a, ganeral is the unanimous opinion OF 'he
mos, competent judges. For the par''cu'",
k,,s of warfare which Forrest had carried on
saia Grant neither army could present i''o.e
Effective officer than he" Still more ernpha''
,.a,se nv Sherman is quoted Gor the first time
,ye be,Ieve) by DR.. Wyeth (p. $3.50 as commuhi-
- o. him by General F. c. Armstrong
"Acer ALL" he is reported 10 have SAID l 'il,nn
Forrest was the most remarkable man our ~
war produced on either side' Al ~
,,ooo he was uneducated. while Jackson ana
sheridan and the other brilliant leaders were
- - ,~o,aes,on He had never read
,,u,,orv book in his life. knew notning ABOUT
80. could not even drill company put ne
-, genius for strategy which was original
- a. mo inoomprehensibe. There was no
-. nv art OF war by which could calculate
NTH any degree OF certainty what forrest was
an 70 He seemed always 10 know what was
ao,ng or intended 10 do while am Tree " eo'
,... could never tell or form any sausla0'oi!
tdea ~ what he was trying 10 accoinPI'
Lord Wolseley's judgment is TO the same en-
-. -. other opinion-General Joseph t.
,oh,,ton a most competent Judge is reported
a. have said tina. had Forrest had 'ne auFaH
,aee- Of a thorough military education ana
,-.,r,nr he would have been the great cen'ia'
agure % the Civil War" commentators sue"
,h..o mean a great deal and they insure to
Forrest a high place among mintaI! eau,''
nu, that they entirely support DR.. Wyeths be-
lie, that he actually was "one OF the aoies'
soldiers Of the world" one may be permitted 10
nouh, For surely all the expert opinions quoted
,,,c,y--and the record itself reveals-certalh
urn,,,,,ons of his career which must exciuoe
h,r, from, the highest rank. An obvious one IL
cha, suggested by Grants comment; Tor what-
.ver NAV have been the reason-whether Nml-
,.,,or ~ talent or as his biographer ana others
...r, N believe lack Of wider opportunities que
N IN. hostility or shortsightedness OF MT DAVIS
a. n matter OF fact Forests great successes
were won IN a line OF service distinct from 'ne
highest work OF the soldier-thc control OF great
armies and the planning OF broad stra'esica
ope-ations Again. the want OF military eouca-
ton upon which all lay stress Is by no means
nurelv negative defect; for while II may Imply
nothing adverse TO his natural capacity II mas
certainly a positive bearing upon the posltioh
,ba, is 20 be assigned him. A general OF the
nr,t rank In a word, is one who mas actuaiiy
g.. wo-k NJ the first rank-not one who might
,h.y we're From this standpoint OF actual
areornplahment Forrest surely cannot De
ranked with Lee. Johnston or jackson, to say
no.n,rg ~ certain leaders the other side
p,,,thmors Il seer1s to us that DIR. Wyeth's
..r,,,ahIe portrait OF the man indicates that MS
mental characteristics were adapted TO just the
s..hinr nartisan warfare in which, largely, ne
vss ennnloyed and render IL tolerably certain
that he might have failed had he been called 10
the work OF a Lee. Sherman or Grant
However that may be, what he actually did
vas certainly great enough In It's way ana IS
worthy Of careful examination by all who are
Interested in the study OF the CIVIL war we
can touch upon one episode only In his military
rareer-that which came near 10 render MIN IN
famous the capture OF Fort Pillow. Whlle IN
all his nghtng Forrest never hesitated 10 reveal
war IN its grimmest aspect. and occasionally
quarter" ~ his eremy refused 20 surrender)
came perilously near TO barbarty there appears
10 be no evidence in the record that his conduct
was on the whole inhumane. Certainly he was
NV nature a man OF generous and kindly sent-
men,s But the Fort Pillow massacre" II the
Northern view Of II and OF Forests RESPONSE
biiity FOR II Is correct. enough to put the
stamp % brutality upon his entire career.
Naturally his biographer seeks TO remove this
stain from Forests reputation, and he succeeds
IN marshalling very effectively the evidence in
his favor. In the main his argument supports
and amplihes the statements made by Forrest
himself in his reports and by General S. D. Lee
and others His conclusions. In brief. are that
the movement OF Confederate troops during the
cessation OF hosttles under a flag Of truce was
justified by the uninterrupted approach Of
Federal achievements down the river that
when the assault succeeded the garrison did not
surrender. but kept its flag flying and fought
desperately 10 the last. or sought to escape
thus rendering an exceptional loss of life inevi-
table: that as a matter OF fact many prisoners
were taken and humaney treated that
az soon as he saw that the fort was captured
Forrest ordered the firing TO cease that at 3
he left the field with a portion OF his troops;
that by dark not soldier Of his command was
nearer 20 the fort than two miles; and that IF
the excesses charged by some OF the survivors
were committed after that time and before 6
o'clock OF the following morning april 18th
they were done by guerillas, robbers and MUIR
derers." with which the country was infested
At the same time Or. Wyeth does not attempt
60 conceal the fact that the passions which
swaycd the conflict were Of the fercest kind and
It's details OF the most grewsome character. On
the whole. the evidence presented seems to show
that while Forrest cannot be credited with error
the side OF mercy he cannot rightly be
charged. in this case. with deliberate and gratu-
itous cruelty. whatever may be said Of some Of
his soldiers and that even regards the