The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-16
OIL PAINTING OF
GENERAL FORREST
Presented to the Department of
Archives and History
WIZARD OF SADDLE"
Portrait Is Contributed BY General
Tyler, One of the Followers of
the Famous Confederate
CayaIryman


rest, wizard of the saddle as the old
| Confederates liked to call him, has been
presented TO the state department of
archives and history by Gen. H. A. Tyler
| Of Hickman, KY, who desired to have
the history of his old chieftain well and
sympathetically preserved in this as well
as other states in the south.
| General Tyler, who is the head of the
Forrest Cavalry corps, United Confeder-
ate Veterans, is a personal friend of DR..
| Thomas M. Owen, director of the history
department, and desired, in addition to
other incentives. to grant him the pleas
| ure of good picture of the leader. The
portrait is well done and is credit to the
collection in the department Dr. Owen
is putting it in a prominent place and
already it is one of the features of the
collection.
The following sketch, from the Confed-
crate Military history, is one of the best
known of the hero, and is given in TINS
connection that the minds of the people
may be refreshed on his career:
| Lieut. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in
1865, private of cavalry in 1861 AS Sena-
tor Daniel has said, What genius was in
that wonderful mani He felt the field
as Blind Tom touches the keys of the
piano. War means killing, he said, and
the way to kill is to get there first with
the most men, He was not taught at
| West Point, but he gave lessons to West
| Point" His career was quite as brilliant
and devoted in its allegiance to duty in
peace as it was in the conflict of arms.
His fathers family had moved from Vir-
g1nia, before the revolution, to North
Carolina, where every member able to
bear arms at that time fought in the
cause of independence. His parents
moved thence to Bedford county Tenn.
where he was born, July 13, 1921. In 1883
he moved with his father to Marshall
county, Miss, where the latter soon oleu,
ewing young Forrest to support the
widow and family with no resources
other than a small hill farm. He under
took this work with such devotion and
energy that while neglecting his own edu-
cation he provided literally for that OF
his brothers and sisters, and going into
business at Memphis. became able TO
purchase a large plantation, and at the
outbreak of the war was one of the
vealthiest planters in Tennessee. Soon
after entering the Confederate service,
June IA, 1861, as a private In White
Mounted Rifles. he obtained authority to
raise a regiment of cavalry. the equip
rnent of which he purchased at his pri-
vate expense at Louisville. With great
Ingenuity and daring he brought these
supplies to Memphis after eluding the
Federal authorities and defeating BODY
of troops with a force of 70 Kentucky
| Confederates he had called to his aid
With his regiment he Joined the forces al
| Fort Donelson and after Distinguishing
i al Va
| led his men through the enemys lines
when surrender was determined upon.
| Joining Albert Sidney Johnston, he was In
the heat of the fight at Shiloh, ana
though wounded refused to leave the neld
Until the safety of the army was assured.
Subsequently the Federals having occu-
pied middle Tennessee, Colonel Forrest
made a series of brilliant cavalry move
ments into that territory that made MS
neme famous throughout America. Pro-
NOTED brigadier general July q, 1867 ne
hung upon Buells flank during the move
ment into Kentucky, protected Bragg
re treat and while the army was IN WIN
ter quarters actively covered the Federal
front at Nashville, continually doing
damage to the enemy. In 1863, In an ef-
fort to break Rosecrans communications,
he entered Tennessee with less than lV9o
men. captured McMnnville and surprised
the garrison of 1000 at Murfreesboro cap
turing all the survivors of the hght' IN
Guiding General Crittenden. General
straight having started on a cavalry raid
To Rome. Ga, was pursued and caught up
with. and so impressed by FORESTS de-
uand for surrender, that he turned over
his entire command, which was IN sucn
disproportion to their captors that For
est had to press into service all the cit
liens in reach 10 assist III ioihi an
adequate guard.
Tn the great battle of Chickamauga he
commanded the cavalry of the right wing.
and was distinguished In the fight, but
he was so dissatisfied with the incom-
pleteness of this Confederate victory that
he rendered his resignation. Instead OF
,ts secceptance he was promoted major
peneral and assigned to the command
of all cavalry In north MISSISSIPPI ana
west Tennessee and the guardianship of
thp pranary of the Confederacy. with
a small force he entered west Tennes-
sea and recruited several thousand hardy
volunteers which. with some veteran
troops, he welded into the invincible
hodv known as FORESTS cavalry In
February, 1854 General Smith, with 1000
mounted men, was sent against MIN In
co-operation with Sherman, but was ut
ter1v routed at Okolona and Prairie
Mound. In return Forrest rode through
Tennessee to the Ohio river, and cap
tured Fort Pillow, Union City and other
posts with their garrisons. In June S3oO
federals under General Sturgis. entered
Mississippi Forrest had only 300 men,
hut at Brice's Cross Roads he struck
the struggling federal column at its head,
and then in detail routed successive bril-
aades, Sturgis suffering one OF the most
hunoiliating defeats of the war, losing all
his trains and third of his men. Gen.
A T. Smith renewed the invasion with
Ia 900 men. but retreated after desperate
battle at Harrisburg, near Tupelo. Reor-
ganizing his beaten forces, Smith again
advanced with reinforcements from Mem
nhis and Forrest was compelled to Toll
The enemy by taking half his force and
making a 64-hour ride to Memphis, the
daring entry of which compelled Smiths
rand retreat. Then for a time General
Forrest made havoc with the federal
transportation. garrisons and depots IN
Tennessee, exploits crowned by the cap
ture and destruction of $6,OOO,oOO worth
of the enemy's supplies and gunboat
feet at Johnsonville-"a feat of arms"
wrote Sherman. which l must confess
excited my admiration" After the fall
of Atlanta he Joined Hood at Florence
and fought at Franklin and Nashville.
AS commander of the rear guard of the
retreating Confederate army, Forrest dis
nlayed his most heroic qualities, with
hardly a parallel but the famous deeds of
Marshal Ney while covering Napoleon's
retreat from Moscow In February, 1865,
he was promoted lieutenant general and
given the duty of guarding the frontier
from Decatur, Ala, to the Mississippi.
With few hundred hastily gathered men
he made his last fight at Selma. and on
Nav he laid down his arms. 1t is stated
that he was 179 times under fire in the