Tyree H . Bell Tyree H . Bell often referred to by his full name , Tyree Harris Bell , was a Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War . He commanded a regiment of infantry in 1861 and most of 1862 . He became a cavalry commander under Major General , later Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest and fought with Forrest in several raids and battles during the last two years of the war . After the Civil War , he was a successful farmer in Fresno County , California . Early life . Tyree H . Bell was born on September 5 , 1815 in Covington , Kentucky . He grew up on his father ' s small plantation at Gallatin , Tennessee . He was educated in rural schools . Bell became a planter on his own plantation in Sumner County , Tennessee . American Civil War . When the American Civil War started , Bell raised a company of infantry , Company G ( later A ) for the 12th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army . He was elected its captain , June 4 , 1861 . He soon became lieutenant colonel of the regiment and commanded it at the Battle of Belmont and the Battle of Shiloh , where he was wounded in the leg by the fall of his horse , one of two shot from under him during the battle . He was promoted to colonel in May 1862 , continuing as colonel of the consolidated 12th Tennessee Infantry and 22nd Tennessee Infantry on June 17 , 1862 . Bell led the regiment in the Confederate invasion of Kentucky and the Battle of Richmond , and operations around Corinth , Mississippi . After this service , Bell ' s consolidated regiment was further merged with the 47th Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment on October 30 , 1862 and Bell became an extra officer . In Spring , 1863 , Colonel Bell was given a cavalry command under Major General , later Lieutenant General , Nathan Bedford Forrest . Bell ' s regiment threatened the Union rear at the Battle of Perryville and menaced the Union flank and rear at the Battle of Stones River . In January 1864 , Forrest gave Bell command of an independent brigade . Soon thereafter , in February 1864 , Bell began command of a brigade in Brigadier General Abraham Buford ' s division of Forrest ' s Cavalry Corps . Bell led the brigade for the rest of the war , receiving consistent praise . He and his brigade fought in the Battle of Fort Pillow , the Battle of Brice ' s Crossroads , the Battle of Tupelo and against Union Brigadier General Andrew J . Smith ' s force in Mississippi in August 1864 after the Battle of Tupelo . Bell was wounded in the chest , back and face at Pulaski , Tennessee on September 27 , 1864 . Tyree H . Bell was appointed a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army on February 28 , 1865 . At the end of the war , he participated in the defense of Georgia and Alabama against Union Brigadier General James H . Wilson ' s 1865 raid . and the Battle of Selma , Alabama . After surrendering with the rest of Forrest ' s troops on May 9 , 1865 , Bell was paroled at Gainesville , Alabama on May 10 , 1865 . Aftermath . Ten years after the end of the war , Bell moved to Fresno County , California where he became a successful farmer and participated in civic affairs . Tyree H . Bell died at New Orleans , Louisiana , August 30 , 1902 , while returning from a visit to his old home in Gallatin , Tennessee and a Confederate veteran reunion . He is buried in Bethel Cemetery , near Sanger , California . Personal life . Married Dec 2 , 1841 , Mary Ann Walton ( Jan 22 , 1820 - Aug 20 , 1881 ) in Sumner County , TN . They had nine children , including at least three sons who also served in the Civil War , one of whom died during service .