Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Defender of Selma

Said to be the finest cavalryman in the War Between the States, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest defended Selma toward the end of the long fight. This bust sits atop a stone pillar in Confederate Circle at Old Live Oak Cemetery. Forrest was known for his natural fighting ability and said to be a genius although he had no formal education or military training. He became a millionaire planter, joined the CSA as a private and quickly rose to general, recruiting men who could supply their own weapons and equipping them himself. After the war, he was a leader of the Ku Klux Klan but left due to its radical nature.

(This post is for Earl, a former Selmian, faithful reader and Civil War historian.)

4 comments:

stromsjo said...

He shouldn’t worry too much. It seems we still can’t agree on the value of formal education v/s experience. It’s nice if you got both but having the right person for the job is really the most important thing.

Annie said...

His war strategy was "get there first with the most" and he often did.

For a while he lived in Memphis, Tennessee and there's a Forrest City in Arkansas, named in his memory, just across the Mississippe River from Memphis.

I think there are lots of towns, counties, streets, etc, named after him all over the south.

Bobby D. said...

like how you got in close for the details.

Kate said...

The details are wonderfully clear in your photo. Even tho he left because of its "radical nature" I wonder what would attract someone in the first place to associate with the KKK because of its history.