Author: John A. Wyeth
Publisher: Ravenio Books
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 806
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Book Description
For the last two years of the Civil War I was a private soldier in a regiment of Alabama cavalry which had formerly served under Forrest. Four companies of this regiment had formed a portion of the famous battalion which had distinguished itself in the engagement at Fort Donelson, and, refusing to surrender, had marched out with him through the gap in General Grant’s lines. Although I was at no time directly under General Forrest, I was impressed by the enthusiastic devotion to him of these veterans, who had followed his banner for the first year of the war, and who seemed never to tire in speaking of his kind treatment of them, his sympathetic nature as a man, his great personal daring, and especially of his wonderful achievements as a commander. Of these achievements I was at that time not altogether ignorant. His escape from Fort Donelson; the desperate charge which saved Beauregard’s army from Sherman’s vigorous pursuit after Shiloh, in which he was severely wounded; the capture of Murfreesborough with its entire garrison of infantry and artillery, with his small brigade of cavalry without cannon; the charge on and capture of Coburn’s infantry at Thompson’s station; the capture of the garrison at Brentwood; and the relentless pursuit of Streight’s raiders, which ended in the surrender of these gallant Union soldiers to Forrest with less than one-half of their number, had already attracted wide attention and had made him famous. The knowledge of these facts, together with a personal association with the men who had felt the influence of his immediate leadership, naturally interested me in his career, which I closely followed to the end of the great struggle. When the general government, with wise forethought, began to collect and to place at the disposal of its citizens the official reports and correspondence, and all the reliable literature of the war, I undertook, in the light of these and other authentic papers, a closer analysis of his military record. The further my investigations proceeded, the more I became convinced that while Forrest was justly acknowledged to be one of the most famous fighters and leaders of mounted infantry or cavalry which the war produced on either side, he was more than this, and that a careful and unbiased statement of his achievements would place him in history not only as one of the most remarkable and romantic personalities of the Civil War, but as one of the ablest soldiers of the world. While I had hoped, as year after year slipped by since peace was declared, that some one abler than I would undertake the task of placing in readable shape the story of his life, I had determined if this were not done before I should pass into the “sere and yellow leaf” to pay this tribute to his memory myself. It has been a work of years to gather up from every available source the matter relating to this history—his early days, his civil and private life, and the accurate facts of his military record. In 1894, I wrote a condensed sketch, had it printed in single column upon the margin of wide sheets of paper, leaving a large blank space, and these I mailed to every surviving officer or soldier of his command whose address I could obtain, and to others personally acquainted with Forrest before or after the war. All were requested to return the sheet with corrections, and to add everything of interest, for the accuracy of which the sender could vouch. I also caused the publication of this sketch in various newspapers of wide circulation in the section of the South from which his troops were chiefly drawn, and asked as well for private letters of information. As a result of these efforts a great mass of material came into my possession, and an interest was aroused which encouraged me in the laborious task of sifting the reliable from the unreliable, and of making presentable to the reader the matter which was worthy of credence.
Author: John Allan Wyeth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Author: John A. Wyeth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 578
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Book Description
Author: John Allan Wyeth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 784
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Book Description
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, renowned military genius, is accurately portrayed in this comprehensive volume. A brilliant, fearless military commander, Forrest was best known for his daring battlefield exploits, quick temper and keen intellect.
Author: Paul Ashdown
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742543003
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248
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Book Description
An insightful exploration of the relentless myth of the famous Civil War general, this volume scrutinizes the collective public memory of Nathan Bedford Forrest as it has evolved through the press, memoirs, biographies, and popular culture.
Author: John Allan Wyeth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 786
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Book Description
Author: Samuel W. Mitcham
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1621576000
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
A book to challenge the status quo, spark a debate, and get people talking about the issues and questions we face as a country!
Author: John Allan Wyeth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 824
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Book Description
Author: G. Lee Millar
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1546235558
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 144
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Book Description
Bedford Forrest was not a jester or joker, but he did have a good sense of humor. When a difficult, combative situation was under control, which with him it inevitably would be, his demeanor would lighten up, and Forrest’s humorous side would come out. He was also a master of the poker bluff and psychological warfare, and he played these to great advantage during the war. One of the best episodes of this was the 1863 week-long pursuit and surrender of an entire Federal brigade—over 1,700 men—to fewer than 600 of his own. The Union commander had seen the Confederates’ three cannons, but a Forrest ruse and bluff made it appear as fifteen cannons, to which the astonished Union man asked Forrest how many he had. Forrest replied, “I reckon that’s all that’s kept up.” This book is a trove of those factual and almost-factual happenings.
Author: Gary C. Cole
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 1490724397
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 661
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Book Description
Richard Wesley Cole was a seventh-generation American whose family got caught up in America's Civil War. He enlisted as a foot soldier with the 3rd Mississippi State Infantry in October 1863 and, less than a year later, became a horseman with George's Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, which later became the 5th Mississippi Cavalry in General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry Department. Richard proudly rode with Forrest until Richard was killed on 12 April 1864, at the Battle of Fort Pillow in Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Richard's story is a history of his family, a partial history of the 5th Mississippi Cavalry, the 22nd Mississippi Infantry, and the 30th Mississippi Infantry, and is a history of the war itself seen through the eyes of Richard and his family. When news reached Black Hawk, Mississippi, that Confederate troops in South Carolina had fired on Fort Sumter, the men and boys of the village were excited about the possibility of war with the North and bragged that if war came, it wouldn't be long before the Yankees were defeated and sent scurrying back home. The men and boys misunderstood what war would be like, but Richard's wife, Eliza, didn't and her worst fears would be realized as the war decimated her family. Eight days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, a volunteer state militia company was formed in Black Hawk. Richard's oldest son, a son-in-law, and two future sons-in-law enlisted with the company. Richard's second son ran away from home in February 1862 and joined the Confederate Army. Eight months later, Richard left home for the war. Richard and his family lived through the most tumultuous period in our Nation's history. They experienced firsthand the hardships and horrors of a nation at war with itself and it affected them for the rest of their lives.
