General Nathan B. Forrest was one of the finest cavalry leaders produced in the United States. He fought in the western theater of the War Between the States, primarily in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky. After the war, Gen. Forrest retired to his home in Memphis and made friends with many of his former enemy officers.
In 1875, General Forrest made his last public appearance. He had been invited to give a short speech concerning his views of reconciliation of the races after the Civil War. The New York Times reported part of Gen. Forrest's comments during that speech, which I am giving below.
"I will say to you and to the colored race
that men who bore arms and followed the flag of the Confederacy are,
with very few exceptions, your friends. I have an opportunity of saying
what I have always felt – that I am your friend, for my interests are
your interests, and your interests are my interests. We were born on the
same soil, breathe the same air, and live in the same land. Why, then,
can we not live as brothers? I will say that when the war broke out I
felt it my duty to stand by my people. When the time came I did the best
I could, and I don't believe I flickered. I came here with the jeers of
some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe that I
can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in
strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to bring
about peace. It has always been my motto to elevate every man- to
depress none. I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in
stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going."
At the end of his remarks, Forrest received a kiss on his cheek and a bouquet of flowers from an elderly African American lady.
I have read the biography of Gen. Forrest several times, perhaps the best known one by Andrew Lytle titled Bedford Forrest and His Critter Company. Forrest was indeed a ferocious fighter, feared and respected by his enemies. But he evolved. When the war to which he so devoutly served was lost, Forrest tried to heal wounds--a lesson we could all learn from today. Shortly before he died, he took a preacher's hand at a little church in Memphis and said, "I am now at peace with my Maker, as I wish to end my days at peace with all men."
With those words as his epitaph, Forrest has rested quietly in his grave in Memphis. Until July 7, 2015, when the city council voted to exhume Forrest and his wife, desecrate their bodies, and remove them.
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