Nathan Bedford Forrest Redeemed? Part I

A savior and a murderer. A genius and a racist. An angel and a devil. These are but a few names attributed to Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Despite his controversial reputation, one peculiar incident in Forrest’s post-war life stands out as anomalous to his lifelong devotion to the Southern cause. On July 5, 1875, the former Confederate general delivered an address to an audience of African Americans. In the speech, Forrest professed his sympathy for the African American cause and his desire for reconciliation. “I believe I can exert some influence,” he said, “and shall do all in my power to elevate every man, to depress none.”[1] Did Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Confederate and an early member of the Ku Klux Klan, have a radical change of heart? Like most questions in history, the answer to this one is … complicated.

Forrest’s staunch support of slavery before the war is no secret. He entered the lucrative slave trade as a young man and became one of the richest men in the South because of it.[2] In 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate army as a private and quickly rose to the rank of general.[3] Forrest achieved infamy in April 1864 for his role in the Fort Pillow Massacre, in which Confederate troops under his command murdered 200 Union soldiers in cold blood—many of whom were United States Colored Troops.[4] Though Forrest’s role in the massacre remains disputed, he wrote that Fort Pillow “will demonstrate to the Northern people that negro soldiers cannot cope with the Southerners.” [5]

After the war, Forrest became one of the first ex-Confederates to join the fledgling Ku Klux Klan. Despite publicly claiming he had no affiliation with the group, Forrest rose to lead the Klan as its Grand Wizard.[6] Biographer Jack Hurst writes that Forrest “became the Lost Cause’s avenging angel, galvanizing a loose collection of boyish secret social clubs into a reactionary instrument of terror still feared today.”[7] As Grand Wizard, Forrest oversaw the Klan as it embarked on violent campaigns to intimidate Black voters and restore white supremacy.[8] Indeed, Forrest’s postbellum exploits offer little indication of any sort of redemption.

However, Forrest’s mores shifted significantly in the 1870s, at least at face-value. By 1869, he began to publicly disassociate himself with the Ku Klux Klan. A great deal of mystery surrounds his leadership of the Klan, but biographer Hurst suggests that Forrest probably resigned as Grand Wizard in that year—either out of practicality or a sense of righteousness.[9] This coincided with his growing involvement in the railroad business as well as a consensus across the nation—and even in the South—that the Klan had grown too extreme. As public opinion turned against the White Knights, Forrest might have decided his association with the Klan was bad for business and resigned his leadership before it could strain his profitable business relationships.[10] Or, Forrest came to believe, like some other Southern Democrats, that Klan violence only prolonged the Federal government’s tight hold on the South.[11]

In 1874, Forrest again demonstrated his changing attitudes when racial violence broke out in Trenton, Tennessee. Although Forrest and other Democrats placed overall blame on the Black population, they argued that the irresponsible actions of white vigilantes threatened to prolong Federal intervention in the South.[12] Forrest allegedly said that if he “were entrusted with proper authority he would capture and exterminate the white marauders who disgrace their race by this cowardly murder of negroes.”[13] In a letter to Tennessee Governor John C. Brown, he also offered to lead a party to hunt down and punish the riders, but the governor declined.[14]

Then on July 5, 1875, Forrest attended a Fourth of July picnic in Memphis on behalf of the Independent Order of Pole Bearers Association, a fraternal organization of Black men. After a brief procession, Forrest and his friends mounted the stage. Two former Confederates stood next to him: General Gideon Johnson Pillow and Colonel Mathew C. Gallaway, Forrest’s wartime aide and a notable Klansman. President of the Pole Bearers Hezekiah Henley welcomed the generals and expressed his hope that the period of “fraternal discord” between the two races had come to an end.[15]

Following another flourish by the Pole Bearers’ band, a “representative of the colored ladies” presented General Forrest with a colorful bouquet of flowers as “a token of reconciliation.” Then, the general kindly accepted and delivered his now-controversial speech. The Memphis Appeal printed his words the following day. “This day [. . .] is proud for me, having occupied the position that I did for the past twelve years, and been misunderstood by your race. This is the first opportunity I have had during that time to say that I am your friend,” Forrest began. As he delivered his speech, he continued to defend himself as a champion of the Black race:

I am here as a representative of the Southern people, one more slandered and maligned than any man in the nation. I will say to you and to the colored race that the 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. [. . .] 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 mottoe [sic] to elevate every man—to depress none.[16]

After assuring his audience of his benevolence, and addressing his alleged past transgressions, Forrest looked to the future. “I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going,” he said.[17] Then, he concluded his speech by offering a pledge:

I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment. [. . .] Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I’ll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentleman, [. . .] and assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand.[18]

A “prolonged applause” from the Pole Bearers and yet another flourish from the band punctuated the general’s speech before he returned to his seat on the stage.[19]

With little context, Forrest’s remarks prompt a radical reconsideration of his life. How could an ardent defender of slavery share the same interests as African Americans and consider them his equals? Several explanations for this cognitive dissonance have floated through Forrest biographies and articles over the last few decades. Some theories hold that the general experienced a powerful religious awakening late in life that prompted him to come to terms with his past mistakes. Others argue that Forrest never delivered the speech. Regardless, Forrest’s 1875 Fourth of July speech marks a significant change in his life, however profound it may be. To measure that change, a careful consideration of the speech’s context is in order.

To be continued…

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[1] “How the ‘Glorious Fourth’ was Observed In and About Memphis,” The Daily Memphis Avalanche, Memphis, TN, July 6, 1875, Newspapers.com (accessed November 5, 2023).

[2] Jack Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography (New York: Alfred A. Kopf, Inc., 1993), 58.

[3] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 71-72.

[4] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 165-181.

[5] John A. Wyeth, Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1899), 362.

[6] Michael Newton, White Robes and Burning Crosses: A History of the Ku Klux Klan from 1866 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2014), 11; Brian Steel Wills, A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest, (New York: HarperPerennial, 1993), 336.

[7] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 6.

[8] Newton, White Robes and Burning Crosses, 11.

[9] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 345.

[10] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 345.

[11] Wyn Craig Wade, The Fiery Cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987), 102.

[12] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 361.

[13] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 361.

[14] Eddy W. Davison and Daniel Foxx, Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma (Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2007), 474-475.

[15] Hurst, Nathan Bedford Forrest, 362.

[16] “The Fourth: An Old-Fashioned and Enthusiastic Celebration of the Natal Day of the Republic—Everybody at the Front,” The Memphis Daily Appeal, Memphis, TN, July 6, 1875, Newspapers.com (accessed December 29, 2023).

[17] “The Fourth,” The Memphis Daily Appeal, July 6, 1875.

[18] “The Fourth,” The Memphis Daily Appeal, July 6, 1875.

[19] “The Fourth,” The Memphis Daily Appeal, July 6, 1875.

[20] “The Fourth,” The Memphis Daily Appeal, July 6, 1875.