Roy Exum: Could So Many Be Wrong?

Answer me this: Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam told reporters this week that Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest would not be included on his list of state heroes and that he favored removal of a bust of the now-maligned Forrest from the state capitol. If indeed the likeness of General Forrest is suddenly such a disgrace, why was his funeral procession two miles long in 1877, this because 10,000 people in Memphis paid their respects with 3,000 of them African-Americans?

No one in the state’s history from what I can find, including Elvis, ever drew such a crowd.

So how could so many people be wrong in 1877 and so right 149 years later?

As I anticipated, I got a number of emails on Thursday after pointing out I totally believe Nathan Bedford Forrest is a Tennessee hero. At the same time, one Democrat in the state was pouncing on the ensuing hysteria to have a statue of General Forrest torn asunder in Memphis while another Democrat, eager to be heard and hopefully photographed for the 6 o’clock news, is asking that the legislature change the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest Park in Camden.

More Tennessee politicians, being political of course, joined in the cry to rid the state capitol of General Forrest’s bronze bust, alleging that he was once the Grand Wizard of the Ku Kux Klan, but not one can prove it because no other source has been able to do so in the last 150 years. It is truthfully no more than hearsay and a number of experts have disputed the baseless allegation for over a century. Forrest steadfastly denied it but admitted he joined the Klan in 1867 at the request of Confederate General George Gordon.

History tells us that General Forrest was sworn in by the KKK in Room 10 of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville but by then the Klan had over 40,000 members in Tennessee and most assuredly had a Grand Wizard already. Less than two years later General Forrest disassociated himself from the KKK due to the violence it created. No one can prove who was the Grand Wizard during those two years because the guys in the robes strived for anonymity beneath their pointed hoods and sheet-like robes. Every member, it has been reported, takes an oath of secrecy.

Then there is this fact: General Forrest testified in Washington before the Congressional investigation on KKK activities on June 27, 1871. Under oath, Forrest denied membership and the hearing’s findings were “that General Forrest and other men of influence in the state, by the exercise of their moral power, induced (other KKK members) to disband.”

I do not know the source of the current Democrat propaganda but the above tidbit on the Congressional investigation was pulled from the “Report of the Joint Select Committee Appointed to Inquire Into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary State,” 1872, p. 463.

An e-mail friend, well versed in matters pertaining the Civil War, shared more information on Tennessee’s legendary “Wizard of the Saddle”:

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“After the Civil War, General Forrest made a speech to the Memphis City Council (then called the Board of Aldermen). In this speech he said that there was no reason that the black man could not be doctors, store clerks, bankers, or any other job equal to whites. They were part of our community and should be involved and employed as such just like anyone else.

“In another speech to Federal authorities, Forrest said that many of the ex-slaves were skilled artisans and needed to be employed and that those skills needed to be taught to the younger workers. If not, then the next generation of blacks would have no skills and could not succeed and would become dependent on the welfare of society. Forrest's words went unheeded.

“The Memphis & Selma Railroad was organized by Forrest after the war to help rebuild the South's transportation and to build the 'New South'. Forrest took it upon himself to hire blacks as architects, construction engineers and foremen, train engineers and conductors, and other high level jobs. In the North, blacks were prohibited from holding such jobs.

“When the Civil War began, Forrest offered freedom to 44 of his slaves if they would serve with him in the Confederate army. All 44 agreed. One later deserted; the other 43 served faithfully until the end of the war. Though they had many chances to leave, they chose to remain loyal to the South and to Forrest.

“Part of General Forrest's command included his own Escort Company, his ‘Green Berets,’ made up of the very best soldiers available. This unit, which varied in size from 40-90 men, was the elite of the cavalry. Eight of these picked men were black soldiers and all served gallantly and bravely throughout the war. All were armed with at least two pistols and a rifle. Most also carried two additional pistols in saddle holsters.

“At war's end, when Forrest's cavalry surrendered in May 1865, there were 65 black troopers on the muster roll. Of the soldiers who served under him, Forrest said of the black troops, “Finer Confederates never fought.”

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“If you ever injected truth into politics you would have no politics.” – Will Rogers (1879-1935)

royexum@aol.com