Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was born in Bedford County, Tennessee on July 13, 1821. He was the son of William and Marian Beck Forrest. William Forrest was a blacksmith. Unfortunately, he died when Nathan was only 16 years old, leaving Nathan with the task of supporting the family. Nathan did not have a formal education and started out as a farm laborer. Nathan Bedford Forrest was almost illiterate but started trading horses and cattle. Before joining the Confederate Army, he moved to Mississippi and became a wealthy cotton planter, real-estate broker, and a slave dealer. There, Forrest also owned and operated a large plantation. He became a self-made millionaire. In June of 1861, Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army. He raised and equipped a mounted battalion at his own expense. Just before the war ended, he was promoted to Lieutenant General. Forrest was the most feared cavalry commander of the Civil War. He was wounded four times in battle, killed 30 Union Soldiers hand to hand, and had 29 Horses shot out from under him. His famous saying was, "War means fightin,' and fightin' means killin'." Forrest led the Battle of Chickamauga and forced the
Forrest returned to his home and began making more money. He became the President of the Marion Railroad. A couple years later he died from diabetes on October 29, 1877. In May of 1866, Forrest learned about the powerful Ku Klux Klan movement started in Pulaski, Tennessee. Forrest was eager to learn about this powerful organization so he went to Nashville, Tennessee to see Captain John Morton, his Chief of Artillery during the war. There, Capt. John Morton swore Nathan Bedford Forrest into the Klan. After he joined the Klan, a meeting was held to make a more promising name known as "Ku Klux Klan, the Invisible Empire." There, after many days of deliberation, Forrest was made the first and most powerful Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. He soon commanded 100,000 Klansmen throughout the Old Confederacy. Forrest commanded the Klan for several years. The number of members grew and the violence became more brutal. For these reasons, Forrest decided to leave the Ku Klux Klan. At their second meeting, they decided on the name Klan because they were all of Scottish-Irish descent. Ideas went back and forth with the letter "K" and the name Ku Klux Klan was born. They were planning to be "merr
Some common words found in the essay are:
Klux Klan, Confederate Army, Nathan Bedford, Bragg Bragg, Union Army, William Forrest, Six Confederate, Bedford Forrest, Union Soldiers, Confederacy Forrest, klux klan, nathan bedford, ku klux klan, ku klux, nathan bedford forrest, bedford forrest, name ku klux, klan started, name ku, union army, joined klan, forrest returned, john morton,
Approximate Word count = 814
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|