General Nathan Bedford Forrest

I somehow missed commemorating the birthday of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, whose birthday was July 13.
FORREST, Nathan Bedford (1821-1877) was a Confederate general who served in the cavalry during the War Between the States. When asked of the secret of victory, it is said that he made his famous reply "To git thar the fustest with the mostest men," although some biographies say Forrest phrased this in perfectly good English. He won fame by his brilliant raids, and took part in such noted battles as Shiloh and Chickamauga. Forrest was born in Bedford Country, Tennessee, and moved to Mississippi when a boy. He had little schooling, but became a successful trader and cotton planter." World Book Encyclopedia, 1956
The above is the simple entry about General Nathan Bedford Forrest in the old World Book Encyclopedia from decades ago, as noted.
If you knew nothing about General Forrest, would you consider him 'controversial' based on the biographical entry above? Well, it seems the gentlemen who wrote that entry were not as informed or enlightened as today's Washington Post and Associated Press writers, who pointedly cite Forrest's detractors who say he was a 'virulent racist' and a 'polarizing figure.'
I say that if he is a polarizing figure, it is only due to the fact that the media hacks have diligently done their assignment over the past few decades, that assignment being to re-frame General Forrest as an evil man. The NAACP and all the usual anti-South, anti-White forces have captured the dialogue and made sure that all the 'dead White males' who were once respected are now denounced as 'bigots'. Note that the WaPo piece concludes by quoting Union General William Sherman as saying that Forrest was a 'devil' who should be hunted down and killed.
Quoting Sherman here is quite ironic, as he is considered a 'demon' by many in the South because of his brutality, as noted in the following:
''Here is a more accurate summary of events, taken from Brian Cisco�s new book new book War Crimes Against Southern Civilians:
Women and children, black and white, were robbed, brutalized, and left homeless in Sherman�s infamous raid through Georgia. Torture and rape were not uncommon. In South Carolina, homes, farms, churches, and whole towns disappeared in flames. Civilians received no mercy at the hands of the Union invaders. Earrings were ripped from bleeding ears, graves were robbed, and towns were pillaged. Wherever Federal troops encountered Southern Blacks, whether free or slave, they were robbed, brutalized, belittled, kidnapped, threatened, tortured, and sometimes raped or killed by their blue-clad "liberators."
The WaPo article does quote some admirers of Forrest who praise him, though obviously the fact that they give bitter critics the last word shows their anti-Forrest, anti-Confederate, anti-White prejudice.
As always only one side of the picture is given, and thus each generation since the 1960s understands less and less of the context of the War Between the States, and the complicated period called Reconstruction that ensued once the South was defeated and degraded.
It's good that General Forrest is still honored even if only by a remnant of Southron people who have not been politically corrected and 'reconstructed.' But we need to find a way to get the truth out. A while back, a reader here asked me about Jim Crow, and I was at a loss for a source to which to direct him for accurate information. There is so little available today to give the other side of the story, so the NAACP, the far-left SPLC and their ilk are left to shape 'history' to their ends. This needs to be changed. If anyone out there knows of sources online or elswhere that can help to balance out the lies, please share such resources with us.
H/T: Michael at Southern Nationalist Network

Labels: American History, Confederate States Of America, Southron Heritage, War Between The States