"Great Captains: Nathan Bedford Forrest." Topic

"Perhaps no general in America history elicits such a mix of admiration and repudiation as Nathan Bedford Forrest. While most historians admit his untutored, natural genius for war, they are mindful of his unsavory activities both before and after the American Civil War.

Known as "The Wizard of the Saddle", Forrest was not only the finest cavalry commander that America ever produced; he was a first-rate practitioner of mobile warfare and combined arms. His campaigns are reminiscent of (and presage) those of such panzer leaders as Guderian and Rommel; and his rapidly moving strike forces were combined-arms formations composed of cavalry and mounted infantry, supported by batteries of horse artillery. He born to be a soldier, just as John Keats was born to be a poet. His grasp of tactics, the operational art, and ability to inspire men in battle were intuitive and self-taught, as he was without any kind of military education or experience…"

Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Finest cavalry commander ever?

Opinions vary…

They're trying to dig his grave up in Memphis, TN and move him elsewhere. link

link

For different view….

I would rate him right behind Stuart as the best cavalry commander America has ever turned out. And the Battle flag and southern soldier haters didn't live during that time. These people can't be judged by modern standards. And as far as those people go……opinions vary. TIG

Really? Stuart, better than Forrest? I would respectfully disagree.

If they move NBF back to Elmwood Cemetery from which he was originally moved in 1904, then Shelby Foote will be right near by.

Civil War burials
Elmwood Cemetery

Elmwood Cemetery
About 1,000 Confederate soldiers and veterans are buried in Confederate Soldiers Rest, located in the cemetery's Fowler Section. Many other Confederates are buried elsewhere in the cemetery. The first burial in Confederate Soldiers Rest was William (Thomas) Gallagher on June 17, 1861, and the last interment was John Frank Gunter on April 1, 1940. Among the Confederate generals buried there are James Patton Anderson, a former U.S. Congressman who commanded the Army of Tennessee in 1862, Colton Greene, and William Henry Carroll.[3] Other burials include Isham G. Harris, Tennessee's Confederate-era governor,[4] Thomas Battle Turley, CSA private and U.S. Senator from Tennessee,[5] and William Graham Swan, a Confederate congressman and mayor of Knoxville.[6]

Union soldiers also were buried at Elmwood in the 1860s, but almost all were removed in 1868 and reinterred in Memphis National Cemetery.[3] Two Union generals, William Jay Smith [7] and Milton T. Williamson, remain at Elmwood.

Also interred at Elmwood is renowned Civil War author Shelby Foote, famous for his comprehensive three volume, 3000-page history of the war The Civil War: A Narrative. He is buried beside the family plot of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.[8] Forrest himself was also originally buried at Elmwood,[9] but in 1904 the remains of Forrest and his wife Mary were disinterred and moved to a Memphis city park originally named Forrest Park in his honor, that has since been renamed Health Sciences Park.[10]

As a cavalry brigade or division commander and a raider, I believe Forrest is one of the best. However as a cavalry corps commander, especially at Chickamauga, he fell woefully short of potential (as did "Fighting" Joe Wheeler). I recommend Failure in the Saddle: Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign by David A. Powell (2010, ISBN 978-1-932714-87-6) for a balanced and well researched analysis of their failures in that campaign. Both of them were literally over their heads as corps commanders.

Jim

I thought Forrest and Hood were similar in that regard…

Which was the best on the Union side?

Custer?

Amicalement
Armand

There are so many choices on the Union side. Wesley Merritt, Grierson, Hatch, Buford, David McM Gregg, James H Wilson, to name a few.