That Devil Forrest: Life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of twelve children, born to a poor blacksmith and his wife in Bedford County, Tennessee.

Yet, despite these humble origins he would go on to become one of the most innovative cavalry leaders America has ever seen.

His enemies respected him and his Southern compatriots admired him. Both General Johnston and General Sherman agreed that he was “the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side.” While Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, in their postwar memoirs, stated that the tide of the war might have been changed had the Confederate high command better used Forrest’s talents.

John A. Wyeth’s brilliant biography of Forrest fully captures this fascinating general and his actions throughout the war.

From his brilliant campaigns at Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Brice’s Crossroads to his more controversial moments, for example at the Battle of Fort Pillow where many Union prisoners were slaughtered, Wyeth examines every part of Forrest’s career in precise detail.