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He was also allegedly the founder of THE KKK. My great great grandfather was a Grand Cyclops of the KKK in his hometown.

1. General Nathan Bedford Forrest was the most feared cavalry commander of the Civil War. His violent temper was perfected in the theater of war and he distinguished himself as a natural military genius.
2. Without military education or training, Forrest joined the Confederate Army as a private and by the wars end was a Lieutenant General...becoming the only man on either side to rise so far in rank.
3. Before the war Forrest was a self-made millionaire from real estate, cotton planting, and the slave trade. After becoming board as a private he raised and equipped an entire unit at his own expense. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel, and issued this call to arms in June, 1861:
“I wish none but those who desire to be actively engaged. COME ON BOYS, IF YOU WANT A HEAP OF FUN AND TO KILL SOME YANKEES”
4. Nathan Bedford Forrest revolutionized Civil War cavalry by employing his troops primarily as mounted infantry...using horses for rapid movement and dismounting to fight on foot, which increased effectiveness. He favored firepower over traditional shock charges, often arming his men with multiple revolvers, including the Colt Navy, for close-quarters combat.
5. Forrest's raids and maneuvers were characterized by a "hit and run" style, focusing on swift attacks and rapid retreats. His cavalry was highly effective at conducting raids and surprise attacks, disrupting Union supply lines and causing significant disruption. His ability to anticipate enemy movements and exploit weaknesses made him a formidable adversary.
6. Union general, William Tecumseh Sherman said “that devil Forrest must be hunted down and killed if it costs ten thousand lives and bankrupts the federal treasury.” He also considered Forrest "the most remarkable man our civil war produced on either side."
7. Forest had 30 horses shot from under him during the war and personally killed 31 men in hand-to-hand combat. “I was a horse ahead at the end,” he said. Forrest himself was wounded four times.
8. Forrest was an imposing man, six-foot, two-inches tall, 210 pounds, and arguably the strongest Confederate general, who was able to intimidate opponents (both Union and Confederate) with his physical presence.
9. Forrest earned the nickname “The Wizard of the Saddle” for his lightning raids, and his rear-area strikes that became part of the basis for modern warfare strategies and tactics. He was known for employing tactics that often tricked his enemies into believing they were outnumbered, a key element of his success as a cavalry commander.
10. At the Battle of Cedar Bluff, Forrest marched a small detachment of men and a few cannons around the same hilltop multiple times in a continuous circle. This led Union Colonel Abel Streight to believe he was surrounded by thousands of troops, causing him to surrender 1,500 men to Forrest's force of only about 400 to 600.
11. At the Battle of Shiloh, Forrest showed that he had no fear when he charged a line of Union skirmishers, driving them off, but was wounded in the process, shot through the pelvis, with the bullet lodging near his spine. He stayed in the saddle, lifted the Union shooter by the shirt collar, and used him as a human shield to avoid more gunfire before casting him aside. This is said to be the last shot fired at the Battle of Shiloh.
12. In the spring of 1864, Forrest attacked and captured Fort Pillow...a fort with no strategic or tactical significance. The incident became perhaps the most controversial military action of the Civil War. Forrest had no intentions of going to Fort Pillow until residents of West Tennessee had complained to him about the abuse by black Union troops stationed at the fort...this included many rapes. Surrounded and outnumbered, the Union forces declined to surrender, and taunted the Confederate soldiers. Forrest men stormed the fort and the battle ended with a massacre of Union troops (most of them African American soldiers) attempting to surrender. However, as some Union troops were attempting to surrender, others were still armed and firing into the southern soldiers (this is heavily disputed whether this justified the slaughter that followed). About 230 of the 550-plus Union troops were killed. Some 60 black troops and about 170 whites were taken prisoner. In a military investigation, General William T. Sherman conducted a separate military inquiry. While Sherman was deeply critical of the event, he ultimately determined there was not enough evidence to formally charge Forrest with a crime, partly because it could not be proven that Forrest personally ordered the slaughter.
13. Forrest's greatest victory came on June 10, 1864, when his roughly 4000-man force clashed with 8,500 men at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads. Using superior tactics, speed, and forcing the Union into a rout, Forrest achieved a lopsided victory with roughly 500-600 casualties, while inflicting over 2,200 losses on the Union.

God... why did literally every single era before ours have so much fucking *drip?*

Unironically one of the most depressing things about being born into the modern age imo is that society collectively has a faggier fashion sense now than at any point in history. Literally dead last.

Hear hear! Three cheers for Forrest, the *other* military genius of the 19th century besides Bonaparte. As more than one historian has said, "If the entire Confederate Army had been placed under Forrest's command, the war would almost certainly had had a different outcome."

Meh. Confederacy should've just used low IQ Whites to pick cotton.