BUY Rebel Flags For SaleVandals covered a statue of General Nathan Bedford Forrest in Middle Tennessee with pink paint, the second time in four months the monument had been targeted. The attack was part of a wave of vandalism against Confederate monuments across the country, and the statue had been a frequent target for years.
The Forrest Statue Along I-65
The statue stood on private land beside Interstate 65 south of Nashville, where thousands of drivers passed it every day. It was put up in 1998 by Bill Dorris, a local businessman, on his own property. Because it was on private land, no city council could vote to remove it, which made it a lightning rod for people who wanted it gone and a point of pride for those who wanted it to stay. The statue remained in place until it was taken down in late 2021, after Dorris passed away.
Who Was Nathan Bedford Forrest?
Forrest was born in 1821 in Bedford County, Tennessee, and grew up poor with almost no formal schooling. When the war began, he enlisted as a private. By the end of it, he was a lieutenant general, one of the few men on either side to rise that far from the ranks.
Forrest became one of the most feared cavalry commanders in history. His victory at Brice’s Crossroads in Mississippi in June 1864, where he defeated a Union force more than twice the size of his own, is still studied by military officers today. Admirers called him the “Wizard of the Saddle.” Even Union General William T. Sherman considered him one of the most remarkable soldiers of the war.
Why Vandalism Isn’t the Answer
Whatever someone thinks about a monument, defacing private property is a crime. Many heritage supporters point out that statues like this one are history lessons, and that destroying them does nothing to change the past. Read more in our post on General Forrest’s daring courage.
Honor Tennessee’s cavalrymen with a flag from our Confederate flag collection.
Source: Local Memphis: Vandals cover Nathan Bedford Forrest statue with pink paint
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