Anyone who remembers Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest first as the Klan’s founder is nothing more than a bigot. Forrest was first and foremost a cavalry commander of the highest order, in a league with JEB Stuart and Joe Wheeler. And Forrest was completely self-taught.
You can also thank Forrest for not extending the war a couple more years. A lot of his men didn’t want to surrender. Forrest told them go home, take care of their families and hold their head high. They would have followed him to hell and back. He was the greatest general of the war, both north and south. The stories about him slapping the hell out of Bragg were true. He threatened to kill him as he was walking out the door. Deo Vindice.