Nathan Bedford Forrest

Bayard describes Nathan Bedford Forrest as "a big, dusty man with a beard so black it looked almost blue and eyes like a sleepy owl" (691). He notes how inelegant Forrest's diction is - "He said 'fit' for fought," for example - but adds that "when you fought battles like he did, even Granny didn't mind how you talked" (692). In the Civil War Forrest was one of the Confederacy's most successful cavalry commanders, who led much of the fighting in the War's western theater (including Mississippi and Tennessee). In Bayard's narrative, he is both a fierce campaigner and a soft-hearted gentleman, identified in caste with Granny's family. In history, his story is more complex and controversial. Born into a very poor family, Forrest became wealthy as a planter and slave trader before the War. During the War he rose from the ranks from Private to Lieutenant General. After the War he was active as a founding leader of the Ku Klux Klan.