Nathan Bedford Forrest was a brilliant cavalry commander by any professional measure. Lots of people choose to condemn his military exploits because he was a total piece of shit but oh lord he could soldier. There was a union cavalry commander who's exploits were about as astounding as Forrests but hell if I can remember his name. Shelby Foot's books are a must read if you are at all interested in the Civil War, comprehensive and very readable. Edit: Forrest had all the talent and morals to be general in Genghis Khan's Golden horde (just an idle thought while making turkey stock).
You've reminded me of The War Nerd's post on Ben Grierson. I don't know if he can compare to Forrest, but he sounds like he was a decent person.
You say that like its a bad thing :) As a Cavalry commander he was remarkable and he used his own (significant) personal wealth to fund his own unit at the start of the war, his rallying cry for recruitment was
"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". The thing with Forrest is that he appears to have been brilliant at rounding an enemy force and destroying their supply/communication chain in the rear. He caused all sorts of problems for Grant and Sherman, no one could really get to grips with him. That said I have read that while he was a great commander working remotely he was far less effective when supporting other commanders on his own side which meant that it was harder to coordinate his forces with others to really take on the union in battle. In any case he was a very interesting character, I do wonder sometimes if certain aspects have been embellished over time.Nathan Bedford Forrest was a brilliant cavalry commander by any professional measure. Lots of people choose to condemn his military exploits because he was a total piece of shit but oh lord he could soldier.
Absolutely, and I don't condemn Forrest for his off the field of battle pursuits beyond disputing Shelby's claim that he was a Genius at an equal standing to Lincoln.