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A Battle from the Start: The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest
A biography of the Confederate cavalry leader describes his poor childhood in Mississippi and his feats on the battlefield
457 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 25, 2018
This is a well-researched scholarly biography of the notorious "Wizard of the Saddle," Nathan Bedford Forrest. Widely regarded as the best cavalryman produced on either side during the Civil War, Forrest was a profane, rough-hewn southern frontiersman turned slave-trader who, with no military training, became the personal bane of the Union armies in the West during the years 1862 - 1865. Without any military training, he proved to be the ideal leader of cavalry: he was bold, sensible, unorthodox, charismatic, tireless, and personally ferocious: he killed thirty Union soldiers in single combat over the course of the war, and conducted so many successful raids that an exasperated General Sherman once declared "there will be no peace in Tennessee while Forrest lives!"
Biographer Wills follows Forrest from his rough-and-tumble childhood on the frontier, where he inculcated both the frontiersman's toughness and ferocity and the Southerner's rigid code of honor, to his success as a slave-trader based out of Memphis. He notes that Forrest, having adopted the codes of the frontier and the antebellum South, never deviated from them and they, and his terrible temper, dictated the course of his whole life: he was frequently engaged in duels and brawls and in several cases, wild shootouts. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Forrest enlisted as a private for the South, but due to his financial status and general inability to take orders, eventually raised a regiment of cavalry with his own money. Almost immediately he established a reputation as an unpredictable and dangerous leader, ambushing Union forces, busting up Union railroads, and sacking and burning Union outposts from Kentucky to Mississippi, Tennessee to Alabama.
Federal cavalrymen sent against him left full of confidence and returned shattered and defeated. Confederate soldiers who crossed or displeased him sometimes met the same fate: never one to shy away from a quarrel, his habit of thrashing subordinates and threatening superiors remained with him 'til the end of the war. Unable to prevent the South's defeat, he did everything humanly possible to stave it off; but when defeat came, he declined to continue the fight as a guerilla and agreed to reconcile with the Federal Government.
Forrest led an extremely complex life both before, during and after the war, and Wills follows the ex-cavalryman into the maelstrom of the post Civil War South, where violence -- racial, political, and personal -- was an everyday occurrence and numerous factions and secret societies, including the KKK, vied for power and influence and to protect what they saw as their interests. He tracks Forrest's time with the Klan and his role in it, destroying some myths in the process; follows his involvement in politics, his troubled postwar business ventures, his continued penchant for quarreling and dueling, and his declining health, which was accelerated by the numerous wounds he sustained during the war. It is a very thorough work, meticulously researched, and does a good job of separating speculation from fact, myth from reality. The reason I gave it only three stars is because of a tendency by Wills throughout the book to quote and comment too often on the work of other Forrest historians, a process I call the "historical circle jerk," and for his annoying habit (shared by many scholarly historians), in trying to come up with profound psychological and sociological/anthropological explanations for what I feel is otherwise easily explicable behavior. Whether this would irritate another reader I don't know, so it's possible I am cheating Mr. Wills a star in this review. I may have to come back and re-evaluate it in a few months.
In any case, this is a good book on one of the most notorious figures to emerge from our Civil War, the "Wizard of the Saddle," who, upon being shot in the stomach during a quarrel, rolled off the surgeon's table, seized a pistol, and went looking for his assailant, shouting, "No damn man kills me and lives!"
Biographer Wills follows Forrest from his rough-and-tumble childhood on the frontier, where he inculcated both the frontiersman's toughness and ferocity and the Southerner's rigid code of honor, to his success as a slave-trader based out of Memphis. He notes that Forrest, having adopted the codes of the frontier and the antebellum South, never deviated from them and they, and his terrible temper, dictated the course of his whole life: he was frequently engaged in duels and brawls and in several cases, wild shootouts. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Forrest enlisted as a private for the South, but due to his financial status and general inability to take orders, eventually raised a regiment of cavalry with his own money. Almost immediately he established a reputation as an unpredictable and dangerous leader, ambushing Union forces, busting up Union railroads, and sacking and burning Union outposts from Kentucky to Mississippi, Tennessee to Alabama.
Federal cavalrymen sent against him left full of confidence and returned shattered and defeated. Confederate soldiers who crossed or displeased him sometimes met the same fate: never one to shy away from a quarrel, his habit of thrashing subordinates and threatening superiors remained with him 'til the end of the war. Unable to prevent the South's defeat, he did everything humanly possible to stave it off; but when defeat came, he declined to continue the fight as a guerilla and agreed to reconcile with the Federal Government.
Forrest led an extremely complex life both before, during and after the war, and Wills follows the ex-cavalryman into the maelstrom of the post Civil War South, where violence -- racial, political, and personal -- was an everyday occurrence and numerous factions and secret societies, including the KKK, vied for power and influence and to protect what they saw as their interests. He tracks Forrest's time with the Klan and his role in it, destroying some myths in the process; follows his involvement in politics, his troubled postwar business ventures, his continued penchant for quarreling and dueling, and his declining health, which was accelerated by the numerous wounds he sustained during the war. It is a very thorough work, meticulously researched, and does a good job of separating speculation from fact, myth from reality. The reason I gave it only three stars is because of a tendency by Wills throughout the book to quote and comment too often on the work of other Forrest historians, a process I call the "historical circle jerk," and for his annoying habit (shared by many scholarly historians), in trying to come up with profound psychological and sociological/anthropological explanations for what I feel is otherwise easily explicable behavior. Whether this would irritate another reader I don't know, so it's possible I am cheating Mr. Wills a star in this review. I may have to come back and re-evaluate it in a few months.
In any case, this is a good book on one of the most notorious figures to emerge from our Civil War, the "Wizard of the Saddle," who, upon being shot in the stomach during a quarrel, rolled off the surgeon's table, seized a pistol, and went looking for his assailant, shouting, "No damn man kills me and lives!"
July 12, 2025
Good account of the life of Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the great cavalrymen of the Civil War. Forrest was called “the wizard of the saddle” by his comrades and “that devil Forrest” by his enemies.
The author shows how Forrest was shaped by his rough backcountry upbringing. Although largely uneducated, he was able to become a wealthy man prior to the war, through hard work and astute business practices, including slave trading.
Forrest’s characteristics of honor, violence, control, and passion often served him well in combat. However, those same characteristics caused him trouble in his private and business affairs. He had violent encounters both before and after the war. His hot temper often caused him to say things that he later regretted.
Forrest is most famous for his Civil exploits, so the author rightly focuses on that, devoting 10 of the 16 chapters to them. Forrest fought in 22 major engagements, as well as numerous other skirmishes. Enlisting as a private in 1861, he ended the war as a lieutenant general in 1865.
Forrest functioned best when he was largely independent from a commanding officer, with his best work performed on raids behind Union lines, destroying supply lines. When he was attached to an army, he tended to push back on rigid control from above and failed in things such as scouting or coordinating with other commands.
Regarding the infamous massacre at Fort Pillow, the author alleges, based on written accounts, that Forrest didn’t order the massacre, and he issued orders to stop it when he arrived on the scene. However, the author believes that the men were acting as they believed Forrest would have wanted and he asserts that Forrest definitely lost control of his men.
After the war, Forrest urged compliance with Federal law, although the evidence that he was a leader in the Ku Klux Klan is strong.
At the end of his life, Forrest turned to Christianity and seemed to moderate some of his more extreme behaviors, something which he credited his wife for.
Interesting biography of a great warrior and a complicated man.
The author shows how Forrest was shaped by his rough backcountry upbringing. Although largely uneducated, he was able to become a wealthy man prior to the war, through hard work and astute business practices, including slave trading.
Forrest’s characteristics of honor, violence, control, and passion often served him well in combat. However, those same characteristics caused him trouble in his private and business affairs. He had violent encounters both before and after the war. His hot temper often caused him to say things that he later regretted.
Forrest is most famous for his Civil exploits, so the author rightly focuses on that, devoting 10 of the 16 chapters to them. Forrest fought in 22 major engagements, as well as numerous other skirmishes. Enlisting as a private in 1861, he ended the war as a lieutenant general in 1865.
Forrest functioned best when he was largely independent from a commanding officer, with his best work performed on raids behind Union lines, destroying supply lines. When he was attached to an army, he tended to push back on rigid control from above and failed in things such as scouting or coordinating with other commands.
Regarding the infamous massacre at Fort Pillow, the author alleges, based on written accounts, that Forrest didn’t order the massacre, and he issued orders to stop it when he arrived on the scene. However, the author believes that the men were acting as they believed Forrest would have wanted and he asserts that Forrest definitely lost control of his men.
After the war, Forrest urged compliance with Federal law, although the evidence that he was a leader in the Ku Klux Klan is strong.
At the end of his life, Forrest turned to Christianity and seemed to moderate some of his more extreme behaviors, something which he credited his wife for.
Interesting biography of a great warrior and a complicated man.
September 28, 2011
One of the most fascinating figures of the Civil War and perhaps the South's greatest cavalry general who uttered the famous command to his troopers when surrounded, "Charge them both ways"!. You'll find out, among other things, that he was wounded several times in personal combat, had numerous horses shot out from under him, and most surprising of all, he DID NOT start the Ku Klux Klan. Read it and learn the facts. [spoilers ahead] He joined the Klan in Nashville after it had already been started. Although he rose in the ranks to become a leader, in later life due to the influence of a godly wife, he became a Christian and, a detail his detractors never give him credit for, ordered the Klan to disband (which they obviously didn't do).
September 12, 2021
This book is well documented and written, but from all of the quotes and notes, the greatest contribution Wills makes in through the first 80% of the book when he writes about Forrest's life leading up to Lincoln's War and during the war. Wills' main contribution here is adding his insights about how Forrest leads and executes his responsibilities. After the war, it seems Wills' real passion comes out, when he begins bashing Forrest for his lack of education, his work with slaves and his temper and this continues through the Epilogue.
October 8, 2018
2 stars out of 5 - Some parts are interesting, but the writer tends to be repetitive about Forrest's outrageous behavior and attitudes in civilian life even while failing to be sufficiently judgmental about a man who was scorned as classless and brutal by many other Southerners even in his time. And his descriptions of the Civil War cavalry campaigns are hard to follow. The author really should have spent some time producing better maps.
August 27, 2017
This book gives an overall fair analysis of the life of Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was the best officer of the civil war in my opinion (and Lee's and Grant's).
This book covers all of his life and not just the civil war part.
Every time he does something impressive, he always one ups himself.
This book covers all of his life and not just the civil war part.
Every time he does something impressive, he always one ups himself.
October 12, 2018
Good bio of this elusive trooper.
September 19, 2018
Excellent, well-balanced assessment of the ever-controversial General.
January 27, 2013
Wills doesn't seem to reveal what he's found "inside" of Forrest until the very end. The accounts of the battles read way too much like a reproduction of the Civil War reports filed by the generals, and pure research. It would have helped this book greatly if Wills had revealed Forrest in a moment of key decision in battle, and how his conflicting forces of his personality came into play, etc. Forrest comes across much like generally portrayed, but a much "toned down" person who succumbed to his rage and adrenaline and proclivity to violence at key moments of conflict. Forrest comes across as an interesting subject from the book, and wish I could find a more in depth survey of him by another writer.
September 4, 2023
Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of the best cavalry commanders of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. A natural military genius, Forrest excelled at leading raids through Union lines, and is known for the sayings "Get thar fustest with the mostest" and "War means fighting, and fighting means killing".
He was also a ruthless man, and was responsible for the Fort Pillow Massacre in April 1864 when his troops slaughtered black prisoners after they had surrendered. Forrest was a self-made millionaire in the slave trade before the Civil War, and was a founder of the Ku Klux Klan after the war.
He was also a ruthless man, and was responsible for the Fort Pillow Massacre in April 1864 when his troops slaughtered black prisoners after they had surrendered. Forrest was a self-made millionaire in the slave trade before the Civil War, and was a founder of the Ku Klux Klan after the war.
March 11, 2008
SELCO
Excellet biography of the man behind the Fort Pillow massacre. I read this book to gather information for a PowerPoint talk to be created for a client and was very suprised to find it so interesting.
Excellet biography of the man behind the Fort Pillow massacre. I read this book to gather information for a PowerPoint talk to be created for a client and was very suprised to find it so interesting.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews