General Forrest
and the Confederate flag
By: Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.
1064 West Mill Drive
Kennesaw , Georgia 30152
Phone: 770 428 0978
Monday, July 13th, in the year of our Lord 2009, is the188th
birthday of American legend and Southern Hero--Gen. Nathan Bedford
Forrest.
President Obama continued a century-old
tradition, on Memorial Day, by honoring American Servicemen and
women buried at Arlington National Cemetery and sending a wreathe
to the Confederate and Black Union soldier’s section.
Some criticized Obama for remembering the
Confederate soldiers buried at section 16 but, like his
predecessors, the president did the historically-correct and
Patriotic thing in remembering ‘All’ American Veterans.
Almost a century earlier, on June 4, 1914,
President Woodrow Wilson spoke at Arlington National Cemetery on
occasion of the unveiling of a new Confederate Monument by the
United Daughters of the Confederacy. His speech echoed praise for
the Confederate soldier and he received applause from a crowd of
thousands that included Confederate and Union Veterans.
Will the circle, of remembering our American
family, be unbroken?
Some, today, seek to ban the Confederate
Battle flag, the blood-stained soldier’s banner of many hard
fought battles, from Veterans Day events and the soldier’s
monument at South Carolina ’s State Capitol. There is also a push
to ban the Confederate flag at all NASCAR races. Some groups claim
the Southern flag is offensive to Black people.
But, what do they say to Black folks who
call the Confederate flag a symbol of Southern Pride like Nelson
Winbush of Florida who is a member of the Sons of Confederate
Veterans— www.scv.org
? Mr. Winbush speaks truthfully and from the heart about the War
for Southern Independence , 1861-65, and of his grandfather who
fought for the South. He may even ‘proudly’ show you a picture of
himself, as a child, with his Grandfather, Louis Napoleon Nelson,
who rode with Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in Company M of the 7th
Tennessee Cavalry and was buried with his Confederate uniform and
Confederate flag draped casket.
Gen. Forrest said of the Black men who rode
with him, quote "These boys stayed with me ... and better
Confederates did not live.” unquote
You might also ask Black Southern-Historian
H.K. Edgerton who marched across Dixie from North Carolina to
Texas attired in Confederate uniform, carrying the Confederate
flag and educating many Black and White people along the way about
their Southern Heritage. Edgerton is also past president of the
local NAACP Chapter in Asheville , North Carolina .
Was Gen. Forrest an early advocate for Civil
Rights?
Forrest's speech during a meeting of the
"Jubilee of Pole Bearers" is a story that needs to be told. Gen.
Forrest was the first white man to be invited by this group which
was a forerunner of today's Civil Right's group. A reporter of the
Memphis Avalanche newspaper was sent to cover the event.
Miss Lou Lewis, daughter of a Pole Bearer
member, was introduced to Forrest and she presented the former
general a bouquet of flowers as a token of reconciliation, peace
and good will. On July 5, 1875, Nathan Bedford Forrest delivered
this speech:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I accept the flowers
as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races
of the Southern states. I accept it more particularly as it comes
from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God's earth who
loves the ladies I believe it is myself. (Immense applause and
laughter.) I came here with the jeers of some white people, who
think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence,
and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal
relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man, to
depress none. (Applause.)
I want to elevate you to take positions in
law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of
going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don't
propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect
whom you please; vote for the man you think best, and I think,
when that is done, you and I are freemen. Do as you consider right
and honest in electing men for office. I did not come here to make
you a long speech, although invited to do so by you. I am not much
of a speaker, and my business prevented me from preparing myself.
I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white
people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I
will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand
together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment. Many
things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white
and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can
contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act
truly, and when you are oppressed I'll come to your relief. I
thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have
afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you
in heart and in hand." (Prolonged applause.) End of speech.
Nathan Bedford Forrest again thanked Miss
Lewis for the bouquet and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. Such
a kiss was unheard of in the society of those days, in 1875, but
it showed a token of respect and friendship between the general
and the black community and did much to promote harmony among the
citizens of Memphis , Tennessee .
Some people have claimed that Forrest was
associated with the Ku Klux Klan but he officially denied
participation. He encouraged the friendly reunion of North and
South and the remembrance of both the Confederate and Union Dead.
Forrest died on October 29, 1877, in Memphis
, Tennessee and is buried with his wife at Forrest Park .
Lest We Forget!!
