Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography.

Between the Wizard and the Fire‐Eaters: The Last Records of the Illegal Slave Trade to Brazil, 1866–1870

“…While Aaron, the youngest brother, was responsible for the Vicksburg office, Nathan Bedford Forrest had his trafficking activities based in Memphis, Tennessee. William Hezekiah Forrest was responsible for the brothers' activities in St. Louis, Missouri (Hurst, 1994).…”

“…This venture yielded them a substantial annual income, fluctuating between $50,000 and $96,000 from trafficking alone. This figure does not take into account the cotton farms owned by Nathan Bedford Forrest (Hurst, 1994).…”

“…In military records, the promotion to the rank of captain is noted as follows: ‘Present or absent [:] absent; Remarks [:] Wounded at Days Gap Ala’ (NARA M331 Record Group 109 Civil War Service Records). William Hezekiah Forrest reportedly left the service under his brother's command after being wounded at the Battle of Sand Mountain, Alabama, in late April 1863, and the injury severely damaged one of his hip bones (Hurst, 1994). After being captured by Union forces, he returned to his unit and led the Confederate raid on Memphis in August 1864.…”

“…This organisation was established in 1866 in Tennessee and eventually expanded to all the southern states of the United States (Foner, 2005: 342). One of its initial leaders was General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was also known as ‘the wizard of the saddle’ (Hurst, 1994).…”

“…During the U.S. Congressional investigation into the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in 1871, Nathan Bedford Forrest allegedly said that all he knew about the organisation was through information given to him by other people. When asked to name such individuals, Forrest said he remembered two, a man killed in North Carolina and an emigrant who was in Brazil at the time (Hurst, 1994). Was this emigrant William Hezekiah Forrest?…”