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Town named for early KKK
Published Saturday, February 28, 2009
FORREST CITY, Ark. (AP) — A solitary sign recounts how workers led by the namesake of this Arkansas Delta town, Nathan Bedford Forrest, laid the final leg of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad over Crowley’s Ridge, a hilly stretch of windblown soil running through the Arkansas Delta.
The marker stops there in describing the man whose name adorns parks and college campuses across the South, a Confederate raider and slave trader whose troops massacred black Union soldiers and who served as the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
Nearly a century and a half later, many here in this majority black town that Forrest helped create know nothing of the connection.
‘‘People think it’s forest, like trees,’’ said Amanda Clifton, who teaches at East Arkansas Community College. ‘‘People in my history classes, they’re surprised where the name came from.’’
Forrest’s real record shows him as neither all villain nor all war hero.
‘‘It is neither as good as it sounds or bad as it sounds,’’ said Brian Steel Wills, a history professor at the University of Virginia at Wise who wrote a book on the general. ‘‘Forrest is a lot more complicated than that.’’
Forrest compiled a fortune before the war as a plantation owner and slave trader who imported Africans even after the practice had been made illegal.
Comments
Posted by kpage1 (anonymous) on February 28, 2009 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks ElGoodo for providing me with my daily lesson in history. I watched a History Channel special awhile back that stated that storytellers in the 1800s loved to inject hyperbole in recounting their stories. They said we may never know the true story of this time because by the time the story travelled 10 miles, it was rife with inaccuracies. (Just tell three people the same story and ask them to tell it back...you'll get three different recounts).
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on March 2, 2009 at 8:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
kpage, that's why it is so hard to have complete truth in our history books. It makes it to easy for history to be revised into pure fiction. People tend to believe what they want. We will probably never know the whole truth of history but I'm inclined to believe books that was written closer to the subject time they were written about.
Posted by Yeahuhuh (anonymous) on March 2, 2009 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't think the article is especially misleading. And if after all this time the accusations are that the Democrat has misinformed in order to slant, I suggest that assessment is slanted itself.
Forrest was the first Grand Wizard. Depending on the account, he either quit the Klan after they got into a cycle of violence, or never wanted the position.
He was a slave owner and a slave trader, he did fight for the side the Klan was on, and at Fort Pillow his 2,500 troops when engaged against about 500 Union troops including about 250 black troops, most of the black troops were killed in a military maneuver where Forrest was asked for time to negotiate a surrender and he pushed through in a bloody way anyhow.
I don't think it is that news is slanted as much as people want a thumbnail version to their liking and they don't research the points. Too much of news sharing is social and contributes to a cultural bias when it reaches the man on the street.
Posted by reneef (anonymous) on March 2, 2009 at 6:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am not educated enough on the history of Nathan Bedford Forrest to have an opinion of whether he was good or bad. The points that do glare out at me are 1) Forrest City, Arkansas thought the town was named after a forest (totally different spelling) and many didn't even know who Nathan Bedfor Forrest was - sounds to me like they need to spend more time paying attention in history class. 2) In a war I th ink you are suppose to kill the enemy so I don't see that as a problem, but if the figures from Yeahuhuh of 500 Union Troups including about 250 black troups are correct why was it called a massacre of Black Union Troups. Those figures are even so it should have been a massacre of Union Troups.
Posted by Lily_Dream (anonymous) on March 2, 2009 at 7:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why does the Natchez Democrat feel the need to enlighten us on the history of Arkansas? Does Natchez, Mississippi not have a story behind its name? Why does Natchez Democrat feel the need to print articles that continues to remind us of the suffering and injustice of others?
Hey Natchez Democrat, while you were getting that story, did you find out how many black people in Forrest also bear the last name "Forrest"? You know all slaves took the last names of their "Massa's" back then. I know where I am going in this world because I know where my ancestors have been. I do not need something as this to remind me. But it seems that ND needs to have something to hold on to so they go and grab a story like this. Come out of the past ND and catch up with the future. The world is leaving you behind. History is ever changing, everyday.
Posted by reneef (anonymous) on March 2, 2009 at 7:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If the ND prints stories about places other than Natchez they are criticized for not printing local stories. If they concentract on local stories ther are criticized about not carrying articles from other areas.
If the ND prints stories that continue "to remind us of the suffering and injustice of others?" they are criticized for stirring up trouble. If they don't print stories that continue "to remind us of the suffering and injustice of others?" they are criticized for just printing the "white side" of the story.
Lily_Dream - I am not finding fault with your comment. My response is not personal. It just seems like no matter which way the ND goes there are a large number of people that have fault.
It seems to me that the people of Natchez should be happy they still have a local paper that is put out 7 days a week. Many towns the size of Natchez don't have that.
In addition the ND puts the articles on line so we can all see them and comment on them at no cost to us. How many of the readers on line don't even buy the local paper because they can see it on-line.
You get what you pay for.
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on March 2, 2009 at 9:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This was an Associated Press article and I found it interesting. Thank you ND for running it. I'm so glad I don't have to feel so defensive about my race as some of readers seem to feel . We should all be proud of whom we are. Not every article written is meant to focus on how badly the blacks were treated. I thought this article was about Nathan Bedford Forrest and his association with early KKK in Arkansas. Simply history.
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