Forrest's Murfreesboro Raid Historic Marker (2 of 4)

Text

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate cavalry commander and slave trader who conducted a well-known cavalry raid on Murfreesboro in July of 1862. Forrest was born in 1831 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee. Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, he was a well-known and successful slave trader who grew wealthy from the profits reaped from auctions of enslaved people at his lot in Memphis. During the Civil War, he became famous for lightning-fast cavalry raids that disoriented and outmaneuvered Federal troops and earned him a nickname: “the Wizard of the Saddle.” Forrest’s raid on Murfreesboro is one such example of these raids. However, Fast-moving raids were not Forrest’s only Civil War legacy; he was also responsible for the 1864 massacre of USCT soldiers at Fort Pillow in Memphis. The “Forrest’s Raid on Murfreesboro” markers were erected by the Tennessee Historical Commission.

Marker Text:

"July 13, 1862. Surrender of the Union garrison took place about 4:00 pm. Units surrendering were Brig. Gen. T.T. Crittenden and staff, detachment of the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry, detachment of the 8th Kentucky Cavalry, 'B' Battery, Kentucky Light Artillery, the 9th Michigan Infantry and the 3rd Minnesota infantry. Stores valued at $500,000, four field pieces, 60 wagons, 300 mules and 175 horses were taken. The entire Union force of about 1,200 lost 19 killed and 120 wounded. Confederate losses were 30 killed and 60 wounded. The Confederates withdrew to Readyville, thence to McMinnville, after tearing up the railroad and destroying bridges."