As you may know, the city of Memphis, Tennessee deemed that one of their long-time historical figures had to be removed. This figure is General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who actually saved the city during the Civil War. Although he has always been a controversial figure, he has been considered to be a strategical genius in the art of warfare. He lived most of his life in the Memphis area, and died there as well. Prior to his death, his ex-slaves revered him; so much so that they even fought for the Confederacy under his command. Forrest did much in his later years to reunite racial relations in the city.
General Forrest requested that he be buried in Elmwood Cemetery near his four brothers, who all served in the Confederate cavalry. As per his instructions, he was buried in Elmwood in 1877. However, his son, William, gave the consent for his father and mother’s remains to be moved about one and a half miles to Forrest Park in 1904. This was during a saner time when Memphis actually acknowledged Forrest for his acheivements and revered him by building a park named after him and placing a beautiful statue of him over the tombs of him and his wife.
Fast forward to 2021. The name of the park has been changed to Health Sciences Park. The statue was removed a few years prior and placed in storage. And last week, the bodies of Forrest and his wife, Mary Ann, were exhumed. Here is a letter from SCV Commander Larry McCluney, Jr., explaining upcoming events.
Announcement: Forrest Remains Recovered!
June 11, 2021
Compatriots, It gives me great pleasure to announce that recovery of General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest’s remains have been recovered from their former gravesite in Memphis. I want to congratulate Lee Millar, the men on the Recovery Crew, and the members of the Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp #215 in Memphis, TN and the legal team of H. Edward Phillips III, Chuck Blackard, III, W. J. “Bo” Ladner, III, and Jonathan J. Pledger, on a job well done. We also thank the Forrest Family for allowing us to take part in this momentous occasion. The remains are held in an undisclosed location and later will be transported to an undisclosed location in Middle Tennessee. These sites will be kept in secrecy for security reasons.
Now we enter the next phase, the planning for the funeral. Fundraising still continues as we raise money for the reinternment of General Forrest and his beloved wife. Please give to make this event happen as we bring one of our heroes home to be buried on land less than 30 minutes from where he was born. Let us always keep in mind that we are honored by the Forrest Family to participate in this solemn occasion. NO we do not have a date set yet, once the committee has finish all the details, then we will be making an announcement so you can make plans to attend.
Once the funeral is complete, then phase three; restoring the plaza and remounting the equestrian statue on the grave will occur. This will not be easy nor quick. Once complete we will rededicate this plaza to honor the General.
Please be patient with us as you and the entire membership will be informed once the date is secured. For now, let us “walk a little prouder and hold our heads higher” in this great victory! God has truly vindicated us in this effort. Let us remember the charge given to us by General Stephen Dill Lee as we continue to press forward.
Deo Vindicie,
Larry McCluney, Jr.
Commander-in-Chief
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Here is another letter written by H.K. Edgerton, who was previously the president of the NAACP and now advocates for the Confederacy by dressing in uniform and traveling around the country giving speeches to explain the Southern cause and the existence of black Confederates.
Dateline: June 16, 2021 Subject: Open Report – Monument Protection by HK Edgerton
When the Honorable Gary Johnson and I attended the Young Republican Party meeting in Pell City, AL several months ago, I was elated to hear Alabama State Rep. Mike Holmes talk about strengthening monument protection laws from just a one time fine of $25,000 to a daily fine until any and all damages are repaired and the monument has been replaced in its original position. Punishment for vandalization or illegal removal was now front and center. This is something that is lacking in the monument protection laws in my home state of North Carolina where criminals are scourging our treasured relics without fear of real punishment from the law; even the elected demigods are placing themselves above the law…Silent Sam at the University of NC – Chapel Hill and the Vance Monument in the City of Asheville, NC
Fast forwarding to the Great State of Florida which is grappling with a monument protection law; a lobbyist and former lt. governor Jeff Kottkamp in a conference call did one better than Alabama: (a) proposing to make it a second degree felony for damage or unlawful removal, (b) the withholding of federal or state funds from municipalities of those elected demigods who place themselves above the law with no expectations of retribution for their unlawful actions. The only part of his presentation that I did not understand was tacking on a proposed education component to his bill. I was thrilled when he made it clear that this protection law would include all things Confederate.
However, my concern has and will continue to be the changing of the nations attitude towards those of us born in the states of the Confederacy who are continually treated as the scum of America. Our children are forced fed the lie that the war made against the Southern people was to end the economic institution of slavery. The Southern white man made a grand stand against so many unlawful acts of tyranny and a stand for the lawful act of secession. Daily our children are forced fed the false narrative that this illegal invader from the North came to our homeland to end slavery; with his hand still firmly around the African’s neck, never presenting the love, caring, and continuous acts to move the Africans towards social and vertical mobility as the Southern white man tried to do and was stopped to this very day, the one and only man on God’s earth who ever truly loved the African people.
God bless my dear brother and friend, the Honorable Fred C. Morse III of Austin, TX (1946 – 2021) who went to his celestial home to be with the Almighty God whose face carries a big smile to see a man of this world who He can look at and say, “Well done, my son!”
Your brother, HK Edgerton
I have mixed feelings about removing the general and his wife. I feel it is an atrocity that the city of Memphis pushed to have the bodies removed in the first place. Talk about disrespectful! Their claim is because of racism, but is it really? Or is it Marxism? It’s my understanding that it is a Federal offense to tamper with a grave, especially that of a military officer. I’m not sure about moving the bodies to the new SCV facility in Tennessee. Personally, I think the bodies should have been returned to Elmwood Cemetery. I understand the controversy, because I’m sure vandals would have attacked there as well. What is your take on all of this? I’d be happy to read your comments. Thanks so much.