Sherman Nathan Bedford Forrest was an unorthodox soldier. He was not trained in military tactics, had not read the great texts on strategy and according to some could not even drill a company. Yet, what he lacked in training he made up for in his aggressive actions and energy to win battles, always taking the shortest lines towards his objectives, grasping opportunities and countless times seizing victory from the brink of defeat. A physically imposing man, he led his men from example as a hard rider and fierce swordsman in the heat of conflict. It was said that had killed up to thirty enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Forrest’s actions and unpredictability terrified Union troops and their commanders who termed him “that Devil Forrest”, while for the south he quickly became a hero. Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee both agreed in their postwar memoirs that the outcome of the war might have been different if they had better used Forrest’s talents. General Thomas Jordan and J. P. Pryor’s brilliant account of the campaigns of Nathan Bedford Forrest and his cavalry uncover the actions of this innovative leader. General Forrest gave the authors complete access to his military papers, conducted numerous interviews and worked closely with them to create this fascinating book. Through the course of the work they cover Forrest’s many campaigns and battles including Sacramento, Fort Donaldson, Shiloh, Murfreesboro, the West Tennessee raids, Dover, Brentwood, Chattanooga, Day's Gap, Chickamauga, Paducah, Brice's Crossroads, Tupelo, the Tennessee Raids, Nashville, and Selma, as well as the infamous Battle of Fort Pillow. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the life of this fascinating man and the campaigns that he led through the course of the American Civil War. “Forrest ... used his horsemen as a modern general would use motorized infantry. He liked horses because he liked fast movement, and his mounted men could get from here to there much faster than any infantry could” Bruce Catton, The Civil War General Thomas Jordan was a Confederate general and major operative in the network of Confederate spies during the American Civil War. After the war he became newspaper editor and author, writing articles about the American Civil War. He co-wrote this book with J. P. Pryor who was a professional journalist. Their book The Campaigns Of General Nathan Bedford Forrest And Of Forrest's Cavalry was first published in 1868.

    Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1868. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... The interval of five years between 25 and 80 years' service would give officers ample time to consider whether they would retire from the service or follow it to the end. This alternative ought to be presented to them in the most explicit manner. Any prospective increase of pension would defeat the object of the whole arrangement, by bribing officers to remain whose retirement was demanded by the interests of the public service, of the officers below them, and, in a majority of cases, of the officers themselves. Mr. Childers' Committee was aware of the importance of this consideration, for they remarked that the pension should be so graduated as to give an officer, after thirty years' service, little or no inducement to remain in the corps solely on account of any prospect of better retirement at a greater age. At fifty, an officer should practically have to make his election between seeking the higher commands in the corps, or (if his qualifications or circumstances unfit him for them) retiring from the service; but the practice of the Committee was inconsistent with their principle, for they proposed to continue the graduated increase of pension up to forty years' service or sixty years of age. It is true that the annual increment of pension recommended by the Committee drops after thirty years' service from 25 to 15; but, if it really be desirable that officers should at fifty years of age have to elect between seeking the higher commands or retiring from the army, without being induced to remain by 'any prospect of better retirement at a greater age, ' why is that prospect proposed to be held out to them? I shall not enter on the question of rates of pension, because they cannot be determined until the rates of pay have been settled. When appointm...