Giclee canvas print; size 27″ x 18″

The winners of wars get to write the history and did write out, Slaves were given the chance to join Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry when he formed it in Memphis, promising them freedom if the South lost and freedom if the South won.

Depending on whose historian you read, either 43 or 45 slaves enlisted with Forrest. Twenty were said to have taken up arms and fought alongside Forrest in battle, notably at the historic Battle of Fort Pillow.  All the black people who enlisted with Forrest remained with him throughout the war and seven became his personal escort service soldiers, with the exception of one deserter.  The truth about Nathan Bedford Forrest has been widely distorted by the winners of the American Civil War