dhuff
black Confederate veterans
Mon May 28 09:59:02 2001


It was brought to my attention that Nathan Bedford Forrest had fighting with him 300 black troops riding on horseback in some capacity. This would be significant for several reasons. For one, Forrest is credited with the creation of the Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee. This would negate the oft held belief that the Klan was organized as a racist institution. When reading of Confederate veterans being hauled out of their homes and killed for revenge after the war by angry yankees and traitors, I was under the impression that this was the purpose for the "circle". For another, such a large contingent of black troopers fighting for the South would indicate a wider support for the war by black Southerners who were fighting for their homes and a chance for a better life they felt more likely with a Southern victory than a Nothern one. This might give some idea of the mindset of the approx. 40 free blacks in Cherokee County in 1860.