Memphis digs up Confederate general

REMAINS ON MOVE

The bodies of a Confederate general and his wife will be removed from a Memphis, Tenn., park after a lawsuit fighting the relocation of the graves was settled out of court.

Controversy over Nathan Bedford Forrest, who died in 1877, has swirled for years. He’s alleged to have been the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, although he denied any association with them when called before a Congressional Joint Committee in 1871.

A statue of Forrest was removed from the Memphis park in 2017, which is when the most recent battle over the remains began. His family and the Sons of Confederate Veterans dropped a lawsuit against the city and Memphis Greenspace, the park’s owner, on May 11.

“He would say that Memphis is not the same as when he lived here. And rather than have all the turmoil, he would rather move,” Lee Millar, a spokesman for the plaintiffs, said, according to an article on the Fox13 website.

“I am very happy that we have been able to resolve this matter,” Van Turner, president of Memphis Greenspace, said, according to an article on the WMC5 website.

Forrest was born in Chapel Hill, Tenn. In 1852 he moved with his wife and two children to Memphis where he worked as a slave trader, according to an article on the History website. In 1858 he was elected as an alderman and by 1860 he owned two cotton plantations and was considered to be one of the wealthiest people in the state.

Following the start of the Civil War in 1861, Forrest enlisted as a private and worked his way up to being a lieutenant-general before his force disbanded following the Confederate surrender in April 1865. After the war, he had to sell many of his assets following the failure of his railroad business in 1874.

The graves of Forrest and his wife, Mary Ann Forrest, were originally moved from Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis and interred in the park, formerly known as Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, in November 1904. The statue was placed on top of the site the following year.

The new location for the graves and statue has not been confirmed, but is expected to be open to the public at a later date.

“History buffs and people from all over the world will be able to visit the new Forrest Park and be able to learn and see the statue and see the graves,” Millar said, according to an article on the News3 website.