| Second Battle of Memphis | |||||||
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| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
 Attack on Irving Block Prison | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Confederate States of America | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Cadwallader C. Washburn |  Nathan Bedford Forrest | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Memphis garrison | Forrest's Cavalry Division | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 6,000 [1] | 2,000 [1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 480 [1] [2] | 62 [1] | ||||||
The Second Battle of Memphis was a battle of the American Civil War occurring on August 21, 1864, in Shelby County, Tennessee. [3]
At 4:00 a.m. on August 21, 1864, Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest made a daring raid on Union-held Memphis, Tennessee, but it was not an attempt to capture the city, which was occupied by 6,000 Federal troops. The raid had three objectives: to capture three Union generals posted there; to release Southern prisoners from Irving Block Prison; and to cause the recall of Union forces from northern Mississippi. Striking northwestward for Memphis with 2,000 cavalry, Forrest lost about a quarter of his strength because of exhausted horses. Surprise was essential. Taking advantage of a thick dawn fog and claiming to be a Union patrol returning with prisoners, the Confederates eliminated the sentries.
Galloping through the streets and exchanging shots with other Union troops, the raiders split to pursue separate missions. One Union general was not at his quarters. During the raid, another—General Cadwallader C. Washburn—escaped to Fort Pickering dressed in his night-shirt after John Alexander Bryan of Co I, 15th Tennessee Cavalry, captured his horse. [4] Forrest took Washburn's uniform, but later returned it under a flag of truce. [5] According to Memphis legend, Confederate cavalrymen rode into the lobby of the luxurious Gayoso House Hotel seeking US army officers. [6] A street in Memphis is named "General Washburn's Escape Alley" in commemoration of the ordeal. [7] The attack on Irving Block Prison also failed when Union troops stalled the main body at the State Female College. After two hours, Forrest decided to withdraw, cutting telegraph wires and taking 500 prisoners along with large quantities of supplies, including many horses.
Although Forrest failed in Memphis, his raid influenced Union forces to return there from northern Mississippi to protect the city. Union General Stephen A. Hurlbut was quoted afterward as saying, "There it goes again! They superseded me with Washburn because I could not keep Forrest out of West Tennessee, and Washburn cannot keep him out of his own bedroom!"
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealth as a cotton plantation owner, horse and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave trader. In June 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and became one of the few soldiers during the war to enlist as a private and be promoted to general without any prior military training. An expert cavalry leader, Forrest was given command of a corps and established new doctrines for mobile forces, earning the nickname "The Wizard of the Saddle". He used his cavalry troops as mounted infantry and often deployed artillery as the lead in battle, thus helping to "revolutionize cavalry tactics", although the Confederate high command is seen by some commentators to have underappreciated his talents. While scholars generally acknowledge Forrest's skills and acumen as a cavalry leader and military strategist, he has remained a controversial figure in Southern racial history for his main role in the massacre of several hundred Union soldiers at Fort Pillow, a majority of them black, coupled with his role following the war as a leader of the Klan.
The Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, also known as the Battle of Tishomingo Creek or the Battle of Guntown, was fought on Friday, June 10, 1864, near Baldwyn, Mississippi, then part of the Confederate States of America. A Federal expedition from Memphis, Tennessee, of 4,800 infantry and 3,300 cavalry, under the command of Brigadier-General Samuel D. Sturgis, was defeated by a Confederate force of 3,500 cavalry under the command of Major-General Nathan B. Forrest. The battle was a victory for the Confederates. Forrest inflicted heavy casualties on the Federal force and captured more than 1,600 prisoners of war, 18 artillery pieces, and wagons loaded with supplies. Once Sturgis reached Memphis, he asked to be relieved of his command.
James Harrison Wilson was a United States Army topographic engineer and a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War. He served as an aide to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Maryland Campaign before joining Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army in the Western Theater, where he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1864, he transferred from engineering to the cavalry, where he displayed notable leadership in many engagements of the Overland Campaign, though his attempt to destroy Lee’s supply lines failed when he was routed by a much smaller force of Confederate irregulars.
Grierson's Raid was a Union cavalry raid during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. It ran from April 17 to May 2, 1863, as a diversion from Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's main attack plan on Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Benjamin Henry Grierson was a music teacher, then a career officer in the United States Army. He was a cavalry general in the volunteer Union Army during the Civil War and later led troops in the American Old West.
Fort Pillow State Historic Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance. In 1861, the Confederate army built extensive fortifications and named the site for General Gideon Johnson Pillow of Maury County. It was attacked and held by the Union Army for most of the American Civil War period except immediately after the Battle of Fort Pillow, when it was retaken by the Confederate Army. The battle ended with a massacre of African-American Union troops and their white officers attempting to surrender, by soldiers under the command of Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Interpretive sites are part of the park.
The Battle of Fort Pillow, also known as the Fort Pillow massacre, was fought on April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River in Henning, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. The battle ended with a massacre of Union soldiers attempting to surrender, by soldiers commanded by Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Military historian David J. Eicher concluded: "Fort Pillow marked one of the bleakest, saddest events of American military history."
The Battle of Selma, Alabama, formed part of the Union campaign through Alabama and Georgia, known as Wilson's Raid, in the final full month of the American Civil War.
The Battle of Johnsonville was fought November 4–5, 1864, in Benton and Humphreys counties, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. Confederate cavalry commander Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest culminated a 23-day raid through western Tennessee by attacking the Union supply base at Johnsonville. Forrest's attack destroyed a total of 28 Union boats and barges in the Tennessee River and millions of dollars of supplies, disrupting the logistical operations of Union Major General George H. Thomas in Nashville. As a result, Thomas's army was hampered in its plan to defeat Confederate Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's invasion of Tennessee, known as the Franklin-Nashville Campaign.
Andrew Jackson Smith was a United States Army general during the American Civil War, rising to the command of a corps. He was most noted for his victory over Confederate General Stephen D. Lee at the Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi, on July 14, 1864.
Streight's Raid took place in northern Alabama during the American Civil War. It was led by Union Army Col. Abel Streight and opposed by Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Streight's goal was to destroy parts of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which was supplying the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The raid was poorly supplied and planned, and ended with the defeat of Streight and his 1,700 men at Cedar Bluff, Alabama, by Forrest who bluffed his opponent into surrendering to his 500 men. Streight was additionally hindered by locals throughout his march, while pursued by Forrest, who had the advantage of home territory and the sympathy and aid of the local populace, most famously Emma Sansom.
The Battle of Paducah was fought on March 25, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Confederate cavalry force led by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest moved into Tennessee and Kentucky to capture Union supplies. Tennessee had been occupied by Union troops since 1862. He launched a successful raid on Paducah, Kentucky, on the Ohio River.
Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed unsuccessfully by a much smaller force under Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The Battle of Okolona took place on February 22, 1864, in Chickasaw County, Mississippi, between Confederate and Union forces during the American Civil War. Confederate cavalry, commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, faced over 7,000 cavalry under the command of Brig. Gen. William Sooy Smith and defeated them at Okolona, causing 100 casualties for the loss of 50.
The Battle of Anthony's Hill was an engagement that occurred December 25, 1864, in Tennessee during the American Civil War between combined Confederate cavalry and infantry units commanded by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union forces commanded by Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson. The battle was a part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign.
Forrest's Cavalry Corps was part of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and commanded by Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Formed during the summer of 1862, it took part in the various battles in the Western Theater during the second half of the war. At first serving as part of the Army of Tennessee, both Forrest and the corps were then transferred to northern Mississippi and often launched independent raids into Union occupied western and central Tennessee.
Tyree Harris Bell was a Confederate States Army brigadier general, during the American Civil War.
The 6th Arkansas Cavalry Battalion was a Confederate Army cavalry battalion during the American Civil War.
The Battle of Sacramento was an engagement of the American Civil War that took place in Sacramento, Kentucky on December 28, 1861. Confederate cavalry under Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest, numbering between 200 and 300, attacked, encircled and defeated a Union force of 500 under Major Eli H. Murray which had been watering south of the town after moving across the bank of the Green River. Though exact casualty information is disputed, with differing accounts from each side, several eyewitnesses attested to the personal courage of Forrest, and the Confederate commander was praised by his superiors for his bravery.
The Holly Springs Raid saw Earl Van Dorn lead Confederate cavalry against a Union supply depot at Holly Springs, Mississippi during the American Civil War. The mounted raiders achieved complete surprise, capturing the Federal garrison and destroying $1.5 million of supplies intended for Ulysses S. Grant's army. In the following days, Van Dorn's troopers moved north along the Mississippi Central Railroad almost to Bolivar, Tennessee, destroying track and bridges, before escaping into northern Mississippi. The damage inflicted by the Holly Springs Raid together with the harm caused by Nathan Bedford Forrest's West Tennessee Raids forced Grant's Union army to withdraw to Memphis. Additionally, both Van Dorn and Forrest's raids obstructed the full implementation of Grant's controversial General Order No. 11 for weeks, preventing many Jewish people from being expelled from Grant's military district.
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