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NOTICE: Due to the covid-related meeting restrictions, the November meeting will be "zoom." CWRT members will be sent access instructions via email and via the newsletter.


November 12th
John R. Scales on Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of the most intriguing and controversial characters to emerge during the Civil War. Books and articles on the man span the gamut from hero worship because of his remarkable battlefield victories, to condemnation for his involvement with the slaughter at Fort Pillow and later, his association with the Ku Klux Klan. Retired Special Forces brigadier general John R. Scales plows entirely new ground with his new book, The Battles and Campaigns of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, 1861--1865, a careful and unique examination of Forrest's wartime activities and how his actions affected the war in the Western Theater.

Each chapter covers specific raids or campaigns, all arranged chronologically. After describing the environment within which Forrest operated, which helps readers understand the larger situation within which his movements were made and his battles were fought, Gen. Scales narrates the decisions Forrest and his opponents made and the actions they took. General Scales utilizes upon his own extensive military background to help evaluate and explain how and why Forrest grew in command ability and potential as a result of his experiences--or didn't.

The late award-winning author Albert Castel asked two major questions about Nathan Bedford Forrest: "Exactly what impact did Forrest's dazzling raids and victories have upon the overall course of the war?" and "Had Forrest been given a higher command and/or greater opportunities, what would have been the potential outcome as regards the fate of the Confederacy?" The Battles and Campaigns of General Nathan Bedford Forrest makes it much easier to answer both.

John R. Scales is a retired Special Forces officer combat veteran of both Vietnam and Operation Enduring Freedom, and a graduate of the U.S. Army War College's Senior Service College Fellow program.

For our 2020-2021 program year, we proudly welcome these outstanding speakers:

Sept. 11th, 2020: Fergus Bordewich on Congress at War
Oct. 9th: Stuart Sanders on Perryville
Nov. 12th: John R. Scales on General Nathan Bedford Forrest
Dec. 10th: Dave Powell on Union Command Failure in the Shenandoah
Jan. 8th: Jennifer Murray on General George Meade
Feb. 12th: Leslie Goddard presents Clara Barton
Mar. 12th: Greg Biggs, The Nevin-Freeman Address
Apr. 9th: Ron Kirkwood on Too Much for Human Endurance: The Spangler Farm Hospitals
May 14th: Michael Hardy on General Lee's Immortals
June 11th: TBD

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