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Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 6;30 p.m. - Elk's Lodge
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| Dr. Michael Bradley - "Nathan Bedford Forrest's Escort and Staff" |
| During the Civil War, army regulations, north & south, authorized an escort, or bodyguard company, for major generals. Most generals used men detailed from existing cavalry regiments. Major General Bedford Forrest recruited a special company which remained an independent command to serve as his escort. From their organization in the summer of 1862 until their surrender at Gainesville, Alabama, in May 1865, this group was in daily contact with General Forrest. In 1877, shortly before Forrest's death, the survivors of the escort met with Forrest and formed a Veterans Association. This organization met regularly until 1909 when only a handful of men remained alive. Dr. Michael Bradley has traced the war-time record of the escort company and has secured the minutes of the Veterans Association to tell the story of this legendary band of men |
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For thirty six years Dr. Bradley, a native of the Tennessee-Alabama state line region near Fayetteville, Tennessee, taught United States History at Motlow College, a Tennessee Board of Regents junior college near Tullahoma, Tennessee. He retired in May, 2006. Dr. Bradley is the author of several books on the War Between the States period including Tullahoma: The 1863 Campaign; With Blood and Fire: Behind Union Lines in Middle Tennessee; Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort & Staff in War and Peace; It Happened in the Civil War; and Home Fires in the Line of Fire, a part of an anthology about the war in Tennessee. Two recent articles have been published in North & South magazine; “Death Lists in Middle Tennessee,” and “In the Crosshairs: Confederate Civilians Targeted for Death by the United States Army.” He also writes on other topics including the Revolutionary War, the Great Smoky Mountains, and historical stories. Dr. Bradley has written for various reference works, including The Civil Rights Encyclopedia and The Tennessee Encyclopedia. In 2006, Dr. Bradley was elected Commander of the Tennessee Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. He is a Life Member of that organization |
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| Gen Bedford Foreest |
| Raised The Unique Escort Company |