 Riding with Forrest: The Wizard of the Saddle
Nathan Bedford Forrest eluded pursuers and confounded opponents throughout the Civil War. However, he will not escape from you as this exciting tour will follow his path through many of the campaigns he led in an illustrious career. This is an opportunity to see the rare combination of common sense and tactical brilliance that created the legendary “Wizard of the Saddle” for the Confederacy. View Forrest at his best and his most controversial; study the battlefields and learn about the man who excelled in warfare as few others. The expert analysis and dramatic presentation of Brian Steel Wills, your historian guide and Forrest biographer, promises a unique and in-depth perspective.
For a week you will visit sites associated with this military genius and come to understand the circumstances in which he so frequently flourished against superior numbers. Although his impressive accrual of victories often came when he did not “get there first with the most” as he liked to say, he usually managed to arrive in time with enough men to win the day.
Forrest’s exploits have been the subject of study by subsequent generations and are the staple of military science today. Now you can see the places that made him famous and come to understand better the achievements of the man General William T. Sherman labeled, “that devil, Forrest,” but also said “…I think Forrest was the most remarkable man our Civil War produced on either side.”
TOUR INCLUDES
7 DAYS / 6 NIGHTS
- Historian Guide: Brian Steel Wills
- Services of a professional tour director
- Deluxe motorcoach transportation
- All admissions to included features
- Six nights hotel accommodations
- Six breakfasts, three lunches, and four dinners
- Welcome briefing
- All taxes, baggage handling, & gratuities on included features
- Suggested reading list
COST:
Per person double occupancy - $2,995
Per person single occupancy - $3,345
Click to request a 2009 printed Travel Guide.
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ITINERARY
Sunday, June 21
Gather in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Hilton Hotel. Enjoy a briefing and welcome dinner hosted by historian Brian Steel Wills and HistoryAmerica TOURS.
Monday, June 22
Start the day at the site of Forrest’s most controversial wartime engagement with a tour of Fort Pillow. Did the Union garrison surrender? Was it really a massacre? You then cover the ground over which Forrest raided extensively in western Tennessee, arriving at Paducah, Kentucky, where you stay overnight.
Tuesday, June 23
Following a morning tour of Paducah, you travel to the site of “Forrest’s first fight” at Sacramento, Kentucky—the beginning of a great military career. The tour heads south to Clarksville and over to Dover and Fort Donelson, where Forrest and Grant made their names by their actions there in 1862. You will spend the night in Paris, Tennessee.
Wednesday, June 24
Today you examine the highlights of Forrest’s exploits in middle Tennessee, beginning with his famed Johnsonville Raid where he and his men commandeered two Union steamers. His cavalry, now afloat, moved downriver to attack the important Johnsonville depot. You continue on to sites in the Nashville area, Spring Hill, and Columbia. Overnight in Columbia.
Thursday, June 25
After spending the morning touring the battlefield at Parker’s Cross Roads, you proceed to Shiloh, where Forrest experienced his first significant battle and nearly died while he and his men bravely and gallantly protected the Confederate retreat to Corinth. You will bivouac there for the evening.
Friday, June 26
The featured site today is Brice’s Crossroads, where, against the Union’s numerical advantage, Forrest used his superior knowledge of the enemy, aggressive tactics, and favorable terrain to win his greatest victory. In the afternoon you will stop briefly in Tupelo and visit Forrest’s equestrian statue and gravesite before heading back to Memphis. We cap off the evening with our farewell dinner at the hotel.
Saturday, June 27
Depart at your leisure after breakfast.
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