On Sunday Nov. 14, at the beginning of my latest stint as a speaker aboard American Cruise Lines ships, I was strolling through downtown Memphis when I came upon two historical markers. They are representative of the evolving discussion of the Civil War and related matters.
The first marker, placed by the Tennessee Historical Commission on an unknown date, stated that Forrest lived on the site and that “his business enterprises made him wealthy” before the war. No details were given about those “enterprises.”
About 50 yards from that marker was another, placed in 2018 by a local church and the National Park Service, which described in detail, on both sides, those enterprises, e.g. buying and selling slaves, violating the law about importing slaves for sale, etc. etc.
Below are photos of the signs.
GENE SCHMIEL, CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN, AUTHOR, AND LECTURER 