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People of the Civil War · Confederacy

Jeffrey E. Forrest

c. 1837–1864

Ninth-plate ambrotype portrait of Jeffrey E. Forrest in Confederate uniform · Image source and credits

Jeffrey E. Forrest

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Ninth-plate ambrotype portrait of Jeffrey E. Forrest in Confederate uniform

Background

Younger brother of Nathan Bedford Forrest and a Confederate cavalry officer who was killed at Okolona in 1864.

Family and service

Jeffrey Edward Forrest was Nathan Bedford Forrest’s youngest brother and a Confederate cavalry officer. By 1864 he held the rank of colonel and led troops in the cavalry fighting in northern Mississippi.

Death at Okolona

He was killed during the Battle of Okolona in February 1864, while attacking a United States defensive position near Prairie Mount. His death occurred during the running battle between Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry and the force commanded by William Sooy Smith.

Biography sources