Editing Nathan Bedford Forrest (section)

===Early cavalry command===
After the Civil War broke out, Forrest returned to Tennessee from his Mississippi ventures and enlisted in the [[Confederate States Army]] (CSA) on June 14, 1861. He reported for training at [[Fort Wright (Tennessee)|Fort Wright]] near [[Randolph, Tennessee]],<ref name="Chalmers1878">{{cite book|author=James R. Chalmers|editor=R.A. Brock|title=Southern Historical Society Papers|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ex5PAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA455|volume=7|year=1878|publisher=Virginia Historical Society|page=455|chapter=Lieutenant-General N. B. Forrest and His Campaigns|access-date=March 3, 2018|archive-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509170140/https://books.google.com/books?id=ex5PAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA455#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> joining [[Captain (OF-2)|Captain]] Josiah White's cavalry company, the Tennessee Mounted Rifles (Seventh Tennessee Cavalry), as a [[Private (rank)|private]] along with his youngest brother and 15-year-old son. Upon seeing how badly equipped the CSA was, Forrest offered to buy horses and equipment with his own money for a [[regiment]] of Tennessee volunteer soldiers.{{sfn|Axelrod|2011|p=84}}<ref name="Dougherty2015">{{cite book|author=Kevin Dougherty|title=The Vicksburg Campaign: Strategy, Battles and Key Figures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m4P2BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|year=2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-9797-3|page=62|access-date=March 2, 2018|archive-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509170123/https://books.google.com/books?id=m4P2BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA62#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

His superior officers and [[Governor of Tennessee]] [[Isham G. Harris]] were surprised that someone of Forrest's wealth and prominence had enlisted as a soldier, especially since significant planters were exempted from service. They commissioned him as a [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] and authorized him to recruit and train a battalion of Confederate mounted rangers.{{sfn|Browning|2004|pp=9–10}} In October 1861, Forrest was given command of a regiment, the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry. Though Forrest had no prior formal [[military training]] or experience, he had exhibited leadership and soon proved he could successfully employ [[military tactics]].<ref name="Knight2014">{{cite book |author=James R. Knight|title=Hood's Tennessee Campaign: The Desperate Venture of a Desperate Man |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBR3CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT27 |year=2014|publisher=Arcadia Publishing Inc.|isbn=978-1-62585-130-7|page=27|access-date=March 2, 2018|archive-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509170134/https://books.google.com/books?id=VBR3CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT27#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Morton|first=John Watson|year=1909|title=The Artillery of Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry: 'the Wizard of the Saddle'|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nmQUAAAAYAAJ|publisher=Publishing house of the M.E. Church, South, Smith & Lamar, agents |page=1|isbn=978-1560130086|access-date=December 11, 2015|archive-date=May 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509170201/https://books.google.com/books?id=nmQUAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Forrest gained a reputation for his willingness to maintain discipline through the use of physical force. When the information with which a scout returned proved to be erroneous, Forrest struck the man's head against a tree. After a lieutenant refused to join his troops in a river where they were building a bridge, Forrest pushed him into the water. A soldier who refused to paddle across the [[Tennessee River]] was hit with an oar by his general. Two others who fled from a rout were beaten with a branch, and Forrest shot the one who had borne the colors. Along with brutal treatment of his prisoners, this led many soldiers and junior officers to refuse to serve under him.{{sfn|Rein|2022|p=54–55}}

Public debate surrounded [[Tennessee in the American Civil War|Tennessee]]'s decision to join the Confederacy, and both the Confederate and [[Union Army|United States]] armies recruited soldiers from the state. Over 100,000 men from Tennessee served with the Confederacy, and over 31,000 served with the U.S. Army.<ref name="McKim1912">{{cite book|author=Randolph Harrison McKim |year=1912|title=The Numerical Strength of the Confederate Army |url=https://archive.org/details/numericalstreng01mckigoog |publisher=Neale Publishing Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/numericalstreng01mckigoog/page/n63 59]}}</ref> Forrest posted advertisements to join his regiment, with the slogan, "Let's have some fun and kill some Yankees!".{{sfn|Mitcham|2016|p=26}} Forrest's command included his Escort Company (his "Special Forces"), for which he selected the best soldiers available. This unit, which varied in size from 40 to 90 men, constituted the elite of his cavalry.{{sfn|Mitcham|2016|p=151}}