Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, planter and soldier. Marshall County, Tennessee, native. Son of William Forrest and Mary Beck Forrest. Married to Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest in DeSoto County, Mississippi, on September 25, 1845. Father of William Montgomery Forrest and Frances A. Forrest. Livestock and slave trader in DeSoto County, Mississippi, in 1850. Owned three enslaved persons in DeSoto County in 1850. Planter in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, in 1860. Owned seven enslaved persons in Memphis, Shelby County, in 1860. Served in White's Tennessee Mounted Rifles (C.S.A) as a private in June 1861. Served in Forrest's Cavalry Battalion (C.S.A.) as lieutenant colonel and colonel from June 1861 to July 21, 1862. Promoted to brigadier general on July 21, 1862. Promoted to major general on December 13, 1863. Promoted to lieutenant general on February 28, 1865. Commanded a Cavalry Corps in the Confederate Army. Surrendered on May 9, 1865.