An incident which occurred in the west took place in the last few weeks of the war, on March 29, 1865, as Forrest was moving his force from West Point, Miss, toward Selma and Tuscaloosa. His intention was to meet and attack Wilson's column before it reached Selma. I will quote Robert Seth Henry's account of this in his record of Nathan Bedford Forrest's wartime carreer, "First With the Most."

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"Having started his columns, Forrest himself with his escort followed on March twenty-seventh heading toward Finche's Ferry across the Warrior, near Eutaw. On the way, at the bridge over the Sipsey between Carter's and Colter's ferries, the advance of Forrest's force took into custody two men, or rather a man and a boy, accursed of desertion. They were immediately tried before a drumhead courtmartial and, in spite of protestations of innocence which Dr. Wyeth (an earlier Forrest biographer) was informed were afterward found to be true, were condemned to death, and executed forthwith. Their bodies were laid out by the side of the road along which the troops were to pass, beneath a tree to which was nailed a large sign, 'Shot for Desertion.' As the column passed, General Jackson was ordered to leave behind an officer and twenty men to guard the bridge and ferries 'until day after tomorrow morning, when they will bury the two men who have been shot here at the bridge today, then follow on and report to their commands... Should the officer left behind catch other deserters he will take them to the bridge and execute them.'"

So far as I have read this said officer did not stage any further executions at Sipsey Bridge. Because this location (Sipsey Mills Bridge) was about two miles from where I grew up, I of necessity have ferreted out other sources on this. It seems that these two were Kentuckians, and were regularly enlisted. One source suggests that the eastward movement of Forrest's cavalry was interpreted by those in the ranks that they were being moved to the Carolinas, where many were unwilling to be transferred, so far from their homes. Thus desertion was quite a problem during this movement from Mississippi.

When the two were caught going the opposite direction as the other troops, their passes were checked, which were signed by an officer whom Forrest recognized to be some 100 miles away, and could not possibly have approved their abscence from their units. Dr. Wyeth says that they had no passes, but the following account quotes Forrest's exact reaction to the forged passes. This seemed to be the weight of the men's guilt. Forrest detailed twenty men as the firing squad. The officer ordered to carry out the sentence hesitated, thinking that Forrest was not serious. I quote William Love, a trooper of Co K, 6th Miss Cav, in "Reminisceces of the Closing Days of the War of Session."

"...the provost guard arrested two men, supposedly members of the command who were going in the opposite direction along the road, seemingly conscious of the priviledge. Brought before the captain he glanced over the paper presented; and acting perhaps, without a thought of comnsequences, handed it back with the remark, 'General Forrest is coming on just behind, show it to him.' Passing on they sooon met the General, who greeted them cordialy, with 'well boys, what is you want?' Presenting the paper they had but a moment to wait, when the face of the General flushed and in a positive tone exclaimed, 'This is a ______ lie: The officer whose name is signed here is a hundred miles away and knows not a _____ thing about this. You are deserting in the face of the enemy and you shall be punished.' Turning to one of his staff officers, he ordered a detail of twenty men armed and equipped for duty. Other matters claimed his attention, he for a time seemed to forget this, but later inquired if the order was transmitted. The officer addressed replied, 'No, General,I did not think you really meant it, I thought you only intended to scare them.' 'Yes, I did mean it,' he said with great warmth. 'These men are deserting and shall be made an example of.' Standing erect and facing the General the officer said with coolness and firmness, 'General Forrest, you can send the order through another channel if you choose. These men are entitled to a fair and impartial trial, otherwise, I will have nothing whatever to do with the matter.' It appears remarkable to say the least, that an officer so near General Forrest and one of his own selection should thus defiantly disobey a direct order and thereby subject himself to a charge of insubordination with its attendent penalty. But when we consider the fact that it requires real men of the ranks, as well as officers of the line and staff to make and sustain a successful general, it can be understood why this breach of discipline was overlooked, or palliated.

"General Forrest knew and appreciated the officer and realized that he could not dispence with his services without great loss to the cause, for which they both were giving unqualified support. Undaunted by this open resistance the prisoners were declared guilty and promptly executed...Enemies of General Forrest, influenced doubtless by rank partizanship growing out of the rivalries of war and postbellum occurrences even now claim that the men were executed by hanging. This is a vicious fabrication and unworthy of a moments consideration by fair minded men."

I gather that Forrest initially expected the execution order to be carried through without even a trial, but realizing the need for some degree of due process, and respecting the conviction of his staff officer, had a quick court martial which nevertheless upheld the General's vertict. Love ends this portion of his narrative with a humorous incident:

"The day after the execution, a courier, riding haead of the column and alone, became weary and turning aside, tied his horse to the fence and stretching himself on the ground was soon asleep. Another courier soon came upon the scene and appreciating the situation, connecting the past and present, he tok from his satchel a paper and with the stopper of his ink bottle wrote in large letters, 'shot for desertion,' and placed it upon the breast of the sleeper. Untieing his horse, he led it with his own into the woods, then hiding himself nearby awaited developments. Soon the head of the column reached the spot and broke ranks together beside the prostrate form. Indignation and defiance were depicted in every face, threats and denunciations were heard all around the circle, but the climax was reached when an over-enraged comrade essaying to make a speech exclaimed, 'General Forrest, or no General Forrest, this thing must stop,' and suiting action to words clapped his hands together with such force as to make a report like that of a carbine. At this time the sleeper awoke and seeing the placard and his assembled comrades looking on in blank astonishment he jumped to his feet and with drawn pistol and a deluge of profanity, threatened to blow hell out of the man that did it."