My argument is not about the arms at Brice's Crossroads, it is with your very first statement. "Unfortunately few of Forrest's men carried revolvers or swords."

"Particulars from the reports were posted in the thread on Forrest at Brice's Crossroads, so it seems you haven't read them. A summary of the inspection report cited for May 16, 1864, can be found in the O.R. The O.R. report clearly describes Forrest's arms deficit of over 3,000 firearms as well as proposals to address the issue."

I'm sorry but the reference you give does not give details that you mention the form of a totals arms or ammunition type report. It only mentions that a report will be made for two special commands of 500 men each (that signed by Brand and Goodman). So I have not seen the reports. I also see a special order of 3,000 stand of arms/2000 accouterments from the Selma Arsenal to Forrest (wasn't this a temporary loan for this operation?) I could be wrong but I do remember an irrate general looking for his shipment of weapons that went to Forrest somewhere in the O.R. and Forrest had to return them.

"While the number of arms available at any time wasn't static, it wasn't so fluid that a Confederate commander might just stumble across seven thousand boxed sets of Colt revolvers just before a battle."

I never said anything like that. The point I'm making is general statements "Forrest' Men" (that's a common term that is too generic) rarely carried pistols or swords" is misleading and incorrect. Some of Forrest men carried only pistols, some did carry swords, some carried long arms, eventually they were armed even though they went without arms for a considerable time. In larger battles the number of Forrest men that carried long arms was the majority in the command; giving the commands under Forrest the tactical weapon of the mounted infantryman.

"Forrest's Men" where units either at one time built by him, acquired by him, or ordered to report to him for special duties. I consider 'Forrest Regiment' and later 'Forrest Old Regiment' a unit that could be truly called "Forrest's Men" and there are others. Early on Forrest spent much time and effort recruiting and outfitting his command or commands until eventually they were taken from him and he had to start all over again. As Forrest went up in the command structure he found himself commanding many units that he rarely saw or had the opportunity to personnally oversee their equipage. Towards the end of the war he commanded cavarly units over a vast area of the Confederacy. So as time went on many of "Forrest's men" were armed by their immediate company, battalion, regiment or brigade commander and rarely had the touch of Forrest's desires for arming his men. Only in special cases did he oversee the arming of large bodies of troopers under him.

(Captain Harris 4th Tenn. Cav.)

If I were an officer, just captured, you bet I would be studying my captors. Two dozen soldiers is not a lot of soldiers to look at or be able to determine what arms they were carrying. It doesn't take a genius to count the weapons of twenty-five men.
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David Upton