Forrest's Right Arm!... Gen. T. H. Bell...

[5fish]

I never new Forrest had a fellow officer he called his "Right Arm"... I came across this General that rode with Forrest and was consider Forrest's right arm...

Brigadier General Tyree H. Bell, C.S.A. | University of Tennessee Press

utpress.org

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For two years, Tyree H. Bell (1814-1902) served as one of Nathan Bedford Forrest’s most trusted lieutenants in the Civil War. Forrest’s legendary exploits and charisma often eclipsed the contributions of his subordinates, as his story was told and retold by admiring soldiers and historians. Bell, however, stood out from others who served with Forrest. He was neither a professional soldier nor an attorney-politician; he was, instead, a farmer with no previous military experience, a model of the citizen-soldier.

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Using Bell’s unpublished autobiography and other primary materials, including Confederate letters, diaries, and official correspondence, author Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr., worked with Connie Walton Moretti and Jim Browne, two of Bell’s great-great-great grandchildren, to augment Bell’s manuscript and to write the first full-length biography of this significant Confederate soldier.

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In addition to giving insight into the man whose courage and leadership earned him the nickname “Forrest’s Right Arm,” the authors explore Bell’s early years in Tennessee and his adventurous postwar career in business and land speculation. This portrait of Bell is one of an unsung leader who risked much to fight for the Confederacy.

Here another link about the book:

https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/5954101

snip,...

Forrest's legendary exploits and charisma often eclipsed the contributions of his subordinates, as his story was told and retold by admiring soldiers and historians. Bell, however, stood out from others who served with Forrest. He was neither a professional soldier nor an attorney-politician; he was, instead, a farmer with no previous military experience, a model of the citizen-soldier.

 

[5fish]

Here is a bio ...

Tyree H. Bell - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Tyree H. Bell was born on September 5, 1815 in Covington, Kentucky, the son of Absalom B. Bell and Susannah Harris. He grew up on his father's small plantation at Gallatin, Tennessee. He was educated in rural schools. Bell became a planter on his own plantation in Sumner County, Tennessee.[1] Bell married Mary Ann Walton on December 2, 1841.[2] Tyree and Mary Ann Bell had nine children.[

 

[5fish]

Here is a little... more bio...

TYREE HARRIS BELL, CSA

A biography of Georgi Zhukov.

www.historycentral.com

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Transferred to cavalry command, he participated in the Battles of Perryville and Stone's River. Maj. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest recruited Bell when the general was organizing an independent command in West Tennessee and northern Mississippi in 1863. Bell served with Forrest until the end of the war. Initially, Bell served as a recruiting and conscript officer. He was eventually given command of a brigade, although he was not commissioned a brigadier general until February 28, 1865. He received the commission as a result of his service in the Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, his work with various Tennessee campaigns and in his leadership and combat in Mississippi. After being defeated around Selma, Alabama; Maj. Gen. Forest's troops and officers, including Bell, were surrendered.

 

[5fish]

Here is a paragraph were Forrest heaps praise on Bell and others...

Brig. Gen. Tyree Harris Bell

Premier On-line Site For Researching Civil War Ancestors. We specialize in providing tools for history and genealogy research. Find out about the Civil War Generals.

www.researchonline.net

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Brigadier-General Tyree H. Bell, one of the many gallant officers given by the Volunteer State to the Southern Confederacy, entered the service as captain in the Twelfth Tennessee infantry, June 4, 1861, and was elected lieutenant-colonel. His military duties during 1861 were with the army under Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk at Columbus, Ky. He commanded the regiment at the battle of Belmont, November 7, 1861, the colonel being that day in command of a brigade. At Shiloh he was again in command of his regiment, Col. R. M. Russell having charge of the First brigade, First division, army of Mississippi. Colonel Russell in his report of the operations of his brigade at Shiloh says: "Lieutenant Colonel Bell and Maj. R. P. Caldwell were distinguished by their courage and energy. The former had two horses shot under him." In July, 1862, Bell was promoted to colonel of the Twelfth Tennessee and let it in the Kentucky campaign, participating in the battle of Richmond, Ky. Colonel Bell after this had a cavalry command operating in Tennessee and Kentucky. He was raiding in rear of the Union army during the Murfreesboro campaign, and at the time of the battle of Chickamauga, and afterward, was busy upon the flank and rear of the Federal troops. On the 25th of January, 1864, Major-General Forrest, who had assumed command of all the cavalry operating in north Mississippi, west Tennessee and Kentucky, placed Colonel Bell in command of a brigade in his division, consisting of the regiments of Russell, Greer, Newsom, Barteau and Wilson. General Forrest in his account of the battle of Fort Pillow says: "I cannot compliment too highly the conduct of Colonels Bell and McCulloch and the officers and men of their brigades which composed the forces of Brigadier-General Chalmers. They fought with courage and intrepidity, and without bayonets assaulted and carried one of the strongest fortifications in the country." In his report of the brilliant victory at Tishomingo creek, Forrest declares that General Buford "had abundant reason to be proud of his brigade commanders, Colonels Lyon and Bell, who displayed great gallantry during the day." Forrest again speaks in a complimentary manner of Bell at the battle of Harrisburg, in the Tupelo campaign, a battle in which, though repulsed, Forrest gained the substantial fruits of victory by breaking up the strongest of all the Federal expeditions into north Mississippi during 1864. Still later, Forrest made an expedition along the Tennessee river in October and November, 1864, in which he destroyed 4 gunboats, 14 transports, 20 barges, and over $6,700,000 of Federal property, besides capturing 26 pieces of artillery; and in this brilliant expedition Colonel Bell again won the praise of Forrest. he was soon afterward commissioned brigadier-general, and continued to act with Forrest's command until the close of the war.

 

[diane]

Indeed, Bell was one of Forrest's most valuable generals. During a crossing of a flooded river, Tyree Bell lost his footing and was swept off downstream, hitting his head on something. He was very dazed but was able to keep his face upwards and go with the flow, trying to grab something along the way or get himself to drift into the bank. He was pretty certain none of his efforts were going to help him, though, and decided the end was upon him. However, Forrest dived into the river and pulled him out before that happened. Wasn't about to lose one of his best officers!

Tyree Bell left the South and came to California. There were several agricultural colonies started by former Confederates in SoCal, Bell set up near Fresno. He became a very successful tomato farmer. He's buried in Sanger, California - near Fresno. His gravesite was recently vandalized.

Confederate monument vandalized at Sanger cemetery

A Confederate monument that sits at a Sanger cemetery has been vandalized. The monument honors Brigadier General Tyree Harris Bell, who moved to Fresno after the Civil War to become a farmer. The statue was smashed into shattered pieces and then spray painted. In June, there was a call for that...

kmph.com