Nathan Bedford Forrest Equestrian Statue

 

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Patrick R.

Nashville, TN

5/12/2008 1 photo

This is the first time I've desperately wished Yelp had the option of giving zero stars.  The Nathan Bedford Forrest Memorial, which is beside I-65 South in Brentwood, is probably Nashville's most appalling landmark.  And I'm not only saying that because of the historical and racial implications--it's also aesthetically atrocious.

The address I've listed for this abomination is actually approximate.  The statue and its collection of surrounding Confederate flags (approximately a dozen in all) aren't actually on Oakley and Regent, but the site is between that point and the interstate.  You can check out Google Maps' satellite image or street view of the area from I-65 just west of the address I have listed.

Forrest, who is best known for his work as a general with the Confederate Army and his role as "Imperial Wizard" of the KKK in the years following the Civil War, is depicted in this statue as a ghastly, screaming dwarf.  The horse on which Forrest rides makes the general look like a nine-year-old with a radically contorted face wearing a false beard and a skirt.

The statue is on private property owned by a Nashville attorney.  This means the eyesore is there for better or worse, and none of us can do a thing about the fact that it is clearly visible from the interstate.  The statue has allegedly been shot at numerous times, but some of us simply take solace in the fact that it makes Forrest look like a stunted, maniacal idiot.

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