Clean Transcript

Nathan Bedford Forrest

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• OK, let me go ahead and start. I do want you to turn to Psalm 144. I want to make just a couple of announcements in regard to this message. First of all, I want you to—I want to remind you of the fact that I have been asked constantly when I preach in other places, they'll say, they'll ask, "Do you preach like this to your people?" And my standard response is, "I practice on them, so I can preach it better to you," you know.

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• And so the answer, of course, is yes. The message I'm going to be bringing today, by necessity, is going to have a few slang words in it. I just want you to understand that I do not use these slang words personally, but you can understand how if I did not use them in the quotes, it would certainly detract from what I'm going to try to show you. The message today is on principles of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

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• So if you look in Psalm 144 and let's read the very first verse and you will understand the impact and the importance of this verse as I get started. But David says, "Blessed be the Lord, my strength, which teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight." The very name Nathan Bedford Forrest creates controversy. In fact, there is a subdivision outside of Newton, Georgia, called Bedford Forrest, and when the man who built the subdivision named it Bedford Forrest, there was all kinds of hullabaloo being raised over Bedford Forrest. Well, one thing that may be said concerning General Nathan Bedford Forrest is this: There is no such thing as ambivalence concerning his person and his character. One either loves him or he hates him. One either appreciates his genius, his courage, his wisdom, his abilities, or one despises everything about him. Bedford Forrest has been called every conceivable name imaginable. He's been called illiterate, a backwoodsman, a crooked politician, a hillbilly, a devil, a genius, a spiritual comforter to his people, a man full of courage, the greatest military leader in the war, and a man of character.

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• General Nathan Bedford Forrest was never a compromiser, and those who study his life cannot be indecisive in regards to the truth concerning him. One of his old soldiers said it like this, "He wrote into my heart as well and still rides there." After the war was over, General Robert E. Lee was asked who was the best soldier that he ever commanded, and Lee replied, "A man I have never met, sir. His name is Forrest."

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• Now, I'm going to be limited in this message today because I am not going to be dealing with General Forrest's conversion to Christianity. Hopefully, I will do that a little bit later. But let me say this up front, that Forrest was converted after the war. The war was over when he was a changed man by the grace of God. Interestingly, though, Forrest did have many biblical principles, and you've got to remember that biblical principles may not only be taught by exhortation, but by example as well. And in those days, there were many individuals who were taught Christian principles either by precepts or by example. I will point out later that his mother, of course, was a Christian. His wife was a Christian.

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• But his mother, Mariam, had Scotch ancestry, having migrated herself from South Carolina. And she was a very forceful and a very determined woman. But at the same time, she was very loving and very kind. All of her children loved her. But Nathan Bedford Forrest practically adored her. He would always honor her. And he always honored his wife, and let me tell you this, he always honored women in general and held them in high esteem. If I had time in this message, I'd just like to tell you how he won his wife. It's a very interesting story, but I'm not going to do that. But he was just a wonderful man in that respect. Mariam Forrest had a profound influence upon his son.

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• In fact, one of Forrest's men was Captain D.C. Kelly, and Dr. Kelly was also a Methodist preacher. So when Mariam Forrest then visited her son during the battles, or on the battlefront I should say, she even attended a divine service with her son under the preaching of Captain D.C. Kelly who was a Methodist preacher who was attached to Forrest's command. Captain Kelly later remarked that while he was in Forrest's tent, he found a well-worn Bible bearing the name Mariam Forrest, which she had left for her son. Now, this is just to show you how particular Forrest was, and although he was not a Christian during this particular time, he did have Christian insight and Christian principles in a number of things because Forrest's 15-year-old son, Willie, joined him in the war and fought.

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• And Forrest was wise enough to know that he needed proper influence. And so what Forrest did then, he borrowed a few suitable companions for Willie. He chose the young sons of Bishop Otney of the Episcopal Church and the sons of General Daniel S. Donaldson of Tennessee. So for a man who was not a Christian at this time, he certainly exercised great discernment. Let me give you a general overall view of Forrest written by Bishop Gaylor.

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• Listen carefully because this will come into play in this message. Gaylor writes of Forrest, "He was a man of immense physical strength and size, and as resolute and audacious in personal encounters as in open battle. His temper was terrific when aroused, and his language was often violent and profane, but never vulgar or obscene. He detested uncleanness, as he despised wanton cruelness and oppression. In the midst of the battle, when his own life was in peril, he was known to rescue a woman and a child from danger and carry them to a place of safety."

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• "While he thrashed a scout with hickory switches for bringing him second-hand information, he degraded one of his best officers for trifling with the affections of a woman. He was unlearned, but not illiterate. A pen, he said, once reminded him of a snake, and his spelling was consistently wrong, but his natural eloquence could move his troops to enthusiasm. He did not know the first principles of the drill, being astonished at the effect of a trumpet call upon disciplined soldiers, and yet in his general plan of battle, he instinctively adopted the mature tactics of Napoleon. He exercised an authority as a general that was absolutely intolerant of the slightest variation of disobedience. And yet he was the genial companion of his subordinates and was foremost in exposing himself in battle."

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• He had 29 horses shot out from under him and with his own hands slew 30 men. That's just an overall view of General Forrest.

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• Now, I'm going to show you some biblical principles in relationship to him. But you've got to understand that General Forrest was a very imposing and a very striking man for his day and time. He was six feet two inches tall and weighed 210 pounds. Very large for that day. Very large for that day. And as such, he was very intimidating. He also used his marvelous skills as a hard rider and a fierce swordsman. And Forrest was known to sharpen not only the bottom or the cutting edge of the sword, but the top edge of the sword as well, because he would use both the top and the bottom in battle. Forrest did not drink, smoke, or even chew in a day in an atmosphere where drinking and smoking were a way of life to most people. Forrest was the only soldier on either side, north or south, that went from private to general.

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• He was unique in many ways, and there was a certain uniqueness that set him apart. One of his veterans wrote this: "Day or night, winter and summer alike, his indomitable energy never slackened or tired. He was everywhere and fell upon his enemy like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. He was more than a born soldier. He was a born god of battle. He, in a large measure, infused his own splendid spirit into his entire command. The commonest soldier under his eye became a hero."

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• "I think he would have accomplished substantially the same marvelous results with almost any body of men that might have been given to him. Who of his soldiers can ever forget the electrical effect of his presence on the battlefield or the danger beleaguered march? I can now see by the flashes of lightning in the dark night, while the rain falls in torrents, the dispirited column as it struggles through the indescribable swamps of Mississippi, men and beasts worn out with loss of sleep and with work and hunger. But see how every eye flashes wide open, how each bent form straightens itself in its saddle, how the very horses whinny with pleasure and recover their strength at the sound of that strange, shrill voice, and at the sight of that dark form, the incarnation of storm and battle that rides on his big"

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• "gray war steed, his legs swinging like pendulums on either side of the saddle, and followed by his feigned bodyguard. Each man is suddenly awake and invigorated by the first breath of dawn, all apprehensions of defeat slink away at his reproach. His commission as general was signed not only by Mr. Jefferson Davis, but by Almighty God Himself." That was what one of his veterans said, and they believed that because he was indeed a born fighter.

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• Now, I want to give you this morning, very quickly, four principles of Forrest. And I want you to see how these biblical principles that he absorbed from his mother, undoubtedly, and partially probably from his wife as well, how they affected him and his fighting even before his conversion. So, first of all, Forrest on fighting. Do you realize the Bible has a great deal to say about fighting? Contrary to popular opinion, neither fighting nor war are unbiblical. In fact, we are told in Exodus 15 and verse 3, "The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name." The Lord is a man of war. And Deuteronomy 4 and verse 34, the Bible teaches us that God used war to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

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• It was God that raised up Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Jephthah, and the judges. It was God who taught David how to fight. That's why David said, "Blessed be the Lord my God who teacheth my hands to war and my fingers to fight." It was God who gave strength and discernment to the men when they fought in battle. For instance, in 2 Samuel 23, we read of some of David's mighty men, and the Bible says this in verse 10 concerning Eleazar. Now listen, "He, Eleazar, arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil." Now listen to what the Bible says. "He, Eleazar, arose and smote the Philistines until his hand clave unto the sword." In other words, they had to pry his fingers out and off the sword. And then he went on to say, "...and the Lord wrought a great victory that day." How did the Lord work a great victory?

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• The Lord was using Eleazar as he fought. In verse 12 of 2 Samuel 23, we read this, "...but he, Shammah, stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory." So once again it's God who is giving the victory. It's God who is enabling these men to fight.

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• Now Forrest had a biblical view when it came to fighting. Forrest correctly understood the meaning of war when he said, "War means fighting and fighting means killing."

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• Now many people gasp at that statement, but it's a true statement. It's not only true historically, it is true biblically. All you have to do is read through the Bible, and you will find that there were times when God called Moses, God called Joshua, God called men, and He said, "You go in and kill every one of them." God directed Israel in the battle, and God directed them in times of war. And of course, when God did so, he did so in his justice and in his righteousness and his holiness. It was Augustine, one of the early church fathers, that said this, "Though defensive violence," now listen to what he said, "though defensive violence will always be a sad necessity in the eyes of men of principle, it would still be more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men." Let me paraphrase that.

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• If the wicked reign, the righteous die. Forrest fought. And he fought hard and he fought to win. He did not. He would not. And he could not hold back. Twenty-nine horses shot out from under him. One with a cannonball. He was so far in advance of his troops, chasing the Yankees as they were running, they had time to form a defensive line, and as the men parted, Forrest saw the cannon and he wheeled his horse to turn just as the cannon fired, and the cannonball hit right behind the saddle, cut the horse in half, Forrest disentangled himself from that fallen dead horse and fought on foot until his men got there to rescue him and take him away.

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• He killed 30 men in battle, either with his saber, pistol, shotgun, or bare hands. That doesn't count the men that he killed prior to the war in defending innocent individuals. Senator Daniel said of General Forrest, listen to this. "What genius was in that wonderful man? He felt the field as blind Tom touches the keys of a piano. War means killing, he said, and the way to kill is to get there first with the most men."

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• "He was not taught at West Point, but he gave lessons to West Point. His career was as brilliant and devoted in its allegiance to duty in peace as it was in the conflict of arms." Shelby Foote in the Civil War Narrative said this concerning Forrest. "In his first fight northeast of Bowling Green, the 40-year-old Forrest improvised a double envelopment, combined it with a frontal assault, classic maneuvers which he could not identify by name and probably of which he had never heard in his entire life. Forrest had the uncanny ability, not unlike that of Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and other great military leaders, to immediately read a battlefield, to read the disposition of his opponents, and to know when his opponents had reached their breaking point. Actually, Forrest duplicated many of the tactics of Bonaparte, though he had never been trained in them, nor most likely did he know the name of a single principal of war, yet few generals in history made better use of them." And then he said this, "Forrest's defeat of General Samuel D."

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• "Sturgis at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads was and still is considered brilliant and is still studied by students at the U.S. Army War College and other military schools throughout the world. It is called the perfect battle." And you should read how Forrest whipped General Sturgis. It is unbelievable. Forrest's philosophy was this, "Never take a charge, charge them too." At Parker's Crossroads, while the battle was going on, a staff officer rode up to General Forrest and he said, "General Forrest, a heavy line of infantry is right in our rear. We are between two lines of battle. We've got the enemy in front and the enemy in the rear. What shall we do?" Forrest replied, "Charge them both ways." So he never took a charge, he always gave a charge. When Forrest stated how he had won most of his battles, here's what he said.

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• "By getting there first with the most men, planning and making my own fight, never letting the other fellow make the fight for me, strike the first blow, get them scared and keep the skeer on them, charge and give them hell." Amen. That's exactly what he said. That's how he did it. Even Forrest's enemies feared him and recognized his greatness. Did you realize that General Ulysses S. Grant, the Yankee head honcho, rated Forrest as the ablest cavalry general in the South. He was really the ablest in the North and or the South because he defeated all the other Yankee cavalry generals. General Sherman, whom I hate to even call his name, called General Forrest "the very devil," now listen to what William Tecumseh Sherman said, he called Forrest "the very devil" and he said that he must be hunted down and killed if it costs 10,000 lives and bankrupts the federal treasury. Yet after the war, Sherman said, "After all, I think Forrest was the most remarkable man our civil war produced on either side."

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• Confederate Generals Joseph E. Johnston, General P.G.T. Beauregard agreed. In fact, Beauregard said, "Forrest's capacity for war seemed only to be limited by the opportunities for its display."

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• Now, I'm going to tell you, I've read, I don't know, probably four books or more on the life of General Forrest. There's some great books out there. But it is absolutely amazing how the enemies feared Forrest. Even when the enemy had thousands more than Forrest ever had, they were afraid to fight Forrest. In fact, here's an article. "How the Yankees feared Forrest" is from the Chattanooga Daily Rebel published at Selma, Alabama, November the 19th, 1864. So the war was still going on. A Yankee officer was asked by a lady of Oxford, Mississippi why General Grierson, with his largely superior numbers of cavalry, did not attack General Forrest. The Yankee replied, "Madam, our entire force of 7,000 cavalry would not fight one of Forrest's brigades unless our infantry was there to support them. Not one of our brigades would fight one of his regiments. No regiment would fight one of his companies, and no company would ever charge a pair of Forrest's old boots if they were laying in the road."

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• They were afraid of Forrest. And they had a right to be because he had a biblical understanding of fighting. He did not go there to play. He went there to fight and he went there to win. In one battle, Forrest faced the famed Union Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, the noted atheist and infidel. Forrest whipped him so thoroughly and whipped him so completely that even Ingersoll himself said it was impossible to defeat Forrest and his men. After the battle, one of Forrest's soldiers wrote, and I'm quoting, "Ingersoll made a good fight, but if he really believed there was no hell, we convinced him there was something pretty close like it." So much for Ingersoll. In February of 1865, Forrest was promoted to Lieutenant General and given the duty of guarding from Decatur, Alabama, all the way to the Mississippi River. With a few hundred hastily gathered men, he made his last fight at Selma on May the 9th.

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• He laid down his arms, and it's stated that he was 179 times under fire during the four years. And Forrest said, "My Provost Marshall's books will show that I've taken thirty-one thousand prisoners." That doesn't count all the equipment and horses and mules and supplies that he gathered up, but he captured thirty-one thousand prisoners. Always and everywhere when fighting was to be done, he was there and he fought.

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• So here's the biblical principle: fight when it is necessary, fight hard and fight to win. See, oftentimes, and I would say practically all of the time, Forrest was outnumbered and outgunned. And yet through his ingenuity, through his deception, through the skill that he possessed, he prevailed against all odds. Do you know what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:10? Listen carefully. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." And Forrest, when it came to fighting, he did it with all of his might. Here's another principle.

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• You make the most of what you have in every situation. You know what Forrest did? He would come up to a town or to a fort, and there'd be thousands of men in that fort. And he would have something like maybe 2,500 men and four or five cannon, that's all. And yet he would arrange his men and parade his men just out of sight, just over a little ridge where those cannon kept passing inside, and the men kept passing inside, and finally at the end he said, "My goodness, how many men, how many cannon does he have?" And so he would send, like he did to Murfreesboro, and say, "You need to surrender and save this effusion of blood, because if I have to come in, I'm going to kill everybody."

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• "You see what I have." And they surrendered. And he was greatly outnumbered. And they thought he had 40 or 50 cannon when he only had four, because he kept bringing the same ones in view over and over and over. So make the most of what you have in every situation. We must trust the Lord and do what is right. You know what the Bible says? Here's the principle.

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• First Samuel 14 and verse 6. You remember when Jonathan is going to fight the Philistines, Jonathan said this. "And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few." Jonathan said two of us can take care of it.

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• We don't even need a regiment. We don't need a company. We don't need 15 or 20, two of us sufficient as long as the Lord is with us. So you just have to make the most of what you can. After the war was over in August of 1866, and I'd really love to take the time to tell you a number of things about King Philip. King Philip was Forrest's horse that survived. But King Philip was quite a horse. But after the war was over in 1866, a troop of Federal cavalry was riding by Forrest's place as much out of curiosity to see Forrest as for any other reason. But Forrest's war horse, King Philip, was out grazing in the front lot. As the blue-clad cavalry filed down the lane on the way to the house, King Philip's training kicked in. And he laid his ears back, charged the blue clad Yankees, biting, and when he got to them, he went to flailing with his front feet, trying to kill the Yankees.

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• Finally, finally, Jerry, who was General Forrest's slave, who was basically his servant, who stayed with him. By the way, Forrest freed his men. But they stayed on, but Jerry had served General Forrest all through the war. When he saw the Yankees trying to strike King Philip, he went out and he got King Philip and told the men they were not to touch that horse and not to hurt that horse. And so Jerry had gone out to defend the horse. After the horse is put back up, the Yankee comes up to—the captain comes up to Forrest and says, "General, now I know how to account for your successes."

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• "Your Negroes fight for you and so do your horses." The story is also told about King Philip, that after the war he was pulling a carriage with two elderly ladies in it in Memphis, Tennessee, and the police force had just gotten new blue uniforms. And they stepped out in the street, four or five of them, and said, King Philip laid his ears back and started charging down the street with those two old ladies pulling back, saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa." And King Philip just kept until he scattered the blue coats left and right.

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• So his horse was trained. So Forrest then, on fighting, would be this: Make the most of what you have, and when you fight, fight hard and fight to win. OK, Forrest on fighting. Secondly, Forrest on forthrightness. The word forthright means and refers to candor, openness, honesty, outspokenness and straightforwardness. Forrest was one of those unique individuals who could speak plainly and you never had to guess at what he said.

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• You always knew exactly what he said and what he meant.

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• Now, before his conversion, he often emphasized his words with expletives. In the book of Colossians, chapter four and verse six, we're told this: "Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Now, General Forrest's speech was usually seasoned, but it was not with salt. But he did speak plainly.

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• Now, our Lord also spoke plainly, for his disciples said, in John 16, verse 29, "Then said his disciples, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb." Well, General Forrest was known for not beating around the bush. And Forrest was absolutely intolerant of official incompetence. Oh, that he were around today. He was absolutely intolerant of official incompetence and stupidity, regardless of rank. You remember Bishop Gaylor, whom I quoted at the beginning of this message, said concerning Forrest that his language was often violent and profane, but never vulgar or obscene. Now, although Forrest cussed, and that's the good South Georgia pronunciation of cursed, but although Forrest cussed, he did not always get away with it. On one occasion, Forrest came across the captured caisson that was stuck in the mud beyond the ability and the efforts of the officer and the crew to remove it. And so when they rode up, Forrest demanded, "Who has the charge here?" "I have," spoke up Captain Andrew McGregor. Forrest replied, "Then why the hell don't you do something?"

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• Forrest began and then following that with some very uncomplimentary expletives. McGregor responded, "I will not be cursed out by anyone, even by a superior officer." McGregor then seized a lighted torch and rammed it into the ammunition chest, an apparent suicidal act which sent Forrest away as fast as he could clap spurs to his horse. When he got back, Forrest said, "What infernal lunatic is that just out of the asylum down there?"

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• He demanded of his staff. "He came near to blowing himself and me up with a whole caisson full of powder." Those around McGregor knew that the caisson was empty, having been unloaded in an effort to get it out of the mud hole, laughed and laughed uproariously at McGregor's joke on the General. And the General joined in heartily in the laughter. However, as Captain Morton, the head of Forrest's artillery, explained later that he observed that after that, Forrest never cursed McGregor again.

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• One does not need to use profanity or expletives in order to speak plainly. And Forrest did not always use those. However, he was unconverted, and he would use them. At the Battle of Chickamauga, once again, Forrest saw a defeated and demoralized Union army before him. And once again, he was correct in his assessment, and he wanted Braxton Bragg to give a command for an all-out attack. The next day, of course, the Union retreated to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Forrest went to Bragg's headquarters, and he was beside himself because the Confederate Army had not moved, had not done one thing to follow up on its victory, and he was telling Bragg the poor state of the enemy. And Bragg always had some kind of excuse for not following up on victory, but he asked Forrest, "How then could they move against an enemy without supplies?" And he refused to order an attack. Forrest replied, "General Bragg, we can get all the supplies we need in Chattanooga." Bragg didn't answer and Forrest, of course, stormed out of the tent.

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• Later, when Bragg ordered Forrest to turn over his troops, now listen, this was the second time he had done so in about a year, and to report to General Joseph Wheeler, a man whom General Bragg knew that Forrest disagreed with. Forrest went to see General Bragg, and remember, General Bragg is his superior. Here's the conversation. Forrest said to General Bragg, "You commenced your cowardly and contemptible persecution of me soon after the Battle of Shiloh, and you've kept it up ever since."

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• "You did it because I reported to Richmond facts while you reported damned lies. You robbed me of my command in Kentucky and gave it to one of your personal favorites, men that I armed and equipped from the enemies of our country. In a spirit of revenge and spite, because I would not fawn upon you as others did, you drove me into West Tennessee in the winter of 1862 with a second brigade I had organized, with improper arms and without sufficient ammunition, although I made repeated applications for the same."

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• "You did it to ruin me in my career. When, in spite of all this, I returned with my command, well equipped by captures, you began your work of spying, persecution, and have kept it up. And now this second brigade, organized and equipped without thanks to you or the government, a brigade which has won the reputation for successful fighting, second to none in the army, taking advantage of your position as the commanding general in order to further humiliate me, you've taken these brave men from me."

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• "I've stood your meanness as long as I intend to. You played the part of a damn scoundrel and a coward. And if you were any part of a man, I would slap your jaws and force you to resent it. You have threatened to arrest me for not obeying your orders promptly. I dare you to do it. And I say that if you ever try to interfere with me or cross my path again, it will be at the peril of your own life." Wow. Dr. J.B.

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• Cowan, who was the chief surgeon for Forrest, was there when Forrest said these words to General Bragg. Afterwards, Dr. Cowan explained to Forrest, "Well, you're in for it now." Forrest replied, "He'll never open his mouth. He'll be the last man to mention it and mark my word, he'll take no matter on the action. I will ask to be relieved and transfer a different command and he'll approve it." And a short while later, Forrest's transfer to Mississippi was approved by General Bragg. General Bragg never said one word.

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• Now Forrest did not have much appreciation for Fighting Joe Wheeler's decision to attack Fort Donaldson. Wheeler foolishly led his men against Fort Donaldson, contrary to Forrest's counsel. After the fiasco, Forrest came to Fighting Joe Wheeler, who was his immediate superior, and he said this, "General Wheeler, I advised against this attack, and said all the subordinate officers should have said against it, and nothing you can now say or do will bring my brave men back, lying dead or wounded or freezing around that fort tonight."

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• "I mean no disrespect to you. You know my feelings of personal friendship for you. You can have my sword if you demand it. But there is one thing I do want you to put in that report to General Bragg. Tell him that I'll be in my coffin before I ever fight under your command again." General Wheeler responded, "Forrest," he said quietly and with great feeling, "I cannot take your saber and I regret exceedingly your determination. As the commanding officer, I take all the blame and responsibility for this failure." Now, General Wheeler and General Forrest continued to be friends. In fact, later on, General Wheeler risked his life in order to save Forrest and his men. You know, I'm not speaking forthrightly. In another incident, when General Van Dorn suggested that General Forrest was misrepresenting him in his reports to headquarters, General Forrest expressed his conviction that General Van Dorn should not listen to stories to his discredit. General Van Dorn then directly expressed that he believed that Forrest was engaged in treachery and falsehood and suggested that they settle the matter as General Van Dorn reached for his sword on the wall.

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• Forrest had risen from his seat, had his sword half drawn from the scabbard with his face aflame with passion. Van Dorn, as he unsheathed his sword, advanced toward Forrest. All of a sudden a calm came over Forrest. Forrest pushed his sword back into the scabbard and said, "General Van Dorn, you know I'm not afraid of you, but I will not fight you. And I leave you to reconcile with yourself the gross wrongs you've done to me."

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• "It would never do for two officers of our rank to set such an example to our troops. And I remember, if you forget, what we both owe to the cause." General Van Dorn said that he had never felt so ashamed in his entire life and went on to say that he recalled by Forrest's manly attitude and words, true to our position, he said, "I immediately recognized that he was right and apologized for having used such expressions then." He then went on to say that he and Forrest parted better friends, and he said whatever else could ever be said about Forrest, Forrest is certainly not a coward. Forrest spoke the truth, and he spoke it plainly. Now listen carefully. One may have disagreed with General Forrest, but one could never have misunderstood General Forrest.

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• You know what the Bible commands us as Christians in Ephesians 4 and verse 15, "speaking the truth in love." Now, listen carefully. If you cannot obey both parts of that command, at least obey the first part, speak the truth. And folks will know at least where you stand and what you believe. And you should be able to speak the truth and back up the truth. You should be able. Here's the principle: to speak so plainly

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• that you're not going to be misunderstood. And that you will be able to back up exactly what you say. Forrest on fighting. Forrest on forthrightness, thirdly, Forrest on fidelity. Forrest was one man who was faithful in many ways, even before his conversion. He was faithful to his duty, to his men, to his country, to his wife, to his principles. General Forrest was unique. In one incident, General Forrest not only rebuked, but dismissed a personal friend and staff officer because of immorality. It was Major Powhatan Ellis who said this, "On one occasion while approaching his tent, I heard him in tones of great anger using the most bitter denunciatory language to an officer who, although as brave a man as served in the war, and a warm personal friend of Forrest's, had been guilty of immoral conduct of which Forrest had just heard. He denounced him in the severest language I think I've ever heard, dismissed him from his command on the spot, saying, 'I will not have any man about me who will be guilty of such conduct to a woman.'"

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• Imagine that. If he were alive today and in Congress, he could get rid of all of our politicians. Because if he would not have any man around him like that, good gracious alive. So here was a man who understood fidelity. Colonel C.R. Barteau said of Forrest, now listen carefully. "I thought that one feature of General Forrest's character deserves special meaning to wit his idea of morality."

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• "During the war, when the protection of the weak depended so largely upon the military arm, the violation by any soldier at his command of the strict rules he established, if reported to him, was promptly punished. In the presence of his wife, he was as tractable and loving as a child, though fierce in battle and among men when aroused, yet as a guardian of female virtue and the sanctity of dependent home and unprotected families, he stood in striking contrast with others in the service." Forrest was manly, yet Forrest was faithful. He lived consistently toward his wife.

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• He honored her immensely, as well as honoring his mother and all ladies. It was Colonel D.C. Kelly, the Methodist preacher that I mentioned earlier, he was a captain at one time, now he's a colonel, who said this concerning Forrest. And please remember, at this time, Forrest was still not a Christian. OK? But Colonel Kelly said this, "His devotion to his wife was deep and sincere. She was a quiet, refined Christian woman and could control him with a word even when his temper was at its highest. He had absolute confidence in the piety of his mother and his wife, and was himself a thorough believer in Christianity, although he was not a Christian at the time, and was so fully persuaded of the efficacy of prayer in times of danger or in battle as Napoleon was a believer in fate."

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• "Throughout the war, he always gave me the fullest opportunities for preaching in camp, courteously entertaining at his mess table all preachers whom I chose to invite. He was always present at such service when it was practical. When we were messmates, there was always family prayer in his tent at night, conducted alternately by the chaplain and myself." So here's Forrest now, not a Christian, and yet he's always having family devotions in his tent. Went on to say, "On one of our expeditions a chaplain of the Federal Army was overtaken and captured. When the Federal chaplain learned that he was to be taken to Forrest's headquarters, every feature showed anxiety and fear and depression." They were afraid of Forrest.

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• As he approached General Forrest, General Forrest asked him to be seated while he took care of some other matters. A little later supper was announced and the chaplain, the Yankee chaplain, was requested to have the evening meal with General Forrest and his men there at the table. Forrest then turned to the Yankee chaplain and said, "Parson, would you please ask the blessing?" The minister could not conceal his surprise, which was evident from the manner in which he looked at Forrest before being assured that Forrest was in earnest.

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• He gave expression to the gratitude he felt at being thus considerably treated. He had evidently expected Forrest to kill him because Forrest was known as a fearsome fighter. The next morning, Forrest gave the Yankee chaplain an escort through Confederate lines, and as the chaplain left, Forrest humorously remarked to him as he bade him goodbye, "Parson, I would keep you here to preach for me if you were not so much needed by the sinners on the other side." Dr. J.B. Cowan, Forrest's chief surgeon, said this concerning Forrest, talking about fidelity.

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• "In those days, we never started on an expedition, but what the men were drawn up in line and the chaplain while the heads of all were uncovered evoked God's blessings upon our cause. Nothing called Forrest's ire quicker or brought down surer punishment than for a man to disturb religious services in any part of the camp. One side of General Forrest's nature was as gentle and tender as a woman's."

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• "The other, when he was aroused, was desperate and thoroughly destructive. In quiet moments he was confiding, gentle, kind, and considerate. When aroused, there was no man on earth more tender. When not aroused, there was no man on earth more tender than he. It was when the battle was over that the kinder and gentler part of his nature came out."

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• Now, listen to what the doctor said. "He would come to my hospital, help me with the wounded, go about them with kind words of encouragement and aid me in caring for them as tenderly as a mother. I have known him to give his clothing and personal effects away on many occasions to the needy wounded. He would say to me, 'Doctor, do all you can for these poor fellows.'"

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• "And I've seen the tears running down his cheeks as he was speaking to some unfortunate soldier who did not have long to live." So here is a man who is a fierce fighter, and yet he was very compassionate and very concerned. You know, there's a principle. And Proverbs 20 and verse six, listen carefully, the Bible says, "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" So here's the principle. We have to be faithful to our area of life. To our sphere of life, to whatever God calls us, God does not call everyone to be a great general. God does not call everyone to be a great preacher or a great doctor or a great housewife or great carpenter, but whatever God calls us to,

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• we must be our absolute best for his honor and his glory. So you've seen Forrest on fighting, on forthrightness, on fidelity. One last one. I want you to see Forrest on forgiveness. Years ago, I was with a Christian friend. And he took me to one of those large flea markets. And they had a whole section there with Confederate t-shirts. And when I saw this one t-shirt, it had the picture of General Forrest on the front, and underneath this quote, "No damn man kills me and lives." I asked how much that shirt was. And my friend looked at me and said, "You're not going to buy that, are you?"

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• I said, "Yes, I am." And when I bought the shirt, he looked at me, says, "You're not going to wear that, are you?" I said, "Well, yes, I am." But he said, "You're a preacher and you're a Christian," I said, "Yes. But I know the story. I know what Forrest said and I know what happened before and I know what happened afterwards. And I'm going to wear the shirt and I'm going to tell you the story and then you tell me whether or not I should wear the shirt." And by the way, I did wear that shirt and every time I wore it, someone would ask me about that quote, and I was then able not only to teach history, but some Bible truth as well. Here is the story behind that quote.

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• It was Lieutenant Wills Gould who had abandoned two of his guns at the Battle of Sand Mountain, cannon. And I must add that according to the information available at that time, Lieutenant Gould had run his guns within 300 yards of the enemy. That's mighty close for cannon. But the enemy had done a counter charge and Gould lost two of the guns.

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• Now thankfully later on they were recovered. But General Forrest was upset that two of those guns had been lost. So after the battle was over, when they were back at camp and in town taking care of administrative details, one of the first things that General Forrest was going to do was have Lieutenant Gould transferred to another command. When Gould found out about it, he was very upset. He's very insulted because he believed that Forrest was thinking that he was a coward.

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• and that he was unwilling to stand and fight, which was not the case at all. He believed that Forrest thought that he had purposely abandoned those guns that he had lost in battle, and thus he was looking at this transfer then as a censure upon his conduct. Well, Lieutenant Gould asked for a meeting with General Forrest, which Forrest agreed to and accepted. When Gould got to the meeting, Forrest was quiet, and he listened to Gould, and he had a little pocket knife that he had kind of like in a V, like he was twirling it on his finger. Finally, when Gould finished speaking, Forrest told him that he would not give him a reason for his transfer. He did not need to give him a reason. And furthermore, Gould would never serve under his command again. Gould became so agitated and so upset that he grabbed a pistol from his pocket and he shot General Forrest.

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• The bullet entered into the left hip, traveled into the vicinity of the intestines, and went out. Forrest then, with his left hand, caught the man's wrist and pushed the gun away, took his mouth, opened the pocket knife, and reached down and slashed him across the stomach, perforating even the bowels. The boy then dropped the pistol and ran out. Forrest walked next door to Dr. Yandell's office. Dr. Yandell examined the wound and pronounced it to be dangerous. Now to Forrest, the word dangerous meant fatal, that Forrest was going to die. Because once you got shot in the intestines in those days, that was pretty well it. Forrest then stormed out of the doctor's office and went to his horse where pistols were on the saddle.

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• That's when he said, "No damn man kills me and lives." And he got his pistol and he followed Lieutenant Gould down the street. Well, Lieutenant Gould had gone into a tailor shop, was lying on the counter bleeding profusely. When Forrest got to the shop, there was a crowd of people already there. Forrest said, "Get out of my way. He's mortally wounded me, and I aim to kill him before I die." When Gould heard Forrest's voice, he jumped up off the counter, jumped through a window, and went five or six feet to the ground just as Forrest shot. The men around, of course, when he hit the ground, I mean, he was down and out. Forrest came up with the pistol, and the men around him said, "You killed him, General, you killed him." Well, the truth of the matter is Forrest hadn't killed him with the pistol because his pistol ball missed. And so Forrest then, satisfied, turned around and went to another doctor.

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• And the other doctor examined the wound more closely and said, "You know, it's bad. Well, it's not all that bad. It's certainly not fatal." And the doctor then proposed to cut the bullet out. Forrest replied, "It's nothing but a damn little pistol ball. Let it alone. Go get Lieutenant Gould. Take him to the Nelson house and make him as comfortable as you can. Spare nothing to save him."

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• "And when I give an order like that, I mean it." Well, they took Lieutenant Gould to the Nelson house. The doctors were there, but Lieutenant Gould was not to be saved because peritonitis had set in. Captain Morton, who was over the artillery, who was Gould's immediate superior under Forrest, talked to both Forrest and Gould, and each man expressed regret and condemned his own haste in the matter. Two days later, the doctor said Lieutenant Gould could not last much longer. Gould then sent word to Forrest that he wished to speak to him before he died, and if possible, he would like to see General Forrest. So they took General Forrest's cot and placed him in the room with Lieutenant Gould, cot beside cot. When Lieutenant Gould saw Forrest, he reached over and took one of Forrest's hands, and he held it between his two hands, and Gould said, "I shall not be here long."

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• "And I was not willing to go away without seeing you in person and saying how thankful I am that I am the one who is to die, that you are spared for the country. What I did, I did in a moment of rashness. And I want your forgiveness." Forrest leaned over the bed, hugged Lieutenant Gould and wept like a child, and told him he forgave him freely. Then asked Lieutenant Gould to forgive him and told him he was sad and full of sadness because the wound that he had inflicted upon Gould was to prove absolutely fatal. And it was. So Forrest then, although he said, "No damn man kills me and lives," that statement was prior to exercising what you and I would call genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. Let me show you another incident of his forgiveness.

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• In his farewell address to his men on May the 9th, 1865, he said this, "The war's over." He said, "Civil war such as you've just passed through naturally engenders feelings of animosity, hatred, and revenge."

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• Now listen to what he said. "It is our duty to divest ourselves of all such feelings, and as far as it is in our power to do so, to cultivate friendly feelings toward those with whom we have so long contended, and heretofore so widely but honestly different. Neighborhood feuds, personal animosities, and private differences should be blotted out. And when you return home," he's talking to his men, "a manly, straightforward course of conduct will secure the respect of your enemies. Whatever your responsibilities may be to government, to society, or to individuals, meet them like men."

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• "The attempts made to establish a separate and independent confederation has failed, but the consciousness of having done your duty faithfully and to the end will, in some measure, repay for the hardships you have undergone. In bidding you farewell, rest assured that you carry with you my best wishes for your future welfare and happiness without in any way referring to the merits of the cause in which we've been engaged, your courage and determination as exhibited on many hard-fought fields has elicited the respect and admiration of friend and foe."

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• "And now I cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to the officers and men of my command whose zeal, fidelity, and unflinching bravery have been the great source of my past success in arms. I have never on the field of battle sent you where I was unwilling to go myself. Nor will I now advise you to a course which I felt myself unwilling to pursue. You have been good soldiers. You can be good citizens. Obey the laws. Preserve your honors."

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• "And the government which you've surrendered can afford to be and will be magnanimous." So what he was saying basically was this: Still be a man. You fought well. You did what was right. You still have to live in honor and you still have to live with respect. What many people do not know is this, that after the war was over, when the Spanish-American War came into being, Fighting Joe Wheeler actually fought for the United States government in Cuba. You heard about Teddy Roosevelt and the Battle of San Juan Hill and Fighting Joe Wheeler was there, the Confederate general. But what many people do not know is that Forrest offered to fight.

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• Listen to what he said. He sent a telegram to General Sherman, Washington, D.C. Here's what he says: "By telegrams from Washington and other sources, it appears that we may become involved in a war with Spain. If so, I presume the seat of the war will be in Cuba. In the event we will be involved and that the government requires assistance, I hereby tender to you my services as a volunteer."

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• "I think I could enlist from 1,000 to 5,000 men who served in the Southern Army during the late war and at a short notice who could rendezvous in New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Key West, either as cavalry or infantry. Yours respectfully, Nathan Bedford Forrest." He received this answer from General Sherman: "Your letter of the 24th is received and I have forwarded it to the War Department with this note." Here's what General Sherman wrote: "Respectfully referred to the Secretary of War for filing with the hundreds of offers that I have received. I think it deserves a place in the archives until after the events. I think Nathan Bedford Forrest is one of the most extraordinary men developed by our Civil War. If the possibility of war required the cavalry, I would accept without hesitation his services, and I would give him a prominent position."

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• "Now I think he would fight against our domestic enemies as violently as he did against us, and that means everything." And yes, by the way, I want you to look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 6. I could quote this, but I want you to see it. Because this is Forrest on forgiveness. I want you to look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 6 verses 14 and 15. Here's the principle. Matthew 6 verses 14 and 15. What did our Lord say? Matthew 6 verse 14.

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• "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Do you realize that Nathan Bedford Forrest was willing to forgive and he did forgive? And God, in his grace and mercy, forgave Nathan Bedford Forrest and converted him by his grace. Now, I want you to listen to what Nathan Bedford Forrest said about reconstruction.

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• This is after the war he says this: "I love the old government in 1861. I love the old constitution yet. I think it is the best government in the world if administered as it was before the war. I do not hate it. I'm opposing now only the radical revolutionists who are trying to destroy it. I believe that party to be composed, as I know it is in Tennessee, of the worst men on God's green earth, men who would not hesitate in any crime and who have only one object in view, and that's to enrich themselves." Wow.

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• Could he ever say that today? Perhaps the most fitting epitaph for Nathan Bedford Forrest were the words of his friend, Minor Merriweather, who was heard to say cheerfully to his son, Lee, within minutes of Forrest's passing. Minor looked at his son, Lee, and said, "The man you just saw dying will never die. He will live in the memory of men who love patriotism and who admire genius and daring."

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• The inscription on his monument reads thus: "Those hoofbeats die not upon Fame's crimson sod, but will ring through her song and her story. He fought like a titan and struck like a god, and his dust is our ashes of glory." Forrest was a man. He was a sinner. He was a warrior. And finally, after the war, he was a Christian. By the grace of God, his cursing ceased.

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• He learned to control his temper. And after his conversion, he spent many hours apologizing to people because of that temper, until he got it under control. That devil Forrest, as Sherman called him, was not a devil, but a saint. A devil only to the enemies of truth and righteousness. Father, thank you for your love, your grace, your mercy, your truth. Thank you for men like Forrest. And Lord, I pray that you'll raise up men like that for us today. Lord, give us grace. Give us honor and give us, Lord, wisdom and insight. Lord, give us mercy and make us men, and make us willing to stand and to fight for that which is right. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

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• You may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N Street, Suite 705, P-M-B 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912-925-0995.

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• You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:04:52Z