Maybe 15 years ago, Ken Burns, did a PBS production of the Civil War. The historians who did the commentary, all raved about Forrest, as a military leader. Forrest was the only man on either side who entered the army as a private, and finished the war as a general. I guess if your a wealthy slave trader, which he was, you could finance your own army.
What struck me as funny is, he was one of the few generals on either side who had not attended West Point. At West Point, you were taught to draw your saber, and charge the enemy on horse back. Since Forrest only had a 4th grade education, he never learned these finer points, and relied on common sense.
Forrest equipped his cavalry with 2 revolvers, and a carbine strapped to their bodies. They were to fire the carbine, drop it, produce the revolvers, and shoot the West Point grads. After the Civil War, both the US, and British Armies, redid their cavalry manuals based on Forrest's tactics.
As far as a license plate goes, I'm guessing that was someone's idea of a bad joke. In addition to being a slave trader, and the first head of the KKK, Forrest did not accept the surrender of Black Union Solders. One would think, the state of Mississippi, would let the legend quietly die.
