before Smith knew he was gone, came careering into Memphis at dawn
at the head of 500 galloping, yelling men--many of them Memphis boys.
There were some 7,000 Union troops in and about Memphis at this time,
but they were surprised out of their slumbers, and made no effective
resistance. The only part of Forrest's plan which miscarried was his
scheme to capture three leading Union officers, who were then stationed
in Memphis: Generals C.C. Washburn, S.A. Hurlbut and R.P. Buckland.
General Hurlbut's escape occurred by reason of the fact that instead of
having passed the night at the old Gayoso Hotel, where he made his
headquarters, he happened to be visiting a brother officer, elsewhere.
General Washburn was warned by a courier and made his escape in his
nightclothes and bare feet from the residence he occupied as
headquarters, running down alleys to the river, and thence along under
the bluff to the Union fortifications. Forrest's men found the general's
papers, uniform, hat, boots and sword in his bedroom, and also found
there Mrs. Washburn. The only things they failed to find were the
general's nightshirt and the general himself, who was inside it. General
Buckland also avoided capture by the narrowest margin. The soldiers
first went to the wrong house to look for him. That gave him time to
escape.

It is recorded that, later in the day, under a flag of truce, Forrest
sent General Washburn his sword and clothing with a humorous message,
informing him, at the same time, that he had 600 Federal prisoners
without shoes or clothing, and that he would like supplies for them.
The supplies, we are told, were promptly forthcoming.

Forrest waited until he was sure that news of the raid had been
telegraphed to General Smith in the field. Then he cut the wires. Smith
immediately came back toward Memphis with his army, which was what
Forrest desired him to do. The Confederates then retired from the
immediate vicinity of the city.

Judge Young, in his history, reports that when General Hurlbut heard of
the raid he exclaimed, "There it goes again! They superseded me with
Washburn because I could not keep Forrest out of West Tennessee, and
Washburn cannot keep him out of his own bedroom!"

* * * * *

After the War there was corruption and carpet-bag rule in Memphis, and
Forrest was again to the fore, becoming "Grand Wizard" of the famous Ku
Klux Klan, the mysterious secret organization designed t