His uncle proved a feckless business partner, and in early 1845, Forrest had to protect him from an exasperated creditor named Matlock, who had ridden into town with his two sons and an overseer to recover what was owed him. One of the junior Matlocks fired his gun, missing Forrest but striking his hapless uncle, who toppled to the ground in a heap.
All four then turned on Forrest, but he felled two of them with his pocket pistol while the other two merely singed him with their shots, whereupon an onlooker tossed Forrest a Bowie knife with which he now charged the last Matlock, disabling him with a few contemptuous slashes as the overseer prudently shinned it down the street.
Recognizing an enforcer when it saw one, the town appointed Forrest to serve as Hernando’s coroner, peacemaker, and slave catcher.
Source:
Ward, Andrew. “Bedford.” River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre in the American Civil War. Viking, 2005. 16. Print.
Further Reading:
No comments, yet...