John N. Forrest was an American slave jailor and disabled veteran active in the interregional slave trade in the United States prior to the American Civil War. He is best known for his role as the jailor of the slave jail owned by his brother, Nathan Bedford Forrest, in Memphis, Tennessee, where large numbers of enslaved Africans were held and sold.
John N. Forrest was born around 1829 in Marshall County, Mississippi, as the second son of William and Mariam Forrest. He was one of six brothers who survived into adulthood, growing up in a prominent Mississippi family whose name would become synonymous with both the Confederate military and the Southern slave trade.
At 19, John N. Forrest volunteered for military service in Company C of Anderson’s Rifles, also known as the Mississippi Battalion, to fight in the Mexican–American War. The unit was organized in Hernando, DeSoto County, Mississippi, and Forrest spent much of his time stationed at Tampico, Mexico. While his company saw little direct combat, garrison duty exposed him to the harsh conditions of military life, including disease and challenging living circumstances, which took a toll on many soldiers of the battalion.
Forrest himself was hospitalized repeatedly during his service, first at the New Orleans Barracks and later in Tampico, suffering from illnesses that were rampant among the troops. On April 24, 1848, he was discharged by surgeon’s certificate of disability, a condition later described as a “half-paralyzed cripple, shot through the lower spine,” although the precise nature of the wound remains uncertain. This injury left him reliant on crutches for the remainder of his life.
After his discharge from military service, John N. Forrest became heavily involved in his family’s slave-trading business in Memphis, Tennessee. He managed Forrest’s Jail, also known as Forrest’s Traders Yard, located on Adams Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets. This facility, the primary slave jail owned by his older brother Nathan Bedford Forrest, served as the central hub for their operations, where enslaved Africans were held and sold.
The jail was strategically located near the river landing known as “the Row,” where enslaved Africans were loaded onto steamboats for transport to New Orleans or Vicksburg.
John served as both jailor and clerk, a role that required overseeing the day-to-day operations, ensuring captives were held securely, and managing the flow of enslaved Africans for sale.
For those confined within the jail, the conditions were dehumanizing and designed to maintain fear and submission. Prisoners were crammed into small rooms, sometimes unable to sit or lie down properly. Hunger, exposure, and violence were constant threats.
Historical accounts describe Forrest’s role as hands-on and brutal. Although partially paralyzed from his military injury, he was actively involved in enforcing discipline and intimidation within the jail. Northern newspapers and contemporary observers called the facility a “place of horror”, emphasizing the terror that John and Nathan inflicted on captives.
Punishments were extreme and systematic; men and women were whipped with heavy leather thongs, sometimes while restrained or forced to hold other captives in stress positions. Women were reportedly stripped and beaten, often with saltwater poured on their wounds to intensify the pain, a particularly cruel method documented by witnesses.
Letters from buyers, such as one from T.I. Edmondson in 1858, confirm that enslaved Africans were sold directly through John Forrest, illustrating his active participation in the business. By the late 1850s, he was recognized as one of the prominent figures in Memphis’s slave trade, a position that brought him both wealth and notoriety.
In June 1862, shortly after Union forces recaptured Memphis during the Civil War, John N. Forrest became involved in a violent incident. According to contemporary newspaper reports, while intoxicated, he shot Theodore S. Gillmore, a master’s mate aboard the USS Carondelet, during an argument at a brothel.
Following the shooting, Forrest was arrested and temporarily held aboard the Carondelet, in a box “barely sufficient to admit the necessary air to sustain life”, while Union authorities investigated the incident.
Accounts from later decades, indicate that Forrest’s disability and previous military service factored into both his actions and the Union’s treatment of him. While some reports suggest he had been further injured during captivity, it is clear that he survived the ordeal, eventually being transferred to the city jail and later released.
Forrest’s life came to an early end in 1867, two years after the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. He died of a stomach disorder in Shelby County, Tennessee, at the age of 39, leaving behind a life shaped by both military service and his role in the cruel trade of enslaved Africans.
His funeral was held at the Gayoso Hotel in Memphis, and he was laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery. Following his death, his properties were sold to settle outstanding estate debts, bringing a close to the final chapter of his life.
Sources.
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=117144
https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-union-appeal-are-we-to-have-a-new/136082314/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-butcher-forrest-and/136233096/
