Bedford Forest was a complex man. True, prior and during the war, he was a vile racist and he commanded the troops that took Fort Pillow. Impartial historians believes that he did not order the massacre of black and white troops who surrendered but he really didn't go out of his way to stop it. Under the Yamashita ruling, he is guilty of "war crime". After the war, he did start the KKK but the Klan that he started, didn't target blacks as much but carpetbaggers and that Klan was abolished. The reboot version wasn't his creation. That was because ironically, Forest moved toward reconciliation as he got older. He actually reinvented himself and began to advocate for black equality and rights. He was in many way, 19th century version of George Wallace. And Forest was slammed dunk by many of the white southerners for his efforts. What is interesting, is that whites and blacks today, forget how such a man can continued to evolve, from a racist slaver to advocate for the black people.