Tennessee slave market (1854–~1861)
Location of 87 and 89 Adams marked in red (streets have since been renumbered; historical marker is in parking lot behind church)
The Memphis Commercial Appeal claimed in 1907 that this had been Forrest's slave pen,[ 1] but Forrest's jail was between Second and Third.[ 2] In 1862, the Daily Union Appeal described Forrest's pen as "a filthy den, and it would make any decent man sick to be there one night."[ 3]
Forrest & Maples advertisement, 1853; Josiah Maples was also a bank director and cotton plantation owner[ 4] [ 5]
"General Assortment of Negroes": This card is from between 1859 and 1861, after Forrest sold 87 Adams to his former partner Byrd Hill for US$30,000 (equivalent to $1,017,333 in 2023)[ 6] (National Museum of African American History and Culture )
"Hill, Ware & Chrisp, A New Firm" Memphis Daily Appeal , September 7, 1859
"The New Jail" Memphis Daily Union Appeal , August 24, 1862
Forrest's jail was the slave pen owned and operated by Nathan Bedford Forrest in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Forrest bought 87 Adams Street , located between Second and Third, in 1854.[ 2] It was located next to a tavern that operated under various names,[ 2] opposite Hardwick House ,[ 7] and behind the still-extant Episcopal church .[ 8] Forrest later traded, for fewer than six months, from 89 Adams.[ 6] Byrd Hill bought 87 Adams in 1859.[ 6] An estimated 3,800 people were trafficked through Forrest's jail during his five years of ownership.[ 9]
^ "The Old Negro Mart" . The Commercial Appeal . January 27, 1907. p. 48. Retrieved 2023-12-01 .
^ a b c Hurst, Jack (1993). Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography . New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 37–38, 56–60. ISBN 978-0-307-78914-3 . LCCN 92054383 . OCLC 26314678 .
^ "Are we to have a new jail?" . Daily Union Appeal . August 16, 1862. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-01 .
^ "Directors, Bank of West Tennessee" . Memphis Daily Appeal . March 7, 1861. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-14 .
^ "Personal" . The Daily Memphis Avalanche . December 21, 1875. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-12-14 .
^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Huebner2023
was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).
^ "Removal of the station house" . Daily Union Appeal . August 28, 1862. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-04 .
^ "The Butcher Forrest and His Family: All of them Slave Drivers and Woman Whippers" . Chicago Tribune . May 4, 1864. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-04 .
^ Colby, Robert K. D. (2024). An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South . Oxford University Press. p. 54. doi :10.1093/oso/9780197578261.001.0001 . ISBN 9780197578285 . LCCN 2023053721 . OCLC 1412042395 .