LETTERS

Generally speaking, we was wrong

I read your magazine with interest each week — it does seem to “get there firstest with the mostest,” as the InvestmentNews house ad on Page 19 of the March 30 issue states.

Unfortunately, the general who said that was not the one pictured, Union Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan. It was one of his most implacable opponents: Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

STEVE FLORMAN

American Express Financial Advisors

Minneapolis

…really wrong

The learned historian Shelby Foote identified Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest as the greatest general of the war. Were you aware that Nathan Bedford Forrest made a small fortune as a leading Alabama slave trader before the war? He did indeed arrive first in many battles during the war — and after the war he was the “firstest” in another noteworthy achievement: He was a founding member and the first Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan.

JEFFREY BAREFOOT

President

Midwest Continental

Investment Counsel

Perrysburg, Ohio

…hah, hah

There are many who might consider this an egregious mistake. As an American Civil War buff, I find it humorous and ironic.

RALPH COLLINS WALTER

Chief administrative officer

ABN Amro Inc.

Chicago