At Gainesville, Alabama, on May 9, 1865, N.B. Forrest told his Cavalry Corps that the Civil War had naturally bred animosity, hatred, and revenge, but that it was their duty to cast off such feelings and cultivate friendly feelings toward those with whom they had long contested and honestly differed. He urged them to blot out neighborhood feuds, personal animosities, and private differences, and said that when they returned home, a manly, straightforward course of conduct would secure them the respect even of their enemies. Declaring that he had never sent them on the field of battle where he was unwilling to go himself, he said he would not advise a course he was unwilling to pursue, and concluded that having been good soldiers, they could be good citizens. The memorial also honors unknown Confederate soldiers buried there who fell in the Beech Grove and Hoover's Gap engagements of June 24 - 26, 1863, as well as other Confederates who fell in that battle and rest in honored graves elsewhere.