Forrest's military victories were remarkable for several reasons. First of all, he was not a literate man, and his writing reflected the fact that he never mastered spelling or standard grammar. As a consequence, some of his reports and communiqués that survive have a distinctly illiterate flavor when published without editing or correction. However, he was reputed to be excellent in mathematics, and his personal business ventures demonstrated the truth of that observation. Furthermore, he had no military training whatsoever.

THOMPSON, Richard Wigginton, a Representative from Indiana; born near Culpeper Court House, Culpeper County, Va., June 9, 1809; pursued classical studies; moved to Louisville, Ky., in 1831; clerked in a store; moved to Lawrence County, Ind., in 1831; taught school; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1834 and began practice in Bedford, Lawrence County, Ind.; member of the State house of representatives 1834-1836; served in the State senate 1836-1838 and for a short time as president pro tempore; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1841-March 3,

Shortly after Thoreau's return from Harvard, he became acquainted with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who had recently settled in Concord. As leader of the American Transcendentalists, Emerson introduced Thoreau to his friends and their ideas. Convinced of Thoreau's budding genius, Emerson urged him to embark on a literary career, suggesting that he start by keeping a journal. Although he had made a few sporadic attempts before at keeping a journal, Thoreau on 22 October 1837 thus began the daily journal that he continued throughout the remaining twenty-five years of his life.

To help Thoreau establish contacts in the publishing world of New York City, Emerson arranged for him to tutor the children of Emerson's brother on Staten Island. There Thoreau became acquainted with Horace Greeley, editor of the influential New York Tribune, who soon became his literary agent, helping him place his essays in various periodicals and touting him regularly in the Tribune….

Robinson, Mrs. Sarah Tappan Doolittle [Lawrence]. Ms., 1827----.  Wife of C. Robinson, supra. A writer of Lawrence, Kansas, who published, in 1856, Kansas : its Exterior and Interior Life, a work giving valuable information concerning a critical period in the history of the State.

On Oct. 30, 1851, [Charles Robinson] married Sarah Tappan Doolittle Lawrence, daughter of Hon. Myron Lawrence, an eminent lawyer of Massachusetts — a lady of very high literary culture. She was educated in the Belchertown Classical School and the New Salem Academy, and was an able helper and counsellor to her husband. She wrote "Kansas, its Interior and Exterior Life," a work which attained a wide circulation and had great influence. It is one of the best books written on the early history of Kansas.

He applied for a commission in the regular army and on March 7, 1867, was appointed second lieutenant in the newly organized Tenth United States Cavalry, composed of black enlisted men with white officers. At Fort Arbuckle, Indian Territory, Pratt was promoted to first lieutenant on July 31. He began his long association with the American Indian when Lt. Col. John W. Davidson, the district commander, placed him in charge of the regiment's Indian scouts.

REEDER, Andrew Horatio, first governor of Kansas territory (1854-55) was born at Easton, Pa., Jul. 12, 1807. He received an academical education at Lawrenceville, N. J., studied law, and entered upon professional practice in his native city. Here, after the customary vicissitudes of a young lawyer, he rose to a local eminence unsurpassed in eastern Pennsylvania.

HOBSON, Edward Henry, soldier, was born in Greensburg, Ky., July 11, 1825. He received a common-school education in Greensburg and Danville. At the outbreak of the Mexican war in 1846, he enlisted in the 2d regiment of Kentucky volunteers, was soon appointed first lieutenant, and fought bravely in the battle of Buena Vista, Feb. 22-23, 1847. He was mustered out of the service in June, 1847, returned to Greensburg and resumed mercantile business. He was elected a director of the Branch bank of Kentucky in 1853. and served as president from 1857 to 1861.