Founded in the summer of 1866, a group of six young ex-confederate veterans established the first branch of the Klu Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee. Supposedly, the first two parts of the organization's name derived from the Greek word "Kyklos" meaning circle. In 1867, local branches of the organization held a convention where they then established what was then called an "Invisible Empire of the South." In an organized meeting at the Maxwell House, Nathan Bedford Forrest, a confederate general, was the first leader or "Grand Wizard" of the Klan, and other generals served as state grand dragons. Born July 13, 1821 in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, Nathan Bedford Forrest grew up in poverty and had little to no education before going into business with his Johnathan Hernado in Mississippi. After the tragic death of his uncle over a business dispute street fight in 1846, he married Mary Ann Montgomery and later had two children. After finding success as a planter and owner in a stagecoach, he and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee were he then began working as a slave trader. His business continued to grow throughout the 1850's, and by the 1860's Forrest had own two cotton plantations. By this time he was considered one of the wealthiest men in Tennessee. Following the start of the Civil War (1861-65), Forrest enlisted in the Tennessee Mounted Rifles as a private. Forrest served mainly throughout the entire Civil War. "Battle of Shiloh , "Battle of Chickamauga", and "Battle of Nashville", all were battles that he engaged heavily or had a significant role in also during that time. It wasn't until after the civil war Forrest began a secret society that terrorized blacks and opposed Reconstruction efforts, better known as the Klu Klux Klan. He then later dies at the age of 56, in 1877. The Klu Klux Klan coincided with the beginning of the second phase of the post - Civil War Reconstruction. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act. This requ