Descendants of Nathan Bedford Forrest are claiming that the graves of the Confederate general and his wife were desecrated when a statue of him that rested above the burial site was removed from a Tennessee park last year.
Forrest's great-great-grandsons sued Memphis on Monday. They are seeking damages and possession of the statue, which was taken down in December 2017. City officials circumvented a state law limiting the removal of historical memorials from public property by selling the park to a private nonprofit, which then removed the monuments.
Forrest and his wife are buried at the park. The lawsuit seeks a judge's order allowing their disinterment and reburial at a location chosen by the Forrest family.
The city of Memphis has not responded to a request for comment.
