MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s polarizing presence has hung over Memphis since he moved here in 1852 — his legacy cemented by a giant statue that loomed over all who passed his gravesite in a popular park.

Defenders considered him a hero for his Civil War exploits. Detractors called him a violent racist and noted his early leadership role in the Ku Klux Klan.

Now the former slave trader’s remains are set to be moved to a new Confederate museum in Columbia, Tenn. — another milestone in the effort to remove statues, monuments, and now the remains, of Confederate leaders from public spaces.