What is Fort Pillow?

Answer 1

Fort Pillow is a river fort located on the Mississippi River and was the first fort north of Memphis. It was not as important as Fort Donnelson and Island No. 10. The Confederates expanded the fort until it contained about 10,000 troops. It had several large calber guns located at the water level to shell any enemy ships coming down the Mississippi River. Up on a high 70-foot bluff were field artillery used to defend the fort from attack by land. It was used as a training base and a port for the river fleet. During the Battle of Island No. 10, some of the Confederate ships stopped at Fort Pillow for replenshiment. After the fall of the river forts and the battle of Memphis, the Confederates evacuated the fort and it was occupied by the Union. One report said that the USS Cairo was repaired there to strengthen its armor(this was the ironclad that is on display at Vicksburg National Battlefield Park). Over the years, the size of Fort Pillow diminished. By 1864, it was an outpost for about 500 to 1000 troops. Among the Union troops were many Tennesseans who had been enlisted from the area, including blacks from Tennessee and Mississippi. One of them was the notorious Colonel Hawkins of the 7th Tennesse Cavalry(USA). He was raiding the local farmers who supported the South and some accused him of murder and destroying private property. A local farmer wrote General Nathan Forrest with a request for help in removing these Union raiders. Forrest moved his force of 2 cavalry divisions up from Mississippi to Jackson, Tenn. He sent one brigade north to Dyersberg Tenn to attack and capture Col. Hawkins. He sent another force towards Mempis as a diversion. He sent his main force of 1500 men and 1 artillery battery to Fort Pillow. Forrest's men travelled all day and night in the rain and arrived at Fort Pillow on the morning of 12 April 1864. They easily drove in the pickets and the 530 Union soldiers took refuge in a small inner breastworks. The Confederates positioned their troops on all sides of the fort and below the bluff. They placed snipers on higher ground and were able to fire into the breastworks. Forrest called a truce and demanded surrender but the Union refused. The Union commander had been killed and the inexperienced acting commander kept up the impression that the commander was in charge. At 2:30pm, Forrest's troops charged the breastworks and some Union surrendered but others rushed down the bluff in hopes of being rescued by a Union river boat. Fighting continued as no sign of surrender was given by the officers. Many of the black soldiers knew that surrender was not an option so they continued to fight. This enraged the Confederate soldiers who took out their anger on the blacks and even the whites who armed them. This battle was called a "massacre" due to the high death toll. Of the 530 Union soldiers, almost half were killed. Most of the blacks were killed. The official Confederate records report casualties of 14 Killed and either 60 or 80 wounded. However, I received a list of 85 casualties from the Park Ranger of Fort Pillow State Historical Park. After researching these names and other names found in other sources, I have compiled a list of 20 Killed and 79 Wounded. General Forrest's troops quickly rounded up the prisoners and began burying the dead. Under truce with the river boat, they negotiated transfer of the wounded. The Confederates returned to Jackson, Tenn, where they remained for awhile. They soon returned to Mississiippi. Soon afterwards, General Forrest would defeat another Union cavlary force at Brices's Crossroads, where some of the black Union soldiers wore buttons that read "Remember Fort Pillow". The word of the massacre reached the Northern press. The US Congress called for an investigation and many survivors were called to testify. The investigation committee prepared House Report No. 65 on the massacre with the testimony and published several thousand copies. This all happened before General Forrest's account reached his supreme commander, General Polk, and his President. Gen. Forrest's account was sent to Gen. Polk but he was killed at Atlanta. Forrest's report was later found in his papers. The official records and many sources report the casualties as being 14 killed and either 60 or 80 wounded. Early reports from the Confederates placed the Union forces at the fort to be between 700-800. This was erroneous information based upon confusion of the fort's records. By 1864, the Union had only 550 troops at the fort when General Forrest attacked it with 1500 Confederates. However, based upon the size of the fort and the uneven terrain, it would be difficult for all 1500 men to participate in the attack. The 1 artillery battery that went with Forrest did not take part in the battle as it was delayed by the rain and the high bluffs. UNION: Of 700 men who were sent from Memphis, only 246 arrived. 111 were disabled due to sickness and 48 were detach. The strenght was 536 combat ready soldiers consisting of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion(US) and black soldiers of the 6 US Colored Heavy Artillery. Major Bradford of the 13th Tennessee was commander of the troops. Survivors:

Wounded transferred to Platte Valley: ~70 Officers and Men

Prisoners (unwounded) 7 Offices & 219 Enlisted Men (or 56 Blacks and 163 Whites)

Escaped in a skiff : ~ 25 unknown

Total Survivors accounted for: 296 or about half the garrison.

Source: Appendix of "Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen N. B. Forrest", by Gen Thomas Jordan & John Pryor, 1868 Other sources account for a total of 246 - 264 Killed and 31 Died of Wounds for a TOTAL KIA 276.

CONFEDERATE: A list of 95 casualties was provided by the Park Ranger of Fort Pillow Historical Park. However, my research has identified more casualties as follows: Officers: .....KIA 7, .......WIA 8 .........= 15

Enlisted:.... KIA 14, ......WIA 70 .......= 74

....Total: ....KIA 21, ......WIA 78 ......= 99 21% of casualties were KIA

15% of casualties were Officers

46% of Officer casualties were KIA

16% of Enlisted casualites were KIA Commanded by Gen. R. Chalmers

Col. Bob McCulloch's Brigade (of Chalmers' Division)

2 Missouri Cav - Col Robert A. McCulloch

Willis's Cav

5 Miss. Cav

Duff's 8 Miss Cav.

McDonald's Tenn Cav. Batln Col Tyree H. Bell's Brigade(of Bufford's Division)
Barteau's 2 (22)Tenn Cav

Wilson's 16 Tenn Cav

Russel's 15 Tenn Cav

General Forrest and his Escort Company

Walton's Artillery Battery - Mountain Howitzers

(Artillery did not arrive due to heavy rains.)

Fort Pillow State Historical Park is a 1,646-acre park located on Mississippi River about 60 miles north of Memphis, TN on Hiway 51 near Henning. The park has an Intrepretive Center & Museum, a Nature Center, campgrounds and hiking trails covering the three tiers of breastworks that was constructed there during the war. It also has reconstructed inner breastworks with artillery pieces installed. Once a year, the park has an Annivesary event to remember the Battle of Fort Pillow. "Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory" by John Cimprich, LSU Press, 2005. 192 pages. Maps.

"River Run Red" by Andrew Ward, Viking Penguin, 2005. 530 pages. Sub-title "The Fort Pillow Massacre in the American Civil War".

"The Campaigns of Gen. Nathan B. Forrest". Gen Thomas Jordan and J. P. Pryor. Da Capo Press, 1996. 736 pages.

"Hancock's Diary" or "A History of the Second Tennesse Cavalry". by R. R. Hancock, Brandon Printing Co, 1887. 644 pages.

"Tennesseans in the Civil War" A Military History of Confederate and Union Units - Civil War Centennial Commission 1964.

U.S. Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, "Fort Pillow Massacre", House Report No. 65, 38th Congress, 1st Session.

"14 Letters to a Friend: the Story of the Wartime Ordeal of Capt. DeWitt "Clubfoot" Fort". Transcribed by Laurie B. McDonald. Details about Co. G, 2nd Missouri Cavalry. Edinburg, Texas, 2007.

Custermen -~- direct descendant of a Confederate private killed at Fort Pillow.