Battle of Fort Pillow
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Fort Pillow, also known as the Fort Pillow Massacre, was fought on April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow
on the Mississippi River
in Henning, Tennessee
, during the American Civil War
. The battle ended with a massacre
of surrendered Federal
black troops by soldiers under the command of Confederate
Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest
. Military historian David J. Eicher concluded, "Fort Pillow marked one of the bleakest, saddest events of American military history."
, was built by Brigadier General
Gideon Johnson Pillow
in early 1862 and was used by both sides during the war. With the fall of New Madrid and Island No. 10
to Union
forces, Confederate troops evacuated Fort Pillow on June 4, in order to avoid being cut off from the rest of the Confederate Army. Union forces occupied Fort Pillow on June 6, and used it to protect the river approach to Memphis.
The fort stood on a high bluff and was protected by three lines of entrenchments arranged in a semicircle, with a protective parapet 4 ft (1.2 m) thick and 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) high surrounded by a ditch. (During the battle, the thick parapet would in fact prove to be a disadvantage to the defenders because they could not fire upon approaching troops without mounting the top of the parapet, subjecting them to enemy fire. Similarly, operators of the six artillery pieces of the fort found it difficult to depress their barrels enough to fire on the attackers once they got close.) A Federal gunboat, the USS New Era, commanded by Captain James Marshall, was also available for the defense.
On March 16, 1864, Major General
Nathan Bedford Forrest
launched a month-long cavalry raid with 7,000 troopers into western Tennessee and Kentucky
. Their objectives were to capture Union prisoners and supplies and to demolish posts and fortifications from Paducah, Kentucky
, south to Memphis. Forrest's Cavalry Corps, which he called "the Cavalry Department of West Tennessee and North Mississippi", consisted of the divisions led by Brig. Gens. James R. Chalmers (brigades of Brig. Gen. Robert V. Richardson
and Colonel
Robert M. McCulloch) and Abraham Buford (brigades of Cols. Tyree H. Bell
and A. P. Thompson).
The first of the two significant engagements in the expedition was the Battle of Paducah
on March 25, and Forrest's men did considerable damage to the town and its military supplies. Numerous skirmishes occurred throughout the region in late March and early April. Needing supplies, Forrest planned to move on Fort Pillow with about 1,500 to 2,500 men. (He had detached part of his command under Buford to strike Paducah again.) He wrote on April 4, "There is a Federal force of 500 or 600 at Fort Pillow, which I shall attend to in a day or two, as they have horses and supplies which we need."
The Union garrison at Fort Pillow consisted of about 600 men, divided almost evenly between black and white
troops. The black soldiers belonged to the 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery
and a section of the 2nd U.S. Colored Light Artillery (previously known as the Memphis Battery Light Artillery (African Descent)
), under the overall command of Major
Lionel F. Booth
. Many were former slaves and understood the personal consequences of a loss to the Confederates – at best an immediate return to slavery rather than being treated as a prisoner of war. Some Confederates had threatened to kill any Union black troops they encountered. The white soldiers were predominantly new recruits from the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, a Federal regiment from western Tennessee, commanded by Maj. William F. Bradford. (Major Bradford's regiment was known as Bradford's Tennessee Cavalry Battalion and was organized as the 13th West Tennessee Cavalry(US). Officially it was the 14th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment(US).)
Rifle and artillery fire continued until 15:30, when Forrest sent a note demanding surrender: "I now demand unconditional surrender of your forces, at the same time assuring you that you will be treated as prisoners of war. ... I have received a new supply of ammunition and can take your works by assault, and if compelled to do so you must take the consequences." Bradford replied, concealing his identity as he did not wish the Confederates to realize that Booth had been killed, requesting an hour for consideration. Forrest, who believed that reinforcing troops would soon arrive by river, replied that he would only allow 20 minutes, and that "If at the expiration of that time the fort is not surrendered, I shall assault it." Having been given the opportunity to surrender Bradford's final reply was: "I will not surrender." Forrest ordered his bugler to sound the charge.
The Confederate assault was furious. While the sharpshooters maintained their fire into the fort, a first wave entered the ditch and stood while the second wave used their backs as stepping stones. These men then reached down and helped the first wave scramble up a ledge on the embankment. All of this proceeded flawlessly and with very little firing, except from the sharpshooters and around the flanks. Their fire against the New Era caused the sailors to button up their gun ports and hold their fire. As the sharpshooters were signaled to hold their fire, the men on the ledge went up and over the embankment, firing now for the first time into the massed defenders, who fought briefly, but then broke and ran to the landing at the foot of the bluff, where they had been told that the Union gunboat would cover their withdrawal by firing grapeshot and canister rounds. The gunboat did not fire a single shot because its gun ports were sealed, and there probably would have been more Union casualties than Confederate if they had fired. The fleeing soldiers were subjected to fire both from the rear and from the flank, from the soldiers who had been firing at the gunboat. Many were shot down. Others reached the river only to drown, or be picked off in the water by marksmen on the bluff.
Conflicting reports of what happened next, from 16:00 to dusk, led to controversy. Union and Confederate sources claimed that even though the Union troops surrendered, Forrest's men massacre
d them in cold blood. Surviving members of the garrison said that most of their men surrendered and threw down their arms, only to be shot or bayoneted by the attackers, who repeatedly shouted, "No quarter! No quarter!" The Joint Committee On the Conduct of the War
immediately investigated the incident and concluded that the Confederates shot most of the garrison after it had surrendered. A 2002 study by Albert Castel concluded that the Union forces were indiscriminately massacred after Fort Pillow "had ceased resisting or was incapable of resistance."
Recent histories agree that a massacre occurred: Richard Fuchs, author of An Unerring Fire, concludes, “The affair at Fort Pillow was simply an orgy of death, a mass lynching to satisfy the basest of conduct – intentional murder – for the vilest of reasons – racism and personal enmity.” Andrew Ward states, “Whether the massacre was premeditated or spontaneous does not address the more fundamental question of whether a massacre took place... it certainly did, in every dictionary
sense of the word.” John Cimprich states, “The new paradigm in social attitudes and the fuller use of available evidence has favored a massacre interpretation... Debate over the memory of this incident formed a part of sectional and racial conflicts for many years after the war, but the reinterpretation of the event during the last thirty years offers some hope that society can move beyond past intolerance.”
Lieutenant Daniel Van Horn of the 6th U. S. Heavy Artillery (Colored) stated in his official report "There never was a surrender of the fort, both officers and men declaring they never would surrender or ask for quarter." However, a Confederate sergeant, in a letter written home shortly after the battle said that "the poor, deluded negroes would run up to our men, fall upon their knees, and with uplifted hand scream for mercy, but were ordered to their feet and then shot down." This account is consistent with the relatively high comparative casualties sustained by race of the defenders. (See next section.)
Forrest's men insisted that the Federals, although fleeing, kept their weapons and frequently turned to shoot, forcing the Confederates to keep firing in self defense. Their claim is consistent with the discovery of numerous Federal rifles on the bluffs near the river (see Jordan, who inconclusively asked in 1947, "Was there a Massacre. . .?" THQ). The Union flag was still flying over the fort, which indicated that the force had not formally surrendered. A contemporary newspaper account from Jackson, Tennessee
, states that "General Forrest begged them to surrender," but "not the first sign of surrender was ever given." Similar accounts were reported in both Southern and Northern newspapers at the time.
Historian Allan Nevins wrote that although the interpretation of the facts had "provoked some disputation":
The New York Times reported on April 24:
Later, in his Memoirs, Ulysses S. Grant
, who was not present at the battle, wrote of the battle:
According to the Official Records, casualties were not as high as Forrest had estimated.
The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening, so they gained little except a temporary disruption of Union operations. The "Fort Pillow Massacre" was thereafter used as a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion.
On April 17, 1864, in the aftermath of Fort Pillow, Grant ordered General Benjamin F. Butler
, who was negotiating prisoner exchanges with the Confederacy, to demand that in the exchange and treatment of prisoners, black prisoners had to be treated identically to whites. A failure to do so would "be regarded as a refusal on their part to agree to the further exchange of prisoners, and [would] be so treated by us." This demand was refused and Confederate Secretary of War Seddon in June 1864 stated the confederate position:
Fort Pillow, now preserved as the Fort Pillow State Park
, was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark
in 1974.
novel), features a character (played by Tom Selleck
) who was a Confederate soldier at the Fort Pillow Massacre. The character returns to his home in the U.S. Southwest and describes the incident as murder.
An alternate version of the Fort Pillow massacre is described in the 2004 mockumentary
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
. The only difference is that the massacre took place somewhere in the north, following the Confederacy winning the Civil War.
In 2006, in contrast to his many alternative history
novels, Harry Turtledove
published the historical novel Fort Pillow about the battle and the massacre. In his alternate history novel, The Guns of the South
, the events of Fort Pillow are referred to as a massacre in the novel's imagined timeline.
African American novelist Frank Yerby
provided a brief narration of the massacre in his 1946 novel, The Foxes of Harrow (Chapter XXXVI).
Fort Pillow State Park
Fort Pillow State Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological...
on the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in Henning, Tennessee
Henning, Tennessee
Henning is a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 970 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Henning is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land....
, during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The battle ended with a massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
of surrendered Federal
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
black troops by soldiers under the command of Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
. Military historian David J. Eicher concluded, "Fort Pillow marked one of the bleakest, saddest events of American military history."
Background
Fort Pillow, 40 mi (64.4 km) north of MemphisMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, was built by Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Gideon Johnson Pillow
Gideon Johnson Pillow
Gideon Johnson Pillow was an American lawyer, politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War. He is best remembered for his poor performance at the Battle of Fort Donelson.-Early life:...
in early 1862 and was used by both sides during the war. With the fall of New Madrid and Island No. 10
Battle of Island Number Ten
The Battle of Island Number Ten was an engagement at the New Madrid or Kentucky Bend on the Mississippi River during the American Civil War, lasting from February 28 to April 8, 1862. The position, an island at the base of a tight double turn in the course of the river, was held by the Confederates...
to Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
forces, Confederate troops evacuated Fort Pillow on June 4, in order to avoid being cut off from the rest of the Confederate Army. Union forces occupied Fort Pillow on June 6, and used it to protect the river approach to Memphis.
The fort stood on a high bluff and was protected by three lines of entrenchments arranged in a semicircle, with a protective parapet 4 ft (1.2 m) thick and 6 to 8 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) high surrounded by a ditch. (During the battle, the thick parapet would in fact prove to be a disadvantage to the defenders because they could not fire upon approaching troops without mounting the top of the parapet, subjecting them to enemy fire. Similarly, operators of the six artillery pieces of the fort found it difficult to depress their barrels enough to fire on the attackers once they got close.) A Federal gunboat, the USS New Era, commanded by Captain James Marshall, was also available for the defense.
On March 16, 1864, Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
launched a month-long cavalry raid with 7,000 troopers into western Tennessee and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Their objectives were to capture Union prisoners and supplies and to demolish posts and fortifications from Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
, south to Memphis. Forrest's Cavalry Corps, which he called "the Cavalry Department of West Tennessee and North Mississippi", consisted of the divisions led by Brig. Gens. James R. Chalmers (brigades of Brig. Gen. Robert V. Richardson
Robert V. Richardson
Robert Vinkler Richardson was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
and Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
Robert M. McCulloch) and Abraham Buford (brigades of Cols. Tyree H. Bell
Tyree H. Bell
Tyree H. Bell often referred to by his full name, Tyree Harris Bell, was a Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War. He commanded a regiment of infantry in 1861 and most of 1862...
and A. P. Thompson).
The first of the two significant engagements in the expedition was the Battle of Paducah
Battle of Paducah
The Battle of Paducah was fought on March 25, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Confederate force led by Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest launched a successful raid on Paducah, Kentucky, to capture supplies....
on March 25, and Forrest's men did considerable damage to the town and its military supplies. Numerous skirmishes occurred throughout the region in late March and early April. Needing supplies, Forrest planned to move on Fort Pillow with about 1,500 to 2,500 men. (He had detached part of his command under Buford to strike Paducah again.) He wrote on April 4, "There is a Federal force of 500 or 600 at Fort Pillow, which I shall attend to in a day or two, as they have horses and supplies which we need."
The Union garrison at Fort Pillow consisted of about 600 men, divided almost evenly between black and white
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
troops. The black soldiers belonged to the 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery
1st Regiment Alabama Siege Artillery (African Descent)
The 1st Regiment Alabama Siege Artillery was an artillery regiment recruited from African-Americans that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was renamed the 6th US Colored Heavy Artillery. Under the leadership of Major Lionel Booth, the 6th US Colored Heavy...
and a section of the 2nd U.S. Colored Light Artillery (previously known as the Memphis Battery Light Artillery (African Descent)
Memphis Battery Light Artillery (African Descent)
The Memphis Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was also called 1st Tennessee Battery .-Service:...
), under the overall command of Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Lionel F. Booth
Lionel F. Booth
Major Lionel F. Booth was the alias used by George H. Lanning. It is unknown what led Lanning to use an alias, but it is safe to assume he was attempting to hide his whereabouts from certain members of his family...
. Many were former slaves and understood the personal consequences of a loss to the Confederates – at best an immediate return to slavery rather than being treated as a prisoner of war. Some Confederates had threatened to kill any Union black troops they encountered. The white soldiers were predominantly new recruits from the 13th Tennessee Cavalry, a Federal regiment from western Tennessee, commanded by Maj. William F. Bradford. (Major Bradford's regiment was known as Bradford's Tennessee Cavalry Battalion and was organized as the 13th West Tennessee Cavalry(US). Officially it was the 14th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment(US).)
Battle
Forrest arrived at Fort Pillow at 10:00 on April 12. By this time, Chalmers had already surrounded the fort. A stray bullet struck Forrest's horse, felling the general and bruising him. (This would be the first of three horses he lost that day.) He deployed sharpshooters around the higher ground that overlooked the fort, bringing many of the occupants into their direct line of fire. Major Booth was killed by a sharpshooter's bullet to the chest and Bradford assumed command. By 11:00, the Confederates had captured two rows of barracks about 150 yd (137.2 m) from the southern end of the fort. The Union soldiers had failed to destroy these buildings before the Confederates occupied them and subjected the garrison to a murderous fire.Rifle and artillery fire continued until 15:30, when Forrest sent a note demanding surrender: "I now demand unconditional surrender of your forces, at the same time assuring you that you will be treated as prisoners of war. ... I have received a new supply of ammunition and can take your works by assault, and if compelled to do so you must take the consequences." Bradford replied, concealing his identity as he did not wish the Confederates to realize that Booth had been killed, requesting an hour for consideration. Forrest, who believed that reinforcing troops would soon arrive by river, replied that he would only allow 20 minutes, and that "If at the expiration of that time the fort is not surrendered, I shall assault it." Having been given the opportunity to surrender Bradford's final reply was: "I will not surrender." Forrest ordered his bugler to sound the charge.
The Confederate assault was furious. While the sharpshooters maintained their fire into the fort, a first wave entered the ditch and stood while the second wave used their backs as stepping stones. These men then reached down and helped the first wave scramble up a ledge on the embankment. All of this proceeded flawlessly and with very little firing, except from the sharpshooters and around the flanks. Their fire against the New Era caused the sailors to button up their gun ports and hold their fire. As the sharpshooters were signaled to hold their fire, the men on the ledge went up and over the embankment, firing now for the first time into the massed defenders, who fought briefly, but then broke and ran to the landing at the foot of the bluff, where they had been told that the Union gunboat would cover their withdrawal by firing grapeshot and canister rounds. The gunboat did not fire a single shot because its gun ports were sealed, and there probably would have been more Union casualties than Confederate if they had fired. The fleeing soldiers were subjected to fire both from the rear and from the flank, from the soldiers who had been firing at the gunboat. Many were shot down. Others reached the river only to drown, or be picked off in the water by marksmen on the bluff.
Massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
d them in cold blood. Surviving members of the garrison said that most of their men surrendered and threw down their arms, only to be shot or bayoneted by the attackers, who repeatedly shouted, "No quarter! No quarter!" The Joint Committee On the Conduct of the War
United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War
The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was a United States Congressional investigating committee created to handle issues surrounding the American Civil War. It was established on December 9, 1861, following the embarrassing Union defeat at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, at the instigation of...
immediately investigated the incident and concluded that the Confederates shot most of the garrison after it had surrendered. A 2002 study by Albert Castel concluded that the Union forces were indiscriminately massacred after Fort Pillow "had ceased resisting or was incapable of resistance."
Recent histories agree that a massacre occurred: Richard Fuchs, author of An Unerring Fire, concludes, “The affair at Fort Pillow was simply an orgy of death, a mass lynching to satisfy the basest of conduct – intentional murder – for the vilest of reasons – racism and personal enmity.” Andrew Ward states, “Whether the massacre was premeditated or spontaneous does not address the more fundamental question of whether a massacre took place... it certainly did, in every dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
sense of the word.” John Cimprich states, “The new paradigm in social attitudes and the fuller use of available evidence has favored a massacre interpretation... Debate over the memory of this incident formed a part of sectional and racial conflicts for many years after the war, but the reinterpretation of the event during the last thirty years offers some hope that society can move beyond past intolerance.”
Lieutenant Daniel Van Horn of the 6th U. S. Heavy Artillery (Colored) stated in his official report "There never was a surrender of the fort, both officers and men declaring they never would surrender or ask for quarter." However, a Confederate sergeant, in a letter written home shortly after the battle said that "the poor, deluded negroes would run up to our men, fall upon their knees, and with uplifted hand scream for mercy, but were ordered to their feet and then shot down." This account is consistent with the relatively high comparative casualties sustained by race of the defenders. (See next section.)
Forrest's men insisted that the Federals, although fleeing, kept their weapons and frequently turned to shoot, forcing the Confederates to keep firing in self defense. Their claim is consistent with the discovery of numerous Federal rifles on the bluffs near the river (see Jordan, who inconclusively asked in 1947, "Was there a Massacre. . .?" THQ). The Union flag was still flying over the fort, which indicated that the force had not formally surrendered. A contemporary newspaper account from Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
, states that "General Forrest begged them to surrender," but "not the first sign of surrender was ever given." Similar accounts were reported in both Southern and Northern newspapers at the time.
Historian Allan Nevins wrote that although the interpretation of the facts had "provoked some disputation":
The New York Times reported on April 24:
Later, in his Memoirs, Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, who was not present at the battle, wrote of the battle:
According to the Official Records, casualties were not as high as Forrest had estimated.
Aftermath
Confederate casualties were comparatively low (14 killed and 86 wounded) and Union casualties were high. Of the 585–605 men present, the Union losses were reported as 277–297 dead. Some scholars, however, believe these reports were exaggerated (Jordan). It is obvious that the race of the soldiers affected casualties. Of the black members of the garrison, only 58 (around 20%) were marched away as prisoners; 168 (almost 60%) white soldiers were taken prisoner. Not all of the prisoners who were shot were black – Major Bradford was apparently among those shot after he surrendered. Confederate anger at the thought of blacks' fighting them, and their initial reluctance to surrender (because many of the black troops believed they would only be killed if they surrendered in Federal uniform) resulted in a tragedy.The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening, so they gained little except a temporary disruption of Union operations. The "Fort Pillow Massacre" was thereafter used as a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion.
On April 17, 1864, in the aftermath of Fort Pillow, Grant ordered General Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
, who was negotiating prisoner exchanges with the Confederacy, to demand that in the exchange and treatment of prisoners, black prisoners had to be treated identically to whites. A failure to do so would "be regarded as a refusal on their part to agree to the further exchange of prisoners, and [would] be so treated by us." This demand was refused and Confederate Secretary of War Seddon in June 1864 stated the confederate position:
Fort Pillow, now preserved as the Fort Pillow State Park
Fort Pillow State Park
Fort Pillow State Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological...
, was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1974.
In popular culture
In 1997, an American motion picture, titled Last Stand at Saber River (based on the Elmore LeonardElmore Leonard
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
novel), features a character (played by Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
) who was a Confederate soldier at the Fort Pillow Massacre. The character returns to his home in the U.S. Southwest and describes the incident as murder.
An alternate version of the Fort Pillow massacre is described in the 2004 mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is a 2004 mockumentary directed by Kevin Willmott. It is a fictional "tongue-in-cheek" account of an alternate history, in which the Confederates won the American Civil War, establishing the new Confederate States of America...
. The only difference is that the massacre took place somewhere in the north, following the Confederacy winning the Civil War.
In 2006, in contrast to his many alternative history
Alternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
novels, Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
published the historical novel Fort Pillow about the battle and the massacre. In his alternate history novel, The Guns of the South
The Guns of the South
The Guns of the South is an alternate history novel set during the American Civil War by Harry Turtledove.The story deals with a group of time-travelling Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging members who supply Robert E...
, the events of Fort Pillow are referred to as a massacre in the novel's imagined timeline.
African American novelist Frank Yerby
Frank Yerby
Frank Garvin Yerby was an African American historical novelist. He is best known as the first African American writer to become a millionaire from his pen, and to have a book purchased by a Hollywood studio for a film adaptation.-Early life:...
provided a brief narration of the massacre in his 1946 novel, The Foxes of Harrow (Chapter XXXVI).
See also
- List of massacres in Tennessee
- Fort Pillow State ParkFort Pillow State ParkFort Pillow State Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological...
- 1st Regiment Alabama Siege Artillery (African Descent)1st Regiment Alabama Siege Artillery (African Descent)The 1st Regiment Alabama Siege Artillery was an artillery regiment recruited from African-Americans that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was renamed the 6th US Colored Heavy Artillery. Under the leadership of Major Lionel Booth, the 6th US Colored Heavy...
, aka 6th US Colored Heavy Artillery - Memphis Battery Light Artillery (African Descent)Memphis Battery Light Artillery (African Descent)The Memphis Battery Light Artillery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was also called 1st Tennessee Battery .-Service:...
, aka Battery D, 2nd US Colored Light Artillery
Further reading
- Burkhardt, George S. "No Quarter." North & South, vol. 10, no. 1.
- Frist, William Harrison, Jr. A Telling Battle: The Fort Pillow Massacre During the American Civil War, Senior Thesis No. 20318, Princeton University, 2006.
- Wills, Brian Steel. The Confederacy's Greatest Cavalryman: Nathan Bedford Forrest. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992. ISBN 0-7006-0885-0.