It was the spring of 1864. General William T. Sherman had just begun his march toward Atlanta. There were several important engagements during April and May of that year that were of grave importance to Sherman's effort. But no single event caught the attention of Northern papers and civilians, Congress, and the President more than the terrible incident at Fort Pillow.
Fort Pillow was situated on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River about 75 miles north of the town of Memphis, Tennessee. It's garrison consisted of around 570 Union soldiers, nearly half of them being recently recruited blacks (McPherson, 1994). One major threat to this and other Union outposts was Confederate cavalry, particularly the horsemen under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. And on April 12, 1964, that threat was fully realized by the troops stationed at Fort Pillow.
On that day, roughly 1,500 Confederates led by Forrest attacked the Union garrison in an attempt to cut off Union supply and communication lines. Attacking with the famous rebel yell, they "swarmed over the fort's parapets and swiftly drove many of the defenders down the bluff toward the Mississippi" (Bailey, 1985, p. 25). The attack was swift and highly effective. The events to follow tell a gruesome tale of how ravaging and terrible this war became.
Forrest's men argued that despite the Federal retreat, the Union troops kept possession of their weapons and frequently turned to fire on the Southerners. Thus, this forced the Confederates to also continue their fire. The Federals' side of the story differs greatly, however, saying that most of the surviving men of the garrison threw down their arms in surrender only to be shot or bayoneted in cold blood by the victorious Southerners (Bailey, 1985). The casualty rates tell a story that seems to support the Union troops' testimony. Of the 1,500 Confederate troops to attack, only 14 were killed. The Federals, however, lost over 200 dead and another 100 seriously wounded. The large majority of troops that were killed were black.
Later, a congressional committee questioned 21 black survivors of the massacre. The following is a transcription of three men's testimony taken from pages 82-84 in James McPherson's paperback version of Marching Toward Freedom (1994):
Sergeant Benjamin Robinson, (colored) company D, 6th United States heavy artillery, sworn and examined...
QUESTION: Were you at Fort Pillow in the fight there?
ANSWER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: What did you see there?
ANSWER: I saw them shoot two white men right by the side of me after they had laid their guns down. They shot a black man clear over into the river. Then they hallooed to me to come up the hill, and I came up. They said, "Give me your money, you damned nigger." I told him I did not have any. "Give me your money, or I will blow your brains out." Then they told me to lie down, and I laid down, and they stripped everything off me.
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