Race and Recruitment: Civil War History Readers, Volume 2

Fort Pillow Revisited: New Evidence about an Old Controversy

212 john cimprich and robert c. mainfort jr. Fort Pillow revisited New Evidence about an old Controversy Edited by John Cimprich robert C. mainfort Jr. The capture of Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864, by a force of Confederate cavalry under the command of major General Nathan b. Forrest is, perhaps, the most controversial battle of the Civil War. A congressional report on the engagement concluded not only that Forrest’s troops massacred a substantial portion of the racially mixed garrison, but also that they committed numerous grisly atrocities . The report drew much criticism from southern writers, who indignantly denied that a massacre took place and even morevehementlydefended Forrest’s conduct. more recently, several historians have held that the report correctly labelled the event a massacre but exaggerated the additional atrocities. Further evidence, mostlynewConfederate sources, provides the first reallysolid support for the latter interpretation and also offers a more detailed picture of the event.1 212 E The authors of this article were aided by funding from the Tennessee Department of Conservation (Division of Planning and Development) and the Southeast missouri State university’s Grants and research Funding Committee. They also acknowledge the help of research assistants karen m. Johnson, Joe mannard, Stephan rogers, marion Smith, and Parris Stripling. 1. u.S. Congress, Senate Committee Reports, 38th Cong., 1st sess., No. 63, passim;Thomas Jordan and J. P. Pryor, The Campaigns of lt. Gen. N. B. Forrest (New york, 1868), pp. 439–45; Charles W. Anderson, “The True Story of Fort Pillow,” Confederate veteran 3 (Nov. 1895):326; John Allan Wyeth , The life of General Nathan Bedford Forrest (New york, 1899), pp. 355–56; John l. Jordan, “Was There a massacre at Fort Pillow?” Tennessee Historical Quarterly 6 (June 1947): 122–32; Dudley T. Cornish, The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861–1865 (New york, 1956), pp. 174–75; Civil War History, vol. XXviii No. 4 © 1982 by The kent State university Press fort pillow revisited 213 Albert Castel, “The Fort Pillow massacre:A Fresh Examination of the Evidence,” Civil War History 4 (mar. 1958):46–49; idem, “Fort Pillow: victory or massacre,” American History illustrated 9 (Apr. 1974):4–11, 46–48. 2. William D. Turner, monthly return, may 10, 1864, Eleventh u.S. Colored infantry (this unit later absorbed the Sixth u.S.C.H.A.) muster rolls, record Group (hereafter rG) 94, National Archives (hereafterNA),Washington, D.C.;u.S.WarDepartment, The Warof the Rebellion:A Compilation of the official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (hereafter oR), 128 vols. (Washington, 1880–1901), ser. 1, vol. 32, pt. 1:568; W. F. bradford, monthly return, Apr. 8, 1864, bradford battalion muster rolls, rG 94, NA; Compiled Service records (hereafter CSr) of Thomas C. George, Seventh kansas Cavalry, and J. F. young, Twenty-fourth missouri infantry, rG 94, NA. These records make it clear that incorrect figures were reported in oR, ser. 1, vol. 32, pt. 1:556. Jordan, “massacre?,” holds that other captured soldiers and civilians, who were not officially a part of the garrison but may have been present, should be counted. They are not counted here because of insufficient evidence about their number and role in the event. “list of Prisoners Captured by major General Forrest at Fort Pillow, April 12, 1864, and other Points,” Publications File, rG 109, NA, reveals that some of these men were captured elsewhere. 3. oR, ser. 1, vol. 32, pt. 1:609; ronald k. Huch, “Fort Pillow massacre: The Aftermath of Paducah,” illinois State Historical Society Journal 66 (Spring 1973):65–70. 4. logs of u.S. Naval Ships, rG 24, NA. 5. lionel F. booth (1838–64), commanderof the First battalion, Sixth u.S.C.H.A.,was killed by a sharpshooter at approximately 9:00 a.m. on the day of the battle. He had grown up in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, and worked there as a clerk until 1858, when he enlisted in the regular army. recommended as “a steady, intelligent and worthy young man,” booth became quartermaster sergeant of the First missouri light Artillery in 1862. The following year he transferred to the unit which eventually became the Sixth u.S.C.H.A. and soon rose to the rank of major. ironically, the day before being ordered to Fort Pillow, booth applied for a leave of absence, having had no leave since his enlistment. booth CSr, rG 94, NA;entry for mar. 27, 1864, Sixteenth Army Corps register of letters received, vol...