Fort Pillow Attack

Fort Pillow Attack

THE GRAND FABRICATION

It is almost as difficult to find consistent information about the

incident at Fort Pillow as it is to determine the moral significance

of its outcome. Scholars disagree about exactly what transpired on

April 12, 1864 at Fort Pillow, when General Nathan Bedford Forrest

captured the fort with his 1,500 troops and claimed numerous Union

lives in the process (Wyeth 250). It became an issue of propaganda for

the Union, and as a result the facts were grossly distorted. After

close examination it is clear that the ³Fort Pillow Massacre² (as it

became known by abolitionists) was nothing of the sort. The 1,500

troops under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest acted as

men and as soldiers in their capture of Fort Pillow.

It is first necessary to understand what happened in the battle

before any judgment can be made. A careful study performed by Dr. John

Wyeth revealed the following information: from April 9-11, 1864,

troops under the command of Ben McCulloch, Tyree Harris Bell, and

Brig. General James Chalmers marched non-stop to Fort Pillow to begin

their assault under the command of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Confederate sharpshooters claimed the lives of several key Union

officers during the morning assault on the fort. The losses included

the commanding officer Major Loinel F. Booth, and his second in

command shortly after that. These losses created a complete breakdown

of order and leadership among the Union troops within the fort. (251)

During the morning engagement, the gun boat the New Era was

continually attempting to shell the Confederate forces from the

Mississippi, but with minimal success. The Union forces fought back

heartily until around one o¹clock in the afternoon, when both sides

slowed down. Around that time the New Era steamed out of range to

cool its weapons. It had fired a total of 282 rounds, and its supplies

were almost totally exhausted. During this hiatus in the firing, while

Confederate troops waited for supplies that would arrive around three

o¹clock, Forrestwas injured when his horse fell on him after being

mortaily wounded (252). When the supplies arrived, Confederate troops

under a flag of truce delivered a message from Forrest that said, ³My

men have received a fresh supply of ammunition, and from their present

position can easily assault and capture the fort,² (253). Forrest

demanded ³the unconditional surrender of the garrison,² promising