Battle of Fort Pillow

Battle of Fort Pillow Fort Pillow Massacre Began: April 12, 1864 Ended: Same day Location: Lauderdale County, Tennessee Theater: Western Theater Campaign: Forrest’s Expedition into West Tennessee and Kentucky Outcome: Confederate victory Combatants Union garrison 1st Division, Forrest’s Cavalry Corps Commanders Lionel F. Booth Major, USA William F. Bradford Major, USA Nathan Bedford Forrest Major General, CSA Strength 557 2,500 Casualties 574 80

In April 1864, the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, a Confederate-built earthen fortification and a Union-built inner redoubt, overlooking the Mississippi River about forty river miles above Memphis, comprised 295 white Tennessee troops and 262 U.S. Colored Troops, all under the command of Maj. Lionel F. Booth. Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the fort on April 12 with a cavalry division of approximately 2,500 men. Forrest seized the older outworks, with high knolls commanding the Union position, to surround Booth’s force. Rugged terrain prevented the gunboat New Era from providing effective fire support for the Federals. The garrison was unable to depress its artillery enough to cover the approaches to the fort. Rebel sharpshooters, on the surrounding knolls, began firing into the fort, killing Booth. Maj. William F. Bradford then took over command of the garrison. The Confederates launched a determined attack at 11:00 am, occupying more strategic locations around the fort, and Forrest demanded unconditional surrender. Bradford asked for an hour for consultation, and Forrest granted twenty minutes. Bradford refused surrender and the Confederates renewed the attack, soon overran the fort, and drove the Federals down the river’s bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of the black troops, and that controversy continues today. The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening so they gained little from the attack except a temporary disruption of Union operations. The “Fort Pillow Massacre” became a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion. (NPS summary)

Background

See also: West Tennessee Raid

In October 1863, Confederate cavalry general Nathan Bedford Forrest was detached from the Army of Tennessee and given an independent command that embraced the northern part of Mississippi and the westernmost portions of Kentucky and Tennessee. After heavy recruiting in the area during the autumn and early winter, Forrest had built up a division of some five to six thousand men, which he first led into combat at the Battle of Okolona the following February, breaking up a Union cavalry expedition into Mississippi. Following this victory, in mid-March the Confederates launched a raid northward into west Tennessee, partly to gain supplies (including horses for some of the more recent recruits, who had been unable to find mounts), partly to disrupt enemy forces in the region, and partly to gather information about more general Union operations for the coming spring.

During late March and early April, Forrest's cavalry fanned out throughout west Tennessee and north into Kentucky, gathering supplies and additional recruits, capturing a sizable enemy garrison at Union City, Tennessee, and making a brief and unsuccessful assault on a fort outside Paducah, Kentucky. By the first week in April, Forrest was able to report that he had inflicted nearly 800 casualties at a cost of fewer than 60 of his own, and that he felt able to hold west Tennessee against "three times my numbers." He also accurately reported that the Union armies were massing for campaigns against Richmond and Atlanta. In the meantime, he added, he would continue to gather supplies from the region for the Confederate soldiers' use.

Fort Pillow

In the above-quoted April 4 report to General Leonidas Polk, commanding the Department of Mississippi, Forrest had mentioned that "There is a Federal force of five or six hundred at Fort Pillow, which I shall attend to in a day or two, as they have horses and supplies which we need." On April 10, having already sent part of his division back toward Paducah under Brigadier General Abraham Buford to procure more of the badly-needed mounts, he ordered Brigadier General James Chalmers to take another large detachment to Fort Pillow and seize it and its materials.

Fort Pillow, overlooking the Mississippi River from the Tennessee bank and about forty miles north of Memphis, had originally been built by the Confederates in 1861, and was named for Brigadier General Gideon Pillow, one of the senior officers at the Battle of Fort Donelson the following year. Situated atop a high bluff overlooking the river, and flanked on the north by a small stream named Coal Creek, it originally consisted of three lines of fortifications, of which the innermost was by far the strongest: this was an earthen wall or parapet, about 120 yards in length and six feet in height and thickness, with a ditch some twelve feet wide and eight feet deep in front. This was generally reckoned a formidable defense, although the very width of the parapet presented a drawback when facing attackers at close range, as a defender could not get into position to fire upon them without exposing himself to enemy sharpshooters. However, the fort was also provided with artillery, and was placed so close to the river that gunboats could easily approach and provide supporting fire. For this reason, Fort Pillow was considered a valuable asset, and after the Union forces took control of the region in 1862, it was maintained with a sizable garrison at all times.

In early April 1864, the fort was garrisoned by the First Battalion, Sixth United States Heavy Artillery (Colored), with a total strength of 221 officers and men; one section of Company D, Second United States Light Artillery (Colored), with 41 officers and men; and the First Battalion, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry, with 295 officers and men. Major Lionel F. Booth was in overall command, with Major William F. Bradford, commander of the First Battalion, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry, the next-ranking officer. The total complement for Fort Pillow came to 557 officers and men, and six pieces of artillery. Of the fort's garrison, slightly over half (the Thirteenth Tennessee) were pro-Union white Southerners (often dubbed "Tennessee Tories" by the Confederates); the rest were ex-slaves now serving in the Union Army. Both groups were despised by Confederate soldiers, the former for betraying their countrymen, the latter for having been armed against their former masters, and there were cases before and after Fort Pillow of their being mistreated or even killed when taken prisoner, though this was never official policy of the Confederate government or military leadership.

Battle: April 12

Morning Preliminaries

On April 11, Chalmers' detachment, consisting of most of the brigades of Colonels Robert McCulloch and Tyree Bell (close to 2,000 effectives in all), moved toward Fort Pillow from the east, guided in the latter stage of their march by a local who had recently been imprisoned in the fort. By dawn on the 12th, the two brigades were approaching its outermost fortifications, McCulloch moving up a road from the south, while Bell advanced westward along Coal Creek.

At daybreak, the 2nd Missouri Cavalry, of McCulloch's brigade, was sent forward to drive in the pickets, rushing them so quickly that the entire outer defense line was soon abandoned. Part of the Thirteenth Tennessee then moved out to contest the Confederate advance, backed by fire from the fort's artillery and from a nearby gunboat, the New Era. However, taking advantage of the thick underbrush that lay between the outer and middle lines, the Rebel soldiers were by mid-morning able to gain the second line of defense, bringing them within 300 yards of the main fortification, within which all the Union troops now withdrew. In the course of this early fighting, Major Booth, the post commander, was shot and killed; Major Bradford, described by a senior officer as "a good officer, though not of much experience," now took command.

At about 11:00 a.m., Forrest himself arrived on the field and took over direction of the operations. He promptly ordered McCulloch's brigade to press forward again and seize several barracks and other outbuildings that lay between the middle line and the fort's thick earthen parapet, which it succeeded in doing despite heavy fire from the fort. At this point, the Confederates were at such close range that the fort's artillery could not be sufficiently depressed in elevation to be of further effect against them; the remaining fighting would be done chiefly via small arms.

Demand for Surrender

At midday, with the Confederates now covering most of the landward approaches to Fort Pillow, a temporary lull ensued, broken only by periodic long-range fire. More ammunition was brought up for the attackers from the rear, while Forrest undertook a more thorough reconnaissance of the field (being slightly injured in the process when his horse was shot from under him). Finally, at about 1:00 p.m., Forrest directed Colonel Bell to advance the balance of his brigade towards the fort, via the deep ravine formed by Coal Creek on its northern side. Though a lengthy maneuver, this movement, covered by a large body of sharpshooters to suppress concentrated fire from the fort, was ultimately successful, and by 3:00 p.m. or so, Bell's men, like McCulloch's, were close enough and at a low enough angle that the Union defenders could not easily fire on them.

Despite the fort's inner defenses being still intact to this point, and despite the presence of the New Era that continued to periodically fire on the Confederates, Forrest now felt confident that he could seize Fort Pillow without much difficulty. Towards 3:30 p.m. he called a cease-fire and sent forward under a flag of truce a demand for the garrison's surrender. As was typical in his messages under such conditions, he promised that if the Union troops surrendered at once, they would be given proper treatment as prisoners of war, but if the Confederates were forced to take the fort by mass assault, "I cannot be responsible for the fate of your command." He addressed this to "Major Booth," not knowing that officer had been killed in the morning's fighting.

As the demand for surrender was delivered, lookouts on both sides spotted a steamer coming downriver with Federal troops on board, followed by two more coming upriver from Memphis. Major Bradford (responding to the message in Booth's name) requested from Forrest one hour in which to consult with his officers and the officers of the gunboat and make a decision. Suspecting this was a ploy to gain time in which to be reinforced from the approaching steamers, Forrest replied, allowing no more than twenty minutes; "if at the expiration of that time the fort is not surrendered, I shall assault it."

Based on later testimony, Bradford and the other officers believed that even if the main fortification was overrun--which they deemed unlikely, given the stoutness of the parapet--and the garrison forced to abandon the fort, the gunboat New Era could easily cover their retreat with volleys of canister (short-range artillery) and break up the Rebel pursuit. After a short consultation, Bradford responded to Forrest's demand with the simple message, "I will not surrender." On receiving this refusal, shortly before 4:00 p.m., Forrest gave orders to begin the attack.

Capture

On receiving the signal to attack, the Confederate main body rushed forward and into the ditch outside the parapet, with sharpshooters continuing to provide suppressing fire against the fort's defenders. Once in the ditch, the first wave of attackers gained the narrow ledge between ditch and parapet by using the backs of those in the second wave as stepping-stones, then pulling those soldiers up alongside them. They were now fully protected from Union small-arms fire; meanwhile, Forrest had silenced the gunboat by sending detachments to the river bank north and south of the fort with orders to take aim at the New Era and "shoot everything blue betwixt wind and water," so that the ship was forced to close its gunports and provide no artillery support, as Bradford and the garrison had been expecting.

Once the main body had completed scaling the ditch, the sharpshooters held their fire and the attackers launched themselves atop and over the parapet, delivering a massive volley into the Union troops at close range. After some brief resistance, most of the defenders turned and fled the fort, making their way to the bank at the foot of the bluff and southward toward the gunboat; it continued to keep itself sealed up, though, and the Confederates nearby fired into their ranks, causing them to fall back in panic and flee northward, only to be met by the detachment coming from that direction as well. Order among the garrison's survivors completely broke down at this point, with some continuing to fight back, others jumping into the river to escape and either drowning or being shot, and others throwing down their weapons and attempting to surrender. Some of these were indeed taken prisoner, while others were shot down, some of Forrest's soldiers believing this was in line with the implicit threat in his demand to the garrison. However, Forrest had already given orders to cease firing, and he and other senior officers quickly put an end to the action and set to work rounding up survivors.

Under continuing fire, the New Era sailed upriver, while the Confederates gathered up the fort's supplies and the able-bodied prisoners; the dead were buried, and the Union wounded were left on the scene in the care of their surgeon. By nightfall Forrest and his troops had left the area.

Aftermath

The decisive nature of the Confederate victory at Fort Pillow was reflected in the final casualty totals. Of around 2,000 Rebel soldiers engaged in the fight, total losses came to an even 100--fourteen killed, eighty-six wounded--remarkably light, given their attack on a fixed position with artillery and naval support. The Union garrison, by contrast, was completely wiped out. Of its 557 members at the start of the battle, 226 were listed as prisoners sent south to Mississippi under escort, including twenty able to walk despite their wounds. Estimates on the number of killed and wounded vary, but one commonly-cited figure lists 221 killed and 130 wounded. Major William Bradford was among those captured uninjured at Fort Pillow; however, he was murdered by some soldiers of Forrest's command outside Brownsville, Tennessee, two days later.

After departing Fort Pillow, Forrest and his cavalrymen remained in West Tennessee for some days. Eventually, Union forces in the region were able to coordinate and use their superior numbers to drive him back into Mississippi during the last week of April and the beginning of May, as a prelude to further actions in that region during the summer of 1864.