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Fort Pillow State Historic Park

Coordinates: 35°38′10″N 89°50′32″W / 35.63611°N 89.84222°W / 35.63611; -89.84222
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"Fort Pillow" redirects here. For the common children's construction, see Blanket fort.
Fort Pillow Historic State Park
Map
TypeTennessee State Park
LocationHenning, Tennessee
Area1,642 acres (6.64 km2)
Created1971
OpenYear round
Fort Pillow
Fort Pillow State Historic Park is located in Tennessee
Fort Pillow State Historic Park
Fort Pillow State Historic Park is located in the United States
Fort Pillow State Historic Park
LocationTN State Route 87, Lauderdale County, Tennessee
Nearest cityOsceola, Arkansas
Coordinates35°38′10″N 89°50′32″W / 35.63611°N 89.84222°W / 35.63611; -89.84222
Built1861
NRHP reference No.73001806
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 11, 1973[1]
Designated NHLMay 30, 1974[2]

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 (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance.

Confederate fort 1861

In 1861, the Confederate army built extensive fortifications here and named the site for General Gideon Johnson Pillow of Maury County.

Union fort, and Battle of Fort Pillow

An engraving of Confederate troops massacring black Union soldiers after the Battle of Fort Pillow.

Because of its strategic location, controlling traffic on the Mississippi River, the fort was attacked and captured by the Union Army, which controlled it during most of the war. June 4, 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuated Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee. An exception to this control occurred for less than one day immediately after the Battle of Fort Pillow in 1864.

The Confederate victory at the Battle of Fort Pillow (April 1864) resulted in the killing of 229 of the 262 black Union soldiers engaged in the battle.[3] The white soldiers numbered 285. An examination of regimental records showed that "less than 36 percent of the men from white units died in battle or of wounds, while the death toll for black units was 66 percent."[4]

This slaughter by the Confederate troops under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest has been labeled a massacre; Confederate apologists debate the fatality numbers. A Confederate wrote in a letter home that "Forrest ordered them [negroes] shot down like dogs, and the carnage continued."[5] In addition to regimental records, contemporary accounts by troops on both sides, as well as journalist, describe it as appalling slaughter.[6] Within about three weeks, as political controversy grew, Confederates began to debate accounts of a massacre.[7]

"Remember Fort Pillow!" became a battle cry among black Union soldiers for the remainder of the Civil War.

While the Union casualty count for the battle does not indicate that the Confederate forces took many prisoners, Confederate records show about 200 prisoners were shipped south.

In 1866, the Union Army created a cemetery for both Confederate and Union soldiers south of the battle site. In 1867, they moved about 250 bodies of Confederate and Union soldiers from that cemetery to the Memphis National Cemetery.[8]

Historic site and museum

In 1973, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[1][9] It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1974.[2][10] Remains of the earthworks were well-preserved as of 2011.

The park has an interpretive center and museum (open 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily, except for certain holidays). Tours of the museum and restored fortifications are available upon request. The park also offers many recreational activities, including camping, picnicking and fishing.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Pillow State Park.
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Fort Pillow". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  3. ^ [1], National Park Service
  4. ^ John Cimprich and Robert C. Mainfort, Jr., "Fort Pillow Revisited", 1982, in Race and Recruitment, ed. John David Smith, Kent State University Press, 2013, p. 214
  5. ^ Cimprich and Mainfort (1982), "Fort Pillow Revisited", p. 219
  6. ^ Cimprich and Mainfort (1982), "Fort Pillow Revisited", pp. 216-225
  7. ^ Cimprich and Mainfort (1982), "Fort Pillow Revisited", p. 226
  8. ^ Cimprich, John (2005). Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-8071-3110-5.
  9. ^ http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com National Register of Historic Places
  10. ^ ____WEBSITE DOWN ADD LATER____ (__, 19__). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: __________" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-06-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying __ photos, exterior and interior, from 19__ (819 KB)
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