Chapter XX: Capture and Treatment of Negro Soldiers

THE MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES DISTASTEFUL TO THE REBEL
AUTHORITIES.--THE CONFEDERATES THE FIRST TO EMPLOY NEGROES AS
SOLDIERS.--JEFFERSON DAVIS REFERS TO THE SUBJECT IN HIS MESSAGE,
AND THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS ORDERS ALL NEGROES CAPTURED TO BE
TURNED OVER TO THE STATE AUTHORITIES, AND RAISES THE "BLACK FLAG"
UPON WHITE OFFICERS COMMANDING NEGRO SOLDIERS.--THE NEW YORK
PRESS CALLS UPON THE GOVERNMENT TO PROTECT ITS NEGRO
SOLDIERS.--SECRETARY STANTON'S ACTION.--THE PRESIDENT'S
ORDER.--CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GEN. PECK AND GEN. PICKETT IN
REGARD TO THE KILLING OF A COLORED MAN AFTER HE HAD SURRENDERED
AT THE BATTLE OF NEWBERN.--SOUTHERN PRESS ON THE CAPTURE AND
TREATMENT OF NEGRO SOLDIERS.--THE REBELS REFUSE TO EXCHANGE NEGRO
SOLDIERS CAPTURED ON MORRIS AND JAMES ISLANDS ON ACCOUNT OF THE
ORDER OF THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS WHICH REQUIRED THEM TO BE
TURNED OVER TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE SEVERAL STATES.--JEFFERSON
DAVIS ISSUES A PROCLAMATION OUTLAWING GEN. B. F. BUTLER,--HE IS
TO BE HUNG WITHOUT TRIAL BY ANY CONFEDERATE OFFICER WHO MAY
CAPTURE HIM.--THE BATTLE OF FORT PILLOW.--THE GALLANT DEFENCE BY
THE LITTLE BAND OF UNION TROOPS.--IT REFUSES TO CAPITULATE AND IS
ASSAULTED AND CAPTURED BY AN OVERWHELMING FORCE.--THE UNION
TROOPS BUTCHERED IN COLD BLOOD.--THE WOUNDED ARE CARRIED INTO
HOUSES WHICH ARE FIRED AND BURNED WITH THEIR HELPLESS
VICTIMS.--MEN ARE NAILED TO THE OUTSIDE OF BUILDINGS THROUGH
THEIR HANDS AND FEET AND BURNT ALIVE.--THE WOUNDED AND DYING ARE
BRAINED WHERE THEY LAY IN THEIR EBBING BLOOD.--THE OUTRAGES ARE
RENEWED IN THE MORNING.--DEAD AND LIVING FIND A COMMON SEPULCHRE
IN THE TRENCH.--GENERAL CHALMERS ORDERS THE KILLING OF A NEGRO
CHILD.--TESTIMONY OF THE FEW UNION SOLDIERS WHO WERE ENABLED TO
CRAWL OUT OF THE GILT EDGE, FIRE PROOF HELL AT PILLOW.--THEY GIVE
A SICKENING ACCOUNT OF THE MASSACRE BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE
ON THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR.--GEN. FORREST'S FUTILE ATTEMPT TO
DESTROY THE RECORD OF HIS FOUL CRIME.--FORT PILLOW MASSACRE
WITHOUT A PARALLEL IN HISTORY.

The appearance of Negroes as soldiers in the armies of the United States seriously offended the Southern view of "the eternal fitness of things." No action on the part of the Federal Government was so abhorrent to the rebel army. It called forth a bitter wail from Jefferson Davis, on the 12th of January, 1863, and soon after the Confederate Congress elevated its olfactory organ and handled the subject with a pair of tongs. After a long discussion the following was passed:

"_Resolved, by the Congress of the Confederate States of
America_, In response to the message of the President,
transmitted to Congress at the commencement of the present
session, That, in the opinion of Congress, the commissioned
officers of the enemy ought _not_ to be delivered to the
authorities of the respective States, as suggested in the said
message, but all captives taken by the Confederate forces ought
to be dealt with and disposed of by the Confederate Government.

"SEC. 2. That, in the judgment of Congress, the proclamations of
the President of the United States, dated respectively September
22, 1862, and January 1, 1863, and the other measures of the
Government of the United States and of its authorities,
commanders, and forces, designed or tending to emancipate slaves
in the Confederate States, or to abduct such slaves, or to incite
them to insurrection, or to employ negroes in war against the
Confederate States, or to overthrow the institution of African
Slavery, and bring on a servile war in these States, would, if
successful, produce atrocious consequences, and they are
inconsistent with the spirit of those usages which, in modern
warfare, prevail among civilized nations; they may, therefore, be
properly and lawfully repressed by retaliation.

"SEC. 3. That in every case wherein, during the present war, any
violation of the laws or usages of war among civilized nations
shall be, or has been, done and perpetrated by those acting under
the authority of the Government of the United States, on the
persons or property of citizens of the Confederate States, or of
those under the protection or in the land or naval service of the
Confederate States, or of any State of the Confederacy, the
President of the Confederate States is hereby authorized to cause
full and ample retaliation to be made for every such violation,
in such manner and to such extent as he may think proper.

"SEC. 4. That every white person, being a commissioned officer,
or acting as such, who, during the present war, shall command
negroes or mulattoes in arms against the Confederate States, or
who shall arm, train, organize, or prepare negroes or mulattoes
for military service against the Confederate States, or who shall
voluntarily aid negroes or mulattoes in any military enterprise,
attack, or conflict in such service, shall be deemed as inciting
servile insurrection, and shall, if captured, be put to death, or
be otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.

"SEC. 5. Every person, being a commissioned officer, or acting as
such in the service of the enemy, who shall, during the present
war, excite, attempt to excite, or cause to be excited, a servile
insurrection, or who shall incite, or cause to be incited, a
slave or rebel, shall, if captured, be put to death, or be
otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.

"SEC. 6. Every person charged with an offence punishable under
the preceding resolutions shall, during the present war, be tried
before the military court attached to the array or corps by the
troops of which he shall have been captured, or by such other
military court as the President may direct, and in such manner
and under such regulations as the President shall prescribe; and,
after conviction, the President may commute the punishment in
such manner and on such terms as he may deem proper.

"SEC. 7. All negroes and mulattoes who shall be engaged in war,
or be taken in arms against the Confederate States, or shall give
aid or comfort to the enemies of the Confederate States, shall,
when captured in the Confederate States, be delivered to the
authorities of the State or States in which they shall be
captured, to be dealt with according to the present or future
laws of such State or States."

This document stands alone among the resolves of the civilized governments of all Christendom. White persons acting as commissioned officers in organizations of Colored Troops were to "be put to death!" And all Negroes and Mulattoes taken in arms against the Confederate Government were to be turned over to the authorities:--civil, of course--of the States in which they should be captured, to be dealt with according to the present or future laws of such States! Now, what were the laws of the Southern States respecting Negroes in arms against white people? The most cruel death. And fearing some of those States had modified their cruel slave Code, the States were granted the right to pass _ex post facto_ laws in order to give the cold-blooded murder of captured Negro soldiers the semblance of law,--and by a _civil law_ too. Colored soldiers and their officers had been butchered before this in South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, notwithstanding the rebels were the first to arm Negroes, as has been already shown. If the Confederates had a right to arm Negroes and include them in their armies, why could not the Federal Government pursue the same policy? But the Rebel Government had determined upon a barbarous policy in dealing with captured Negro soldiers,--and barbarous as that policy was, the rebel soldiers exceeded its cruel provisions tenfold. Their treatment of Negroes was perfectly fiendish.

But what was the attitude of the Federal Government? Silence, until the butcheries of its gallant defenders had sickened the civilized world, and until the Christian governments of Europe frowned upon the inhuman indifference of the Government that would _force_ its slaves to fight its battles and then allow them to be tortured to death in the name of "_State laws_!" Even the most conservative papers of the North began to feel that some policy ought to be adopted whereby the lives of Colored soldiers could be protected against the inhuman treatment bestowed upon them when captured by the rebels. In the spring of 1863, the "Tribune," referring to this subject, said, editorially:

"The Government has sent Adj.-General Thomas to the West with
full authority to arm and organize the negroes for service
against the Rebels. They are to be employed to protect the
navigation of the Mississippi and other rivers against
guerrillas, and as garrisons at fortified posts, and are
evidently destined for all varieties of military duty. Seven
thousand soldiers who listened to this announcement at Fort
Curtis received it with satisfaction and applause. Gen. Thomas,
heretofore known as opposed to this and all similar measures,
urged in his address that the Blacks should be treated with
kindness; declared his belief in their capacity, and informed the
officers of the army that no one would be permitted to oppose or
in any way interfere with this policy of the Government.

"It is not directly stated, but may be inferred from the
Despatch, that the negroes are not to be encouraged to enlist,
but are to be drafted. At all events, the policy of the
Government to employ Black Troops in active service is definitely
established, and it becomes--as indeed it has been for months--a
very serious question what steps are to be taken for their
protection. The Proclamation of Jefferson Davis remains
unrevoked. By it he threatened death or slavery to every negro
taken in arms, and to their white officers the same fate. What is
the response of our Government? Hitherto, silence. The number of
negroes in its service has already increased; in South Carolina
they have already been mustered into regiments by a sweeping
conscription, and now in the West apparently the same policy is
adopted and rigorously enforced.

"Does the Government mean that the men are to be exposed not
merely to the chances of battle, but to the doom which the
unanswered Proclamation of the Rebel President threatens?

"Every black soldier now marches to battle with a halter about
his neck. The simple question is: Shall we protect and insure the
ordinary treatment of a prisoner of war? Under it, every negro
yet captured has suffered death or been sent back to the hell of
slavery from which he had escaped. The bloody massacre of black
prisoners at Murfreesboro, brooked, so far as the public knows,
no retaliation at Washington. The black servants captured at
Galveston--free men and citizens of Massachusetts--were sold into
slavery and remained there. In every instance in which they have
had the opportunity, the rebels have enforced their barbarous
proclamation. How much longer are they to be suffered to do it
without remonstrance?

"Gen. Hunter--at this moment in the field,--General. Butler, and
hundreds of other white officers are included in this
Proclamation, or were previously outlawed and adjudged a felon's
death. Delay remonstrance much longer, and retaliation must
supersede it. If the Government wishes to be spared the necessity
of retaliating, it has only to _say_ that it will retaliate--to
declare by proclamation or general order that all its soldiers
who may be captured must receive from the Rebels the treatment to
which, as prisoners of war, they are, by the usages of war,
entitled. The Government can know no distinction of color under
its flag. The moment a soldier shoulders a musket he is invested
with every military right which belongs to a white soldier. He is
at least and above all things entitled to the safeguards which
surround his white comrades.

"It is not possible to suppose the Government means to withhold
them; we only urge that the wisest, safest, and humanest, as well
as the most honorable policy, is at once to announce its
purpose."[112]

The able article just quoted had a wholesome effect upon many thoughtful men at the South, and brought the blush to the cheek of the nation. A few of the Southern journals agreed with Mr. Greeley that the resolves of the Confederate Congress were unjustifiable; that the Congress had no right to say what color the Union soldiers should be; and that such action would damage their cause in the calm and humane judgment of all Europe. But the Confederate Congress was unmoved and unmovable upon this subject.

Three Colored men had been captured in Stone River on the gun-boat "Isaac Smith." They were free men; but, notwithstanding this, they were placed in close confinement and treated like felons. Upon the facts reaching the ear of the Government, Secretary Stanton took three South Carolina prisoners and had them subjected to the same treatment, and the facts telegraphed to the Rebel authorities. Commenting upon the question of the treatment of captured Colored soldiers the "Richmond Examiner" said:

"It is not merely the pretension of a regular Government
affecting to deal with 'Rebels,' but it is a deadly stab which
they are aiming at our institutions themselves--because they know
that, if we were insane enough to yield this point, to treat
Black men as the equals of White, and insurgent slaves as
equivalent to our brave soldiers, the very foundation of Slavery
would be fatally wounded."

Shortly after this occurrence an exchange of prisoners took place in front of Charleston. The rebels returned only white prisoners. When upbraided by the Union officers for not exchanging Negroes the reply came that under the resolutions of the Confederate Congress they could not deliver up any Negro soldiers. This fact stirred the heart of the North, and caused the Government to act. The following order was issued by the President:

"EXECUTIVE MANSION, }
"WASHINGTON, July 30, 1863. }

"It is the duty of every Government to give protection to its
citizens, of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially
to those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public
service. The law of nations, and the usages and customs of war,
as carried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to
color in the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To
sell or enslave any captured person, on account of his color, and
for no offense against the laws of war, is a relapse into
barbarism, and a crime against the civilization of the age.

"The Government of the United States will give the same
protection to all its soldiers; and if the enemy shall sell or
enslave any one because of his color, the offense shall be
punished by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners in our
possession.

"It is therefore ordered that, for every soldier of the United
States killed in violation of the laws of war, a Rebel soldier
shall be executed; and for every one enslaved by the enemy or
sold into Slavery, a Rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor
on public works, and continued at such labor until the other
shall be released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of
war.

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

"By order of the Secretary of War.
"E. D. TOWNSEND, _Assistant Adjutant-General_."

In the early spring of 1864, there was a great deal said in the Southern journals and much action had in the rebel army respecting the capture and treatment of Negro soldiers. The "Richmond Examiner" contained an account of the battle of Newbern, North Carolina, in which the writer seemed to gloat over the fact that a captured Negro had been hung after he had surrendered. It came to the knowledge of Gen. Peck, commanding the army of the District of North Carolina, when the following correspondence took place:

"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY AND DISTRICT OF }
"NORTH CAROLINA, NEWBERN, NORTH }
"CAROLINA, Feb. 11, 1864: }

"Major-General PICKETT, _Department of Virginia and North
Carolina, "Confederate Army, Petersburg_.

"GENERAL: I have the honor to inclose a slip cut from the
Richmond 'Examiner,' February eighth, 1864. It is styled 'The
Advance on Newbern,' and appears to have been extracted from the
Petersburg 'Register,' a paper published in the city where your
headquarters are located.

"Your attention is particularly invited to that paragraph which
states 'that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by a negro soldier from
the other side of the river, which he was spanning with a pontoon
bridge, and that the negro was watched, followed, taken, and
hanged after the action at Thomasville.

"'THE ADVANCE ON NEWBERN.--The Petersburg "Register" gives the
following additional facts of the advance on Newbern: Our army,
according to the report of passengers arriving from Weldon, has
fallen back to a point sixteen miles west of Newbern. The reason
assigned for this retrograde movement was that Newbern could not
be taken by us without a loss on our part which would find no
equivalent in its capture, as the place was stronger than we had
anticipated. Yet, in spite of this, we are sure that the
expedition will result in good to our cause. Our forces are in a
situation to get large supplies from a country still abundant, to
prevent raids on points westward, and keep tories in check, and
hang them when caught.

"'From a private, who was one of the guard that brought the batch
of prisoners through, we learn that Colonel Shaw was shot dead by
a negro soldier from the other side of the river, which he was
spanning with a pontoon bridge. The negro was watched, followed,
taken, and hanged after the action at Thomasville. It is stated
that when our troops entered Thomasville, a number of the enemy
took shelter in the houses and fired upon them. The Yankees were
ordered to surrender, but refused, whereupon our men set fire to
the houses, and their occupants got, bodily, a taste in this
world of the flames eternal.'

"The Government of the United States has wisely seen fit to
enlist many thousand colored citizens to aid in putting down the
rebellion, and has placed them on the same footing in all
respects as her white troops.

* * * * *

"Believing that this atrocity has been perpetrated without your
knowledge, and that you will take prompt steps to disavow this
violation of the usages of war, and to bring the offenders to
justice, I shall refrain from executing a rebel soldier until I
learn your action in the premises.

"I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"JOHN J. PECK,
"_Major-General_."

REPLY OF GENERAL PICKETT.

"HEADQUARTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF NORTH }
"CAROLINA, PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA, February 16, 1864. }

"Major-General JOHN J. PECK, U. S. A., _Commanding at Newbern_:

"GENERAL: Your communication of the eleventh of February is
received. I have the honor to state in reply, that the paragraph
from a newspaper inclosed therein, is not only without foundation
in fact, but so ridiculous that I should scarcely have supposed
it worthy of consideration; but I would respectfully inform you
that had I caught _any negro_, who had killed either officer,
soldier, or citizen of the Confederate States, I should have
caused him to be immediately executed.

"To your threat expressed in the following extract from your
communication, namely: 'Believing that this atrocity has been
perpetrated without your knowledge, and that you will take prompt
steps to disavow this violation of the usages of war, and to
bring the offenders to justice, I shall refrain from executing a
rebel soldier until I learn of your action in the premises,' I
have merely to say that I have in my hands and subject to my
orders, captured in the recent operations in this department,
some four hundred and fifty officers and men of the United States
army, and for every man you hang I will hang ten of the United
States army.

"I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

"J. E. PICKETT,
"_Major-General Commanding_."[113]

As already indicated, some of the Southern journals did not endorse the extreme hardships and cruelties to which the rebels subjected the captured Colored men. During the month of July, 1863, quite a number of Colored soldiers had fallen into the hands of the enemy on Morris and James islands. The rebels did not only refuse to exchange them as prisoners of war, but treated them most cruelly.

On this very important subject, in reply to some strictures of the Charleston "Mercury" (made under _misapprehension_), the Chief of Staff of General Beauregard addressed to that journal the following letter:

"HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF S. C., GA., AND FLA., }
"CHARLESTON, S. C., August 12, 1863. }

"Colonel R. B. RHETT, Jr., _Editor of_ 'Mercury':

"In the 'Mercury' of this date you appear to have written under a
misapprehension of the facts connected with the present _status_
of the negroes captured in arms on Morris and James Islands,
which permit me to state as follows:

"The Proclamation of the President, dated December twenty-fourth,
1862, directed that all negro slaves captured in arms should be
at once delivered over to the executive authorities of the
respective States to which they belong, to be dealt with
according to the laws of said States.

"An informal application was made by the State authorities for
the negroes captured in this vicinity; but as none of them, it
appeared, had been slaves of citizens of South Carolina, they
were not turned over to the civil authority, for at the moment
there was no official information at these headquarters of the
Act of Congress by which 'all negroes and mulattoes, who shall be
engaged in war, or be taken in arms against the confederate
States, or shall give aid or comfort to the enemies of the
confederate States,' were directed to be turned over to the
authorities of 'State or States in which they shall be captured,
to be dealt with according to the present or future laws of such
State or States.'

"On the twenty-first of July, however, the Commanding General
telegraphed to the Secretary of War for instructions as to the
disposition to be made of the negroes captured on Morris and
James Islands, and on the twenty-second received a reply that
they must be turned over to the State authorities, by virtue of
the joint resolutions of Congress in question.

"Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth July, as soon as a copy of the
resolution or act was received, his Excellency Governor Bonham
was informed that the negroes captured were held subject to his
orders, to be dealt with according to the laws of South Carolina.

"On the same day (twenty-ninth July) Governor Bonham requested
that they should be retained in military custody until he could
make arrangements to dispose of them; and in that custody they
still remain, awaiting the orders of the State authorities.

"Respectfully, your obedient servant,
"THOMAS JORDAN,
"_Chief of Staff._"

The Proclamation of Jefferson Davis, referred to in the second paragraph of Mr. Jordan's letter, had declared Gen. Butler "a felon, an outlaw, and an enemy of mankind." It recited his hanging of Mumford; the neglect of the Federal Government to explain or disapprove the act; the imprisonment of non-combatants; Butler's woman order; his sequestration of estates in Western Louisiana; and the inciting to insurrection and arming of slaves. Mr. Davis directed any Confederate officer who should capture Gen. Butler to hang him immediately and without trial. Mr. Davis's proclamation is given here, as history is bound to hold him personally responsible for the cruelties practised upon Negro soldiers captured by the rebels from that time till the close of the war.

"First. That all commissioned officers in the command of said
Benjamin F. Butler be declared not entitled to be considered as
soldiers engaged in honorable warfare, but as robbers and
criminals, deserving death; and that they and each of them be,
whenever captured, reserved for execution.

"Second. That the private soldiers and non-commissioned officers
in the army of said Butler be considered as only the instruments
used for the commission of crimes perpetrated by his orders, and
not as free agents; that they, therefore, be treated, when
captured as prisoners of war, with kindness and humanity, and be
sent home on the usual parole that they will in no manner aid or
serve the United States in any capacity during the continuance of
this war, unless duly exchanged.

"Third. That all negro slaves captured in arms be at once
delivered over to the executive authorities of the respective
States to which they belong, to be dealt with according to the
laws of said States.

"Fourth. That the like orders be executed in all cases with
respect to all commissioned officers of the United States, when
found serving in company with said slaves in insurrection against
the authorities of the different States of this Confederacy.

"[Signed and sealed at Richmond, Dec. 23, 1862.]

"JEFFERSON DAVIS."

The ghastly horrors of Fort Pillow stand alone in the wide field of war cruelties. The affair demands great fortitude in the historian who would truthfully give a narrative of such bloody, sickening detail.

On the 18th of April, 1864, Gen. N. B. Forrest, commanding a corps of Confederate cavalry, appeared before Fort Pillow, situated about forty miles above Memphis, Tennessee, and demanded its surrender. It was held by Major L. F. Booth, with a garrison of 557 men, 262 of whom were Colored soldiers of the 6th U. S. Heavy Artillery; the other troops were white, under Major Bradford of the 13th Tennessee Cavalry. The garrison was mounted with six guns. From before sunrise until nine A.M. the Union troops had held an outer line of intrenchments; but upon the death of Major Booth Major Bradford retired his force into the fort. It was situated upon a high bluff on the Mississippi River, flanked by two ravines with sheer declivities and partially timbered. The gun-boat "New Era" was to have coöperated with the fort, but on account of the extreme height of the bluff, was unable to do much. The fighting continued until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when the firing slackened on both sides to allow the guns to cool off. The "New Era," nearly out of shell, backed into the river to clean her guns. During this lull Gen. Forrest sent a flag of truce demanding the unconditional surrender of the fort. A consultation of the Federal officers was held, and a request made for twenty minutes to consult the officers of the gun-boat. Gen. Forrest refused to grant this, saying that he only demanded the surrender of the fort and not the gun-boat. He demanded an immediate surrender, which was promptly declined by Major Bradford. During the time these negotiations were going on, Forrest's men were stealing horses, plundering the buildings in front of the fort, and closing in upon the fort through the ravines, which was unsoldierly and cowardly to say the least. Upon receiving the refusal of Major Booth to capitulate, Forrest gave a signal and his troops made a frantic charge upon the fort. It was received gallantly and resisted stubbornly, but there was no use of fighting. In ten minutes the enemy, assaulting the fort in the centre, and striking it on the flanks, swept in. The Federal troops surrendered; but an indiscriminate massacre followed. Men were shot down in their tracks; pinioned to the ground with bayonet and sabre. Some were clubbed to death while dying of wounds; others were made to get down upon their knees, in which condition they were shot to death. Some were burned alive, having been fastened into the buildings, while still others were nailed against the houses, tortured, and then burned to a crisp. A little Colored boy only eight years old was lifted to the horse of a rebel who intended taking him along with him, when Gen. Forrest meeting the soldier ordered him to put the child down and shoot him. The soldier remonstrated, but the stern and cruel order was repeated, emphasized with an oath, and backed with a threat that endangered the soldier's life, so he put the child on the ground and shot him dead! From three o'clock in the afternoon until the merciful darkness came and threw the sable wings of night over the carnival of death, the slaughter continued. The stars looked down in pity upon the dead--ah! they were beyond the barbarous touch of the rebel fiends--and the dying; and the angels found a spectacle worthy of their tears. And when the morning looked down upon the battle-field, it was not to find it peaceful in death and the human hyenas gone. Alas! those who had survived the wounds of the day before were set upon again and brained or shot to death.

The Committee on the Conduct and Expenditures of the War gave this "Horrible Massacre" an investigation. They examined such of the Union soldiers as escaped from death at Fort Pillow and were sent to the Mound City Hospital, Illinois. The following extracts from the testimony given before the Committee, the Hons. Ben. F. Wade and D. W. Gooch, give something of an idea of this the most cruel and inhuman affair in the history of the civilized world.

Manuel Nichols (Colored), private. Company B, Sixth United States Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Question. Were you in the late fight at Fort Pillow?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Q. Were you wounded there?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. When?

A. I was wounded once about a half an hour before we gave up.

Q. Did they do any thing to you after you surrendered?

A. Yes, sir; they shot me in the head under my left ear, and the
morning after the fight they shot me again in the right arm. When
they came up and killed the wounded ones, I saw some four or five
coming down the hill. I said to one of our boys: "Anderson, I
expect if those fellows come here they will kill us." I was lying
on my right side, leaning on my elbow. One of the black soldiers
went into the house where the white soldiers were. I asked him if
there was any water in there, and he said yes; I wanted some, and
took a stick and tried to get to the house. I did not get to the
house. Some of them came along, and saw a little boy belonging
to Company D. One of them had his musket on his shoulder, and
shot the boy down. He said: "All you damned niggers come out of
the house; I am going to shoot you." Some of the white soldiers
said: "Boys, it is only death anyhow; if you don't go out they
will come in and carry you out." My strength seemed to come to me
as if I had never been shot, and I jumped up and ran down the
hill. I met one of them coming up the hill; he said: "Stop!" but
I kept on running. As I jumped over the hill, he shot me through
the right arm.

Q. How many did you see them kill after they had surrendered?

A. After I surrendered I did not go down the hill. A man shot me
under the ear, and I fell down and said to myself: "If he don't
shoot me any more this won't hurt me." One of their officers came
along and hallooed: "Forrest says no quarter! no quarter!" and
the next one hallooed: "Black flag! black flag!"

Q. What did they do then?

A. They kept on shooting. I could hear them down the hill.

Q. Did you see them bury any body?

A. Yes, sir; they carried me around right to the corner of the
Fort, and I saw them pitch men in there.

Q. Was there any alive?

A. I did not see them bury any body alive.

Q. How near to you was the man who shot you under the ear?

A. Right close to my head. When I was shot in the side, a man
turned me over, and took my pocket-knife and pocket-book. I had
some of these brass things that looked like cents. They said:
"Here's some money; here's some money." I said to myself: "You
got fooled that time."

Major Williams (Colored), private. Company B, Sixth United States Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.

By the Chairman:

Q. Where were you raised?

A. In Tennessee and North Mississippi.

Q. Where did you enlist?

A. In Memphis.

Q. Who was your captain?

A. Captain Lamburg.

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Was your captain with you?

A. No, sir; I think he was at Memphis.

Q. Who commanded your company?

A. Lieutenant Hunter and Sergeant Fox were all the officers we
had.

Q. What did you see done there?

A. We fought them right hard during the battle, and killed some
of them. After a time they sent in a flag of truce. They said
afterward that they did it to make us stop firing until their
reinforcements could come up. They said that they never could
have got in if they had not done that; that we had whipped them;
that they had never seen such a fight.

Q. Did you see the flag of truce?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What did they do when the flag of truce was in?

A. They kept coming up nearer, so that they could charge quick. A
heap of them came up after we stopped firing.

Q. When did you surrender?

A. I did not surrender until they all ran.

Q. Were you wounded then?

A. Yes, sir; after the surrender.

Q. At what time of day was that?

A. They told me it was about half after one o'clock, I was
wounded. Immediately we retreated.

Q. Did you have any arms in your hands when they shot you?

A. No, sir; I was an artillery man, and had no arms.

Q. Did you see the man who shot you?

A. No, sir.

Q. Did you hear him say any thing?

A. No, sir; I heard nothing. He shot me, and I was bleeding
pretty free, and I thought to myself: "I will make out it was a
dead shot, and maybe I will not get another."

Q. Did you see any others shot?

A. No, sir.

Q. Was there any thing said about giving quarter?

A. Major Bradford brought in a black flag, which meant no
quarter. I heard, some of the rebel officers say: "You damned
rascals, if you had not fought us so hard, but had stopped when
we sent in a flag of truce, we would not have done any thing to
you." I heard one of the officers say: "Kill all the niggers";
another one said: "No; Forrest says take them and carry them with
him to wait upon him and cook for him, and put them in jail and
send them to their masters." Still they kept on shooting. They
shot at me after that, but did not hit me; a rebel officer shot
at me. He took aim at my side; at the crack of his pistol I fell.
He went on and said: "There's another dead nigger."

Q. Was there any one shot in the hospital that day?

A. Not that I know of. I think they all came away and made a raft
and floated across the mouth of the creek and got into a flat
bottom.

Q. Did you see any buildings burned?

A. I stayed in the woods all day Wednesday. I was there Thursday
and looked at the buildings. I saw a great deal left that they
did not have a chance to burn up. I saw a white man burned up who
was nailed up against the house.

Q. A private or an officer?

A. An officer; I think it was a lieutenant in the Tennessee
cavalry.

Q. How was he nailed?

A. Through his hands and feet right against the house.

Q. Was his body burned?

A. Yes, sir; burned all over--I looked at him good.

Q. When did you see that?

A. On the Thursday after the battle.

Q. Where was the man?

A. Right in front of the Fort.

Jacob Thompson (Colored), sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. Were you a soldier at Fort Pillow?

A. No, sir; I was not a soldier; but I went up in the Fort and
fought with the rest. I was shot in the hand and the head.

Q. When were you shot?

A. After I surrendered.

Q. How many times were you shot?

A. I was shot but once; but I threw my hand up, and the shot went
through my hand and my head.

Q. Who shot you?

A. A private.

Q. What did he say?

A. He said: "God damn you, I will shoot you, old friend."

Q. Did you see anybody else shot?

A. Yes, sir; they just called them out like dogs, and shot them
down. I reckon they shot about fifty, white and black, right
there. They nailed some black sergeants to the logs, and set the
logs on fire.

Q. When did you see that?

A. When I went there in the morning I saw them; they were burning
all together.

Q. Did they kill them before they burned them?

A. No, sir; they nailed them to the logs; drove the nails right
through their hands.

Q. How many did you see in that condition?

A. Some four or five; I saw two white men burned.

Q. Was there any one else there who saw that?

A. I reckon there was; I could not tell who.

Q. When was it that you saw them?

A. I saw them in the morning after the fight; some of them were
burned almost in two. I could tell they were white men, because
they were whiter than the colored men.

Q. Did you notice how they were nailed?

A. I saw one nailed to the side of a house; he looked like he was
nailed right through his wrist. I was trying then to get to the
boat when I saw it.

Q. Did you see them kill any white men?

A. They killed some eight or nine there. I reckon they killed
more than twenty after it was all over; called them out from
under the hill, and shot them down. They would call out a white
man and shoot him down, and call out a colored man and shoot him
down; do it just as fast as they could make their guns go off.

Q. Did you see any rebel officers about there when this was going
on?

A. Yes, sir; old Forrest was one.

Q. Did you know Forrest?

A. Yes, sir; he was a little bit of a man. I had seen him before
at Jackson.

Ransom Anderson (Colored), Company B, Sixth United States Heavy Artillery, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. Where were you raised?

A. In Mississippi.

Q. Were you a slave?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Where did you enlist?

A. At Corinth.

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Describe what you saw done there.

A. Most all the men that were killed on our side were killed
after the fight was over. They called them out and shot them
down. Then they put some in the houses and shut them up, and
then burned the houses.

Q. Did you see them burn?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Were any of them alive?

A. Yes, sir; they were wounded, and could not walk. They put them
in the houses, and then burned the houses down.

Q. Do you know they were in there?

A. Yes, sir; I went and looked in there.

Q. Do you know they were in there when the house was burned?

A. Yes, sir; I heard them hallooing there when the houses were
burning.

Q. Are you sure they were wounded men, and not dead men, when
they were put in there?

A. Yes, sir; they told them they were going to have the doctor
see them, and then put them in there and shut them up, and burned
them.

Q. Who set the house on fire?

A. I saw a rebel soldier take some grass and lay it by the door,
and set it on fire. The door was pine plank, and it caught easy.

Q. Was the door fastened up?

A. Yes, sir; it was barred with one of those wide bolts.

James Walls, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. To what company did you belong?

A. To Company E, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.

Q. Under what officers did you serve?

A. I was under Major Bradford and Captain Potter.

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State what you saw there of the fight, and what was done after
the place was captured.

A. We fought them for some six or eight hours in the Fort, and
when they charged our men scattered and ran under the hill; some
turned back and surrendered, and were shot. After the flag of
truce came in I went down to get some water. As I was coming back
I turned sick, and laid down behind a log. The secesh charged,
and after they came over I saw one go a good ways ahead of the
others. One of our men made to him and threw down his arms. The
bullets were flying so thick there I thought I could not live
there, so I threw down my arms and surrendered. He did not shoot
me then, but as I turned around he or some other one shot me in
the back.

Q. Did they say any thing while they were shooting?

A. All I heard was: "Shoot him, shoot him!" "Yonder he goes!"
"Kill him, kill him!" That is about all I heard.

Q. How many do you suppose you saw shot after they surrendered?

A. I did not see but two or three shot around me. One of the boys
of our company, named Taylor, ran up there, and I saw him shot
and fall. Then another was shot just before me, like--shot down
after he threw down his arms.

Q. Those were white men?

A. Yes, sir. I saw them make lots of niggers stand up, and then
they shot them down like hogs. The next morning I was lying
around there waiting for the boat to come up. The secesh would be
prying around there, and would come to a nigger, and say: "You
ain't dead, are you?" They would not say any thing; and then the
secesh would get down off their horses, prick them in their
sides, and say: "Damn you, you ain't dead; get up." Then they
would make them get up on their knees, when they would shoot them
down like hogs.

* * * * *

Q. Did you see any rebel officers about while this shooting was
going on?

A. I do not know as I saw any officers about when they were
shooting the negroes. A captain came to me a few minutes after I
was shot; he was close by me when I was shot.

Q. Did he try to stop the shooting?

A. I did not hear a word of their trying to stop it. After they
were shot down, he told them not to shoot them any more. I begged
him not to let them shoot me again, and he said they would not.
One man, after he was shot down, was shot again. After I was shot
down, the man I surrendered to went around the tree I was against
and shot a man, and then came around to me again and wanted my
pocket-book. I handed it up to him, and he saw my watch-chain and
made a grasp at it, and got the watch and about half the chain.
He took an old Barlow knife I had in my pocket. It was not worth
five cents; was of no account at all, only to cut tobacco with.

Lieutenant McJ. Leming, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. What is your rank and position?

A. I am a First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the Thirteenth
Tennessee Cavalry. A short time previous to the fight I was
Post-Adjutant at Fort Pillow, and during most of the engagement
I was acting as Post-Adjutant. After Major Booth was killed,
Major Bradford was in command. The pickets were driven in just
before sunrise, which was the first intimation we had that the
enemy were approaching. I repaired to the Fort, and found that
Major Booth was shelling the rebels as they came up toward the
outer intrenchments. They kept up a steady fire by sharp-shooters
behind trees and logs and high knolls. The Major thought at one
time they were planting some artillery, or looking for places to
plant it. They began to draw nearer and nearer, up to the time
our men were all drawn into the Fort. Two companies of the
Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry were ordered out as sharp-shooters,
but were finally ordered in. We were pressed on all sides.

I think Major Booth fell not later than nine o'clock. His
Adjutant, who was then acting Post-Adjutant, fell near the same
time. Major Bradford then took the command, and I acted as
Post-Adjutant. Previous to this, Major Booth had ordered some
buildings in front of the Fort to be destroyed, as the enemy's
sharp-shooters were endeavoring to get possession of them. There
were four rows of buildings, but only the row nearest the fort
was destroyed; the sharp-shooters gained possession of the others
before they could be destroyed. The fight continued, one almost
unceasing fire all the time, until about three o'clock. They
threw some shells, but they did not do much damage with their
shells.

I think it was about three o'clock that a flag of truce
approached. I went out, accompanied by Captain Young, the
Provost-Marshal of the post. There was another officer, I think,
but I do not recollect now particularly who it was, and some four
mounted men. The rebels announced that they had a communication
from General Forrest. One of their officers there, I think, from
his dress, was a colonel. I received the communication, and they
said they would wait for an answer. As near as I remember, the
communication was as follows:

"HEADQUARTERS CONFEDERATE CAVALRY, }
"NEAR FORT PILLOW, April 12, 1864. }

"As your gallant defence of the Fort has entitled you to the
treatment of brave men [or something to that effect], I now
demand an unconditional surrender of your force, at the same
time assuring you that they will be treated as prisoners of
war. I have received a fresh supply of ammunition, and can
easily take your position.

"N. B. FORREST.

"MAJOR L. F. BOOTH,
"_Commanding United States Forces_."

I took this message back to the Fort. Major Bradford replied that
he desired an hour for consultation and consideration with his
officers and the officers of the gun-boat. I took out this
communication to them, and they carried it back to General
Forrest. In a few minutes another flag of truce appeared, and I
went out to meet it. Some one said, when they handed the
communication to me: "That gives you twenty minutes to surrender;
I am General Forrest." I took it back. The substance of it was:
"Twenty minutes will be given you to take your men outside of the
Fort. If in that time they are not out, I will immediately
proceed to assault your works," or something of that kind. To
this Major Bradford replied: "I will not surrender." I took it
out in a sealed envelope, and gave it to him. The general opened
it and read it. Nothing was said; we simply saluted, and they
went their way, and I returned back into the Fort.

Almost instantly the firing began again. We mistrusted, while
this flag of truce was going on, that they were taking horses out
at a camp we had. It was mentioned to them, the last time that
this and other movements excited our suspicion, that they were
moving their troops. They said that they had noticed it
themselves, and had it stopped; that it was unintentional on
their part, and that it should not be repeated.

It was not long after the last flag of truce had retired, that
they made their grand charge. We kept them back for several
minutes. What was called ---- brigade or battalion attacked the
centre of the Fort where several companies of colored troops were
stationed. They finally gave way, and, before we could fill up
the breach, the enemy got inside the Fort, and then they came in
on the other two sides, and had complete possession of the Fort.
In the mean time nearly all the officers had been killed,
especially of the colored troops, and there was no one hardly to
guide the men. They fought bravely indeed until that time. I do
not think the men who broke had a commissioned officer over them.
They fought with the most determined bravery, until the enemy
gained possession of the Fort. They kept shooting all the time.
The negroes ran down the hill toward the river, but the rebels
kept shooting them as they were running; shot some again after
they had fallen; robbed and plundered them. After every thing was
all gone, after we had given up the Fort entirely, the guns
thrown away and the firing on our part stopped, they still kept
up their murderous fire, more especially on the colored troops, I
thought, although the white troops suffered a great deal. I know
the colored troops had a great deal the worst of it. I saw
several shot after they were wounded; as they were crawling
around, the secesh would step out and blow their brains out.

About this time they shot me. It must have been four or half-past
four o'clock. I saw there was no chance at all, and threw down my
sabre. A man took deliberate aim at me, but a short distance from
me, certainly not more than fifteen paces, and shot me.

Q. With a musket or pistol?

A. I think it was a carbine; it may have been a musket, but my
impression is, that it was a carbine. Soon after I was shot I was
robbed. A secesh soldier came along, and wanted to know if I had
any greenbacks. I gave him my pocket-book. I had about a hundred
dollars, I think, more or less, and a gold watch and gold chain.
They took every thing in the way of valuables that I had. I saw
them robbing others. That seemed to be the general way they
served the wounded, so far as regards those who fell in my
vicinity. Some of the colored troops jumped into the river, but
were shot as fast as they were seen. One poor fellow was shot as
he reached the bank of the river. They ran down and hauled him
out. He got on his hands and knees, and was crawling along, when
a secesh soldier put his revolver to his head, and blew his
brains out. It was about the same thing all along, until dark
that night.

I was very weak, but I finally found a rebel who belonged to a
society that I am a member of (the Masons), and he got two of our
colored soldiers to assist me up the hill, and he brought me some
water. At that time it was about dusk. He carried me up just to
the edge of the Fort, and laid me down. There seemed to be quite
a number of dead collected there. They were throwing them into
the outside trench, and I heard them talking about burying them
there. I heard one of them say: "There is a man who is not quite
dead yet." They buried a number there; I do not know how many.

I was carried that night to a sort of little shanty that the
rebels had occupied during the day with their sharp-shooters. I
received no medical attention that night at all. The next morning
early I heard the report of cannon down the river. It was the
gun-boat 28 coming up from Memphis; she was shelling the rebels
along the shore as she came up. The rebels immediately ordered
the burning of all the buildings, and ordered the two buildings
where the wounded were to be fired. Some one called to the
officer who gave the order, and said there were wounded in them.
The building I was in began to catch fire. I prevailed upon one
of our soldiers who had not been hurt much to draw me out, and I
think others got the rest out. They drew us down a little way, in
a sort of gully, and we lay there in the hot sun without water or
any thing.

About this time a squad of rebels came around, it would seem for
the purpose of murdering what negroes they could find. They began
to shoot the wounded negroes all around there, interspersed with
the whites. I was lying a little way from a wounded negro, when a
secesh soldier came up to him, and said: "What in hell are you
doing here?" The colored soldier said he wanted to get on the
gun-boat. The secesh soldier said: "You want to fight us again,
do you? Damn you, I'll teach you," and drew up his gun and shot
him dead. Another negro was standing up erect a little way from
me--he did not seem to be hurt much. The rebel loaded his gun
again immediately. The negro begged of him not to shoot him, but
he drew up his gun and took deliberate aim at his head. The gun
snapped, but he fixed it again, and then killed him. I saw this.
I heard them shooting all around there--I suppose killing them.

By the Chairman:

Q. Do you know of any rebel officers going on board our gun-boat
after she came up?

A. I don't know about the gun-boat, but I saw some of them on
board the "Platte Valley," after I had been carried on her. They
came on board, and I think went into drink with some of our
officers. I think one of the rebel officers was General Chalmers.

Q. Do you know what officers of ours drank with them?

A. I do not.

Q. You know that they did go on board the "Platte Valley" and
drink with some of our officers?

A. I did not see them drinking at the time, but I have no doubt
they did; that was my impression from all I saw, and I thought
our officers might have been in better business.

Q. Were our officers treating these rebel officers with
attention?

A. They seemed to be; I did not see much of it, as they passed
along by me.

Q. Do you know whether or not the conduct of the privates, in
murdering our soldiers after they had surrendered, seemed to have
the approval of their officers?

A. I did not see much of their officers, especially during the
worst of those outrages; they seemed to be back.

Q. Did you observe any effort on the part of their officers to
suppress the murders?

A. No, sir; I did not see any where I was first carried; just
about dusk, all at once several shots were fired just outside.
The cry was: "They are shooting the darkey soldiers." I heard an
officer ride up and say: "Stop that firing; arrest that man." I
suppose it was a rebel officer, but I do not know. It was
reported to me, at the time, that several darkeys were shot then.
An officer who stood by me, a prisoner, said that they had been
shooting them, but that the general had had it stopped.

Q. Do you know of any of our men in the hospital being murdered?

A. I do not.

Q. Do you know any thing of the fate of your Quartermaster,
Lieutenant Akerstrom?

A. He was one of the officers who went with me to meet the flag
of truce the last time. I do not know what became of him; that
was about the last I saw of him. I heard that he was nailed to a
board and burned, and I have very good reason for believing that
was the case, although I did not see it. The First Lieutenant of
Company D of my regiment says that he has an affidavit to that
effect of a man who saw it.

Francis A. Alexander, sworn and examined.

By the Chairman:

Q. To what company and regiment do you belong?

A. Company C, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.

Q. Were you at Fort Pillow at the fight there?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who commanded your regiment?

A. Major Bradford commanded the regiment, and Lieutenant Logan
commanded our company.

Q. By what troops was the Fort attacked?

A. Forrest was in command. I saw him.

Q. Did you know Forrest?

A. I saw him there, and they all said it was Forrest. Their own
men said so.

Q. By what troops was the charge made?

A. They are Alabamians and Texans.

Q. Did you see any thing of a flag of truce?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. State what was done while the flag of truce was in.

A. When the flag of truce came up our officers went out and held
a consultation, and it went back. They came in again with a flag
of truce; and while they were consulting the second time, their
troops were coming up a gap or hollow, where we could have cut
them to pieces. They tried it before, but could not do it. I saw
them come up there while the flag of truce was in the second
time.

Q. That gave them an advantage?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Were you wounded there?

A. Not in the Fort. I was wounded after I left the Fort and was
going down the hill.

Q. Was that before or after the Fort was taken?

A. It was afterward.

Q. Did you have any arms in your hand at the time they shot you?

A. No, sir; I threw my gun away, and started down the hill, and
got about twenty yards, when I was shot through the calf of the
leg.

Q. Did they shoot you more than once?

A. No, sir; they shot at me, but did not hit me more than once.

Q. Did they say why they shot you after you had surrendered?

A. They said afterward they intended to kill us all for being
there with their niggers.

Q. Were any rebel officers there at the time this shooting was
going on?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did they try to stop it?

A. One or two of them did.

Q. What did the rest of them do?

A. They kept shouting and hallooing at the men to give no
quarter. I heard that cry very frequent.

Q. Was it the officers that said that?

A. I think it was. I think it was them, the way they were going
on. When our boys were taken prisoners, if anybody came up who
knew them, they shot them down. As soon as ever they recognized
them, wherever it was, they shot them.

Q. After they had taken them prisoners?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you know any thing about their shooting men in the
hospitals?

A. I know of their shooting negroes in there. I don't know about
white men.

Q. Wounded negro men?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Who did that?

A. Some of their troops. I don't know which of them. The next
morning I saw several black people shot that were wounded, and
some that were not wounded. One was going down the hill before
me, and the officer made him come back up the hill; and after I
got in the boat I heard them shooting them.

Q. You say you saw them shoot negroes in the hospital the next
morning?

A. Yes, sir; wounded negroes who could not get along; one with
his leg broke. They came there the next day and shot him.

John F. Ray, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Q. To what company and regiment do you belong?

A. Company B, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.

Q. Were you at Fort Pillow, when it was attacked?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. At what time were you wounded?

A. I was wounded about two o'clock, after the rebels got in the
breastworks.

Q. Was it before or after you had surrendered?

A. It was after I threw down my gun, as they all started to run.

Q. Will you state what you saw there?

A. After I surrendered they shot down a great many white fellows
right close to me--ten or twelve, I suppose--and a great many
negroes, too.

Q. How long did they keep shooting our men after they
surrendered?

A. I heard guns away after dark shooting all that evening,
somewhere; they kept up a regular fire for a long time, and then
I heard the guns once in a while.

Q. Did you see any one shot the next day?

A. I did not; I was in a house, and could not get up at all.

Q. Do you know what became of the Quartermaster of your regiment,
Lieutenant Akerstrom?

A. He was shot by the side of me.

Q. Was he killed?

A. I thought so at the time; he fell on his face. He was shot in
the forehead, and I thought he was killed. I heard afterward he
was not.

Q. Did you notice any thing that took place while the flag of
truce was in?

A. I saw the rebels slipping up and getting in the ditch along
our breastworks.

Q. How near did they come up?

A. They were right at us; right across from the breastworks. I
asked them what they were slipping up there for. They made answer
that they knew their business.

Q. Are you sure this was done while the flag of truce was in?

A. Yes, sir. There was no firing; we could see all around; we
could see them moving up all around in large force.

Q. Was any thing said about it except what you said to the
rebels?

A. I heard all our boys talking about it. I heard some of our
officers remark, as they saw it coming, that the white flag was a
bad thing; that they were slipping on us. I believe it was
Lieutenant Akerstrom that I heard say it was against the rules of
war for them to come up in that way.

Q. To whom did he say that?

A. To those fellows coming up; they had officers with them.

Q. Was Lieutenant Akerstrom shot before or after he had
surrendered?

A. About two minutes after the flag of truce went back, during
the action.

Q. Do you think of any thing else to state? If so, go on and
state it.

A. I saw a rebel lieutenant take a little negro[114] boy up on
the horse behind him; and then I heard General Chalmers--I think
it must have been--tell him to "Take that negro down and shoot
him," or "Take him and shoot him," and he passed him down and
shot him.

Q. How large was the boy?

A. He was not more than eight years old. I heard the lieutenant
tell the other that the negro was not in the service; that he was
nothing but a child; that he was pressed and brought in there.
The other one said; "Damn the difference; take him down and shoot
him, or I will shoot him." I think it must have been General
Chalmers. He was a smallish man; he had on a long gray coat, with
a star on his coat.[115]

The country and the world stood aghast. The first account of this human butchery was too much for credence: after a while the truth began to dawn upon the country; and at last the people admitted that in a Christian land like America a deed so foul--blacker than hell itself!--had actually been perpetrated. The patience of the North and the Union army gave way to bitterest imprecations; the exultation and applause of the South and Confederate army were succeeded by serious thoughts and sad reflections. But it is the duty of impartial history to record that this bloody, sickening affair was not endorsed by all the rebels.

In a letter dated Okalona, Mississippi, June. 14, 1864, to the "Atlanta Appeal," a rebel gives this endorsement of Forrest's conduct at Fort Pillow:

"You have heard that our soldiers buried negroes alive at Fort
Pillow. This is true. At the first fire after Forrest's men
scaled the walls, many of the negroes threw down their arms and
fell as if they were dead. They perished in the pretence, and
could only be restored at the point of the bayonet. To
resuscitate some of them, more terrified than the rest, they were
rolled into the trenches made as receptacles for the fallen.
Vitality was not restored till breathing was obstructed, and then
the resurrection began. On these facts is based the pretext for
the crimes committed by Sturgis, Grierson, and their followers.
You must remember, too, that in the extremity of their terror, or
for other reasons, the Yankees and negroes in Fort Pillow
neglected to haul down their flag. In truth, relying upon their
gun-boats, the officers expected to annihilate our forces after
we had entered the fortifications. They did not intend to
surrender.

"A terrible retribution, in any event, has befallen the ignorant,
deluded Africans."

Gen. Forrest was a cold-blooded murderer; a fiend in human form. But as the grave has opened long since to receive him; and as the cause he represented has perished from the earth, it is enough to let the record stand without comment, and God grant without malice! It is the duty of history to record that there is to be found no apologist for cruelties that rebels inflicted upon brave but helpless Black soldiers during the war for the extirpation of slavery. The Confederate conduct at Pillow must remain a foul stain upon the name of the men who fought to perpetuate human slavery in North America, but failed.

FOOTNOTES:

[112] New York Tribune, April 14, 1863.

[113] Rebellion Recs., vol. viii. Doc. pp. 418, 419.

[114] Gen. Chalmers has denied, with vehemence, that he ever did any cruel act at Fort Pillow, but the record is against him. Soldiers under brave, intelligent, and humane officers could never be guilty of such cruel and unchristian conduct as these rebels at Pillow. Gen. Chalmers is responsible. As an illustration of the gentle and forgiving spirit of the Negro, it should be recorded here that many supported the candidacy of Gen. Chalmers for Congress, and voted for him at the recent election in Mississippi.

[115] See Report of Committee on Conduct of War.

Part 8.

_THE FIRST DECADE OF FREEDOM._