Fort Pillow State Park

"Fort Pillow" redirects here. For the common children's construction, see Blanket fort.

Fort Pillow Historic State Park

Type	Tennessee State Park
Location	Henning, Tennessee
Area	1,642 acres (6.64 km²)
Created	1971
Open	Year round

Fort Pillow
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Show map of Tennessee Show map of the US
Location	TN State Route 87, Lauderdale County, Tennessee
Nearest city	Osceola, Arkansas
Coordinates	35°38′10″N 89°50′32″W / 35.63611°N 89.84222°W / 35.63611; -89.84222Coordinates: 35°38′10″N 89°50′32″W / 35.63611°N 89.84222°W / 35.63611; -89.84222
Built	1861
NRHP Reference #	73001806
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 11, 1973^[1]
Designated NHL	May 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.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Pillow State Park.

1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
1 2 "Fort Pillow". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
↑ , National Park Service
↑ 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
↑ Cimprich and Mainfort (1982), "Fort Pillow Revisited", p. 219
↑ Cimprich and Mainfort (1982), "Fort Pillow Revisited", pp. 216-225
↑ Cimprich and Mainfort (1982), "Fort Pillow Revisited", p. 226
↑ Cimprich, John (2005). Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory. Baton Rouge, LA: LSU Press. p. 193. ISBN 0-8071-3110-5.
↑ http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com National Register of Historic Places
↑ ____WEBSITE DOWN ADD LATER____ (__, 19__). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: __________" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-06-22. Check date values in: |date= (help) and Accompanying __ photos, exterior and interior, from 19__ (819 KB)

External links

Fort Pillow State Historic Park Website

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types

Lists by states	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

Lists by associated states	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau

Other areas	District of Columbia Morocco

Portal WikiProject

Protected areas of Tennessee

Federal

National Parks	Great Smoky Mountains National Park

National Historical Parks & Sites	Andrew Johnson National Historic Site Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Manhattan Project National Historical Park

National Military Parks	Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Fort Donelson National Battlefield Fort Donelson National Cemetery Shiloh National Cemetery Shiloh National Military Park Stones River National Battlefield Stones River National Cemetery

National Recreation Areas	Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area

National Trails System	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

National Forests	Cherokee National Forest

National Wildlife Refuges	Chickasaw Cross Creeks Hatchie Lake Isom Lower Hatchie Reelfoot Tennessee

Wilderness Areas	Bald River Gorge Big Frog Big Laurel Branch Citico Creek Cohutta Gee Creek Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Little Frog Mountain Pond Mountain Sampson Mountain Unaka Mountain

Other Protected Areas	Foothills Parkway Gatlinburg Bypass Natchez Trace Parkway Obed Wild and Scenic River

State

East Tennessee State Parks	Big Ridge Booker T. Washington Cove Lake Cumberland Mountain Davy Crockett Birthplace Fall Creek Falls Fort Loudoun Frozen Head Harrison Bay Hiwassee/Ocoee Indian Mountain Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail Norris Dam Panther Creek Red Clay Roan Mountain Rocky Fork Seven Islands Sycamore Shoals Warriors' Path

Middle Tennessee State Parks	Bicentennial Capitol Mall Bledsoe Creek Burgess Falls Cedars Of Lebanon Cordell Hull Birthplace Cummins Falls David Crockett Dunbar Cave Edgar Evins Fall Creek Falls Harpeth River Henry Horton Johnsonville Long Hunter Montgomery Bell Mousetail Landing Old Stone Fort Pickett Port Royal Rock Island Sgt. Alvin C. York South Cumberland Standing Stone Tims Ford

West Tennessee State Parks	Big Cypress Tree Big Hill Pond Chickasaw Fort Pillow Meeman-Shelby Forest Nathan Bedford Forrest Natchez Trace Paris Landing Pickwick Landing Pinson Mounds Reelfoot Lake T.O. Fuller

State Forests	Bledsoe Cedars of Lebanon Chickasaw Chuck Swan Franklin John Tully Lewis Lone Mountain Martha Sundquist Natchez Trace Pickett Prentice Cooper Scott Standing Stone Stewart

State Natural Areas	Auntney Hollow Barnett's Woods Bays Mountain Beaman Park Big Bone Cave Campbell Bend Barrens Carroll Cabin Barrens Glade Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lee Carter Chimneys Colditz Cove Couchville Cedar Glade Crowder Cemetary Barrens Devils Backbone Dry Branch Duck River Complex Elsie Quarterman Cedar Glade Falling Water Falls Fate Sanders Barrens Flat Rock Cedar Glade & Barrens Gattinger’s Cedar Glade & Barrens Ghost River Grundy Forest Hampton Creek Cove Hawkins Cove Hicks Gap Hill Forest Honey Creek House Mountain Hubbard’s Cave John & Hester Lane Cedar Glades John Noel at Bon Aqua Langford Branch Laurel-Snow Lost Creek Lucius Burch Jr. Forest Manus Road Cedar Glade May Prairie North Chickamauga Creek Gorge Overbridge Old Forest Ozone Falls Piney Falls Pogue Creek Powell River Radnor Lake Riverwoods Roundtop Mountain Rugby Savage Gulf Sequatchie Cave Short Mountain Short Springs Sneed Road Cedar Glade Stillhouse Hollow Falls Stinging Fork Falls Stones River Cedar Glade & Barrens Sunk Lake Sunnybell Cedar Glade Taylor Hollow Twin Arches Vesta Cedar Glade Vine Cedar Glade Virgin Falls Walker Branch Walls of Jericho Walterhill Floodplain Washmorgan Hollow Watauga River Bluffs William B. Clark William R. Davenport Refuge Wilson School Road Window Cliffs

Other	Catoosa Wildlife Management Area

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (web) - Tennessee Department of Agriculture (web)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.