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: