"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?
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]