"Respectfully forwarded to Hon. B. F. Wade, Cairo, Illinois, chairman congressional Committee on Conduct of the War.
"W. S. ROSECRANS,
"Major General, Commanding.
"By O. D. GREEN, A. A. G.,
"Absence of General."
Statement of Edward B. Benton, upon oath, relative to the massacre by the confederate troops under General Forrest, at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
I was born in Waltham, Vermont.
Question. Where have you resided last?
Answer. I was in Missouri engaged in furnishing beef to the government troops on the North Missouri railroad until a year ago last July. I then went down to Fort Pillow, and have been there ever since.
Question. What was your business there?
Answer. I owned 215 acres of the fort, bordering on the river, and the very land we fought on. I was putting in 100 acres of cotton just outside the fortifications, which was my principal business.
Question. You lived outside the fort?
Answer. Yes, sir—slept there. I was in the fort every day; it was only about a mile from the landing—not a mile from the fortifications.