National Historical Landmark- Fort Pillow

Constructed by Confederate engineers, the fort was occupied by Union troops in June 1862 and recaptured in April 1864 by Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Among the approximately 570 Union soldiers were 262 Black soldiers--ex-slaves recruited in Tennessee and Alabama; in the savage, no-quarter fighting, 229 Black soldiers were killed by the Confederates.

News of the fight--labeled a massacre--had a profound effect: Remember Fort Pillow became a battle cry of Black soldiers.

National Park Service National Historical Landmarks