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Battle Of Fort PillowFrom Congressional Medal of Honor: Colored Troops in the Civil War http://www.medalofhonor.com/ColoredTroopsCivilWar.htm African American soldiers participated in every major campaign of 1864-1865 except Sherman's invasion of Georgia. The year 1864 was especially eventful for African American troops. On April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his 2,500 men against the Union-held fortification, occupied by 292 black and 285 white soldiers. After driving in the Union pickets and giving the garrison an opportunity to surrender, Forrest's men swarmed into the fort with little difficulty and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetuating a massacre of black troops, and the controversy continues today. From CWSAC Battle Summaries http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tn030.htm Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of the black troops, and that controversy continues today. Bradford refused surrender and the Confederates renewed the attack, soon overran the fort, and drove the Federals down the rivers bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of the black troops, and that controversy continues today. The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening so they gained little from the attack except a temporary disruption of Union operations. The Fort Pillow Massacre became a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion. See Illustration at CivilWarLiterature.com http://www.civilwarliterature.com/ListOfIllustrations/TheMassacreAtFortPillow.htm Fort Pillow Fort Pillow
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