Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory (Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War) - Tapa dura

At the now-peaceful spot of Tennessee's Fort Pillow State Historic Area, a horrific incident in the nation's bloodiest war occurred on April 12, 1864. Just as a high bluff in the park offers visitors a panoramic view of the Mississippi River, John Cimprich's absorbing book covers the entire history of Fort Pillow, including its construction by Confederates, its capture and occupation by Federals, the massacre, and ongoing debates surrounding that affair. He sets the scene for the carnage by describing the social conflicts in federally occupied areas between secessionists and unionists as well as between blacks and whites. Cimprich concludes that racism was at the heart of the Fort Pillow massacre and shows how Major General Nathan B. Forrest attacked the garrison with a force outnumbering the Federals roughly 1,500 to 600. A breakdown of Confederate discipline resulted and the 65 percent death toll for black unionists was approximately twice that for white unionists.

In a careful reconstruction of the assault, Cimprich balances vivid firsthand reports with a judicious narrative and analysis of events. Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory provides a valuable perspective on the massacre and, through it, on the war and the world in which it occurred.

John Cimprich, the author of Slavery's End in Tennessee, 1861--1865, is a professor of history at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.