Thank you. There is only one ‘eye witness’ to Forrest nailing Union soldiers to logs and setting them on fire, so his testimony is dubious. And an investigation by the Union army exonerated Forrest personally of any wrongdoing.
This from the referenced book: “The military investigation thus ordered was carried out by General Brayman, Union commander at Cairo, who on April twenty-eighth sent a copy direct to Secretary Stanton, as ordered, and gave another to the Congressional committee when it visited Cairo.
Sherman’s judgment of the “massacre at Fort Pillow” as expressed in his Memoirs is that:
“No doubt Forrest’s men acted like a set of barbarians, shooting down the helpless negro garrison after the fort was in their possession; but I am told that Forrest personally disclaims any active participation in the assault, and that he stopped the firing as soon as he could. I also take it for granted that Forrest did not lead the assault in person, and consequently that he was to the rear, out of sight if not of hearing at the time, and I was told by hundreds of our men, who were at various times prisoners in Forrest’s possession, that be was usually very kind to them.”
Also this from the same book: “The third main charge, that the “atrocities committed at Fort Pillow” were the result of deliberate policy, does not stand up under examination of the Union record.”
Also this from Wikipedia: “Forrest’s men insisted that the Union soldiers, although fleeing, kept their weapons and frequently turned to shoot, forcing the Confederates to keep firing in self-defense.[10] Their claim is consistent with the discovery of numerous Union rifles on the bluffs near the river.[18] The Union flag was still flying over the fort, which indicated that the force had not formally surrendered. A contemporary newspaper account from Jackson, Tennessee, states that “General Forrest begged them to surrender,” but “not the first sign of surrender was ever given.” Similar accounts were reported in both Southern and Northern newspapers at the time.[19]”