‘So who is this a picture of you ask? Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821 – October 29, 1877) was accused of war crimes at the Battle of Fort Pillow for allowing forces under his command to conduct a massacre of black Union Army prisoners. He served as the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan’
Do a little more research and you will find that while he served as the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, he did so only as a politcial organization and did not condone violence. As a matter of fact when the klan got violent, he disassociated himself from it. As far as being accused of war crimes at the Battle of Fort Pillow is concerned, he was not guilty.
I will not “do a little more research” into an obvious racist and loser. My time is more valuably spent than sifting through the dustbin of history. You should grow up.
>>>As far as being accused of war crimes at the Battle of Fort Pillow is concerned, he was not guilty.<<<
Really? “The fish is rotten from the head” fits this situatuion pretty well. So this testimony is 100% fabrication?
Later, a congressional committee questioned 21 black survivors of the massacre. The following is a transcription of three men’s testimony taken from pages 82-84 in James McPherson’s paperback version of Marching Toward Freedom (1994):
Sergeant Benjamin Robinson, (colored) company D, 6th United States heavy artillery, sworn and examined...
QUESTION: Were you at Fort Pillow in the fight there?
ANSWER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: What did you see there?
ANSWER: I saw them shoot two white men right by the side of me after they had laid their guns down. They shot a black man clear over into the river. Then they hallooed to me to come up the hill, and I came up. They said, “Give me your money, you damned nigger.” I told him I did not have any. “Give me your money, or I will blow your brains out.” Then they told me to lie down, and I laid down, and they stripped everything off me.
QUESTION: This was the day of the fight?
ANSWER: Yes, sir
QUESTION: Go on. Did they shoot you?
ANSWER: Yes, sir. After they stripped me and took my money away from me they dragged me down flat on my stomach; I laid there till night, and they took me down to an old house, and said they would kill me the next morning. I got up and commenced crawling down the hill; I could not walk.
QUESTION: When were you shot?
ANSWER: About 3 o’clock.
QUESTION: Before they stripped you?
ANSWER: Yes, sir. They shot me before they said, “come up.”
QUESTION: After you had surrendered?
ANSWER: Yes, sir. They shot pretty nearly all of them after they surrendered.
Major Williams, (colored) private, company B, 6th United States heavy artillery, sworn and examined.
By the chairman:
QUESTION: Where were you raised?
ANSWER: In Tennessee and North Mississippi.
QUESTION: Where did you enlist?
ANSWER: In Memphis.
QUESTION: Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?
ANSWER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: What did you see done there?
ANSWER: We fought them right hard during the battle, and killed some of them. After a time they sent in a flag of truce.
QUESTION: When did you surrender?
ANSWER: I did not surrender until they all ran.
QUESTION: Were you wounded then?
ANSWER: Yes, sir. After the surrender.
QUESTION: Did you have any arms in your hands when they shot you?
ANSWER: No, sir. I was an artillery man. I had no arms.
Eli Carlton, (colored) private, company B, 6th United States heavy artillery, sworn and examined.
By the chairman:
QUESTION: Where were you raised?
ANSWER: In East Tennessee.
QUESTION: Have you been a slave?
ANSWER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Where did you join the army?
ANSWER: At Corinth, Mississippi, about a year ago.
QUESTION: Were you at Fort Pillow the time it was taken?
ANSWER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: State what happened there.
ANSWER: I saw 23 men shot after they surrendered; I made 24; 17 of them laid right around me dead, and 6 below me.
QUESTION: Who shot them?
ANSWER: The Rebels; some white men were killed.
QUESTION: How many white men were killed?
ANSWER: Three or four.
QUESTION: Killed by privates?
ANSWER: Yes, sir; I did not see any officers kill any.
QUESTION: Were you shot with a musket or a pistol?
ANSWER: With a musket. I was hit once on the battlefield before we surrendered. They took me down to a little hospital under the hill. I was in the hospital when they shot me a second time. Some of our privates commenced talking. They said, “Do you fight with these God damned niggers?” They said, “Yes.” Then they
they said, “God damn you, then, we will shoot you,” and they shot one of them right down. They said, “I would not kill you, but, God damn you, you fight with these damned niggers, and we will kill you;” and they blew his brains out of his head.