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To: WhiskeyPapa
You and I had a refreshingly civil exchange on this Fort Pillow thing on another thread. The reason I cite "3-400" is because of the evidence you introduced. The one website that I found cited contemporary sources as saying 400 Union men were murdered after they had surrendered.

I had cited sources that said 200 to 350 Federals died at Fort Pillow, not that that that many were killed after they surrendered. Your figures attribute all deaths to killing after surrender, which seems unreasonable to me. I expect that a large number were killed in the battle itself.

You had pointed out in the other thread that if blacks saw their fellow soldiers being killed after surrender it would explain why the blacks picked up their weapons after surrender and started firing again, as the Confederates reported. Good point. I would have picked up my weapon again too.

243 posted on 05/24/2002 7:48:21 AM PDT by rustbucket
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To: rustbucket
Your figures attribute all deaths to killing after surrender, which seems unreasonable to me. I expect that a large number were killed in the battle itself.

Well, it's all interesting.

The first website I checked had an affiant saying that the CSA force was 5-7,000. I think your source said something like 1,200.

Since there were @ 600 federals, that would mean a 2-1 ratio, obviously. The only way to seize a fort with that ratio would be if the defenders DID run like crazy. And some of the affiants said the blacks fought bravely and some said resistance collapsed right off, and one indicated that the federal forces planned to debunk down to the water covered by the gunboat. Forrest's AAR said he had 20 KIA and 40 WIA. Many of the Union witnesses said the CSA forces were bloodily repulsed twice before they gained entry. There was a lot of disagreement. Don't forget the defenders were USCT and Tennessee Unionists.

Whatever the CSA forces did was excessive and has no parallel on the Union side.

Walt

245 posted on 05/24/2002 8:07:38 AM PDT by WhiskeyPapa
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