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
I cited a National Park Service site that said the number was 2,500. I pointed out that other sites had said 1,500. Other places mentioned that about 1,200 of these stormed the fort. Forrest had sent part of his force to the river to repell Federal reinforcements coming by boat and had deployed sharpshooters on the hill that were having a significant effect on those inside the fort. Those men didn't storm the fort.
Think about the 5,000 to 7,000 number for a second. This would have meant that the Federals were outnumbered 8 or 12 to 1. If you had seen such a enemy force massed on the hill above and you were offered prisoner of war terms by a general known for treating prisoners fairly (I can back that up with Sherman's words), would you have surrendered?
Estimating enemy troop strength is difficult. The Memphis Bulletin newspaper estimated Forrest's force at 4,000 but acknowledged that the Confederate units observers reported as being present didn't add up to that.
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.
In newspaper reports, Federal Sergeant Gaylord estimated the Confederate killed and wounded at 150, saying that he saw about 40 of them in a building used as a hospital. He said there were other buildings he thought were also being used for the same purpose, hence his estimate. The same newspaper reports also say that the Confederates acknowledge 10 killed and 50 wounded. The latter figures are more consistent with Forrest's figures.