I deny that most of what was written in the Northern newspapers was true. The only real "massacre" aspect of the battle was the mercilessly effective firing done on the troops trying to retreat to the boats and a secondary defensive position they had prepared below the bluffs. They were cut down mercilessly in a crossfire, which was a 'massacre', of sorts. Such 'massacres' are usually bragged about when done by Union troops. "Good planning, and effective shooting", would be your words for it if the tables had been turned. Forrest and his officers ordered a stop to that firing as soon as they arrived. Even the union testimony attests to that. Much of the "testimony" of the "atrocities" that is often quoted are patently fantastical and contradictory and are disproven by other union survivors with more credibility. The same goes for the "official report" of the US 13th Tennessee. Major Bradford never surrendered the garrison, and that cute little story in their "official" report that he was fired upon after doing so is typical of the lies and twisting of truth in the unit's report. He never surrendered the garrison, even the garrison's surgeon (among others) attested to that fact. Yes, the firing done on the retreating members of the garrison was "merciless", that is probably a good way to describe it. Those men ran straight into a cross fire. The same thing happened to many Confederates at other battles.
If the letter of Achilles Clark, which I could not find listed in the holdings of the Tennessee State Archives, professes that General Forrest "ordered them shot down like dogs", it is directly contradicted by the testimony of nearly everyone else, including Union witnesses who testified that General Forrest immediately ordered firing ceased the moment he arrived.
There is some confusion in the various accounts, but no one today doubts that a large number of black Union soldiers were executed.
I agree that there is confusion (and outright contradiction) in the union accounts. I would also say that some were wrongly shot. But most were killed "in the heat of battle", during the initial storming of the fort (which never surrendered) and then as the rest fled to their secondary postition. The union plan, as testified to by union officers, was that if the garrison fell, they would fall back to a previously prepared position under the bluffs where they had stashed ammunition and would continue to fight until they could reach the boats. The gunboats were to cover their retreat from the garrison and hold off the Confederates until they could evacuate. Unfortunately, the gunboats had abandoned them. The few that reached the secondary position, after traversing through a crossfire, realised that there was no hope without the boats, and did try to surrender. No doubt some of those were wrongly shot, just as Confederates were sometimes wrongly shot trying to surrender to Union troops after a hotly fought contest. Fort Pillow became a fantasy event for Union propagandists, and much more fiction was written about it than truth. If it was a "massacre", then the Union is just as guilty of committing such "massacres". It is an unfortunate fact of war that sometimes soldiers are shot trying to surrender when others about them still fight.
There is evidence that blacks were still being executed the next day, and along the line of march later.
If Fort Pillow did not have numbers of black POW's executed by the rebels, it would be the exception, not the rule. Black POW's were almost always executed to some degree although some were not.
Let's move on:
"Upon the capture of Plymouth by the rebel forces all the negroes found in blue uniform, or with any outward signs of a Union soldier upon him, was killed. I saw some taken into the woods and hung. Others I saw stripped of all their clothing and then stood upon the bank of the river with their faces riverward and there they were shot. Still others were killed by having their brains beaten out by the butt end of the muskets in the hands of the rebels. All were not killed the day of the capture. Those that were not were placed in a room with their officers, they (the officers) having previously been dragged through the town with ropes around their necks, where they were kept confined until the following morning, when the remainder of the black soldiers were killed."
"The regiments most conspicuous in these murderous transactions were the Eighth North Carolina and, I think, the Sixth North Carolina."
"SAMUEL (his x mark) JOHNSON. Witnessed by John L. Davenport, lieutenant and acting aide-de-camp. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 11th day of July, 1864. John Cassels, Captain and Provost- Marshal."
[Source: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series II, Vol. VII, pp. 459-460.]
Let's discuss the action at Plymouth for a while.
Walt