Confederate Battle Fort Pillow

The battle took place on April 12, 1864. Fort Pillow was originally a Confederate garrison but it fell to Union forces during a previous skirmish. It was situated on the Mississippi River and was used to protect the city of Memphis, Tennessee from attacks from the river. The commanding officer on the Union side was Major Lionel F. Booth and he controlled a force of approximately 600 men to guard the garrison of Ft. Pillow. His forces were almost evenly divided between African-American soldiers made up of many former slaves and whites that were inexperienced recruits. On the Confederate side, the leading officer was Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest who commanded approximately 2,000 men. Knowing he was badly outnumbered by approaching enemy forces, the Union commanding officer still originally refused to surrender as he knew his forces had the advantage of being the defenders.
Bradford, took charge. At 3:30, Forrest sent a note to the commanding officer that read, "The conduct of the officers and men garrisoning Fort Pillow has been such as to entitle them to being treated as prisoners of war. I demand the unconditional surrender of the entire garrison, promising that you shall be treated as prisoners of war. My men have just received a fresh supply of ammunition, and from their present position can easily assault and capture the fort. Should my demand be refused, I cannot be responsible for the fate of your command.” Forrest gave the Union officer a time limit of 20 minutes to make a choice between surrendering against the inevitable or to continue fighting and make it