I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5209 

To conduct a special resource study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park 

in Henning, Tennessee, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2018 

Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To conduct a special resource study of Fort Pillow Historic 

State Park in Henning, Tennessee, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Fort Pillow National Bat5 tlefield Park Study Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Fort Pillow was originally built by Confed9 erate troops in 1861 and named after General Gid10 eon J. Pillow of Maury County, Tennessee. 


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1 (2) The battle of Fort Pillow was fought on 

2 April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow in Henning, Ten3 nessee, during the American Civil War. 

4 (3) At Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate 

5 forces never defeated the Union Navy. Instead, they 

6 perpetrated a heinous massacre after violating a flag 

7 of truce by advantageously repositioning rebel troops 

8 and by looting government buildings and private 

9 storefronts surrounding the fort. 

10 (4) According to the 1864 Report ‘‘Fort Pillow 

11 Massacre’’ from the United States Congress Joint 

12 Committee on the Conduct of the War, ‘‘The officers 

13 and men seem to vie with each other in the devilish 

14 work; men, women and even children, wherever 

15 found, were deliberately shot down, beaten and 

16 hacked with sabers. . . .’’. 

17 (5) The Union garrison consisted of 19 officers 

18 and 538 troops of whom 262 were United States 

19 Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.). 

20 (6) Per the report, ‘‘Of the men, from three 

21 hundred to four hundred are known to have been 

22 killed at Fort Pillow, of whom at least three hundred 

23 were murdered in cold blood after the fort was in 

24 possession of the rebels and our men had thrown 

25 down their arms and ceased to offer resistance.’’. 


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1 (7) The massacre at Fort Pillow demonstrated 

2 to all U.S.C.T. that surrender was not an option. 

3 The massacre at Fort Pillow became a rallying cry 

4 and motivation for the 209,147 U.S.C.T. 

5 (8) The 209,147 U.S.C.T. fundamentally con6 tributed to the Union’s defeat of the Confederacy. 

7 (9) The State of Tennessee allows the wrongful 

8 modification of the historical record by claiming it 

9 was a battle without a massacre of hundreds of sur10 rendering Union troops and innocent civilians. 

11 (10) In 1971, Fort Pillow became a State park. 

12 (11) In 1973, Fort Pillow was added to the Na13 tional Register of Historic Places. 

14 (12) The following year, in 1974, Fort Pillow 

15 was designated as a National Historic Landmark. 

16 (13) Fort Pillow Historic State Park consists of 

17 1,642 acres. 

18 (14) The Park contains several attraction areas 

19 such as a Civil War museum, hiking trail, camping 

20 ground, and picnic area. 

21 (15) This site deserves to become a National 

22 Battlefield Park due to its profound effect on 

23 U.S.C.T. and all Union forces in their fight to pre24 serve the United States of America. 


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1 SEC. 3. FORT PILLOW SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY. 

2 The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a special 

3 resource study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park in 

4 Henning, Tennessee. Fort Pillow is a State park that fea5 tures the American Civil War history and the Massacre 

6 at Fort Pillow. The Secretary shall— 

7 (1) evaluate the site’s national significance; and 

8 (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 

9 designating it as a unit of the National Historic 

10 Park System. 

Æ 


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