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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as ‘‘Fort Pillow National Bat-
tlefield Park Study Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Fort Pillow was originally built by Confed-
erate troops in 1861 and named after General Gid-
eon J. Pillow of Maury County, Tennessee. 
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(2) The battle of Fort Pillow was fought on 
April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow in Henning, Ten-
nessee, during the American Civil War. 
(3) At Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate 
forces never defeated the Union Navy. Instead, they 
perpetrated a heinous massacre after violating a flag 
of truce by advantageously repositioning rebel troops 
and by looting government buildings and private 
storefronts surrounding the fort. 
(4) According to the 1864 Report ‘‘Fort Pillow 
Massacre’’ from the United States Congress Joint 
Committee on the Conduct of the War, ‘‘The officers 
and men seem to vie with each other in the devilish 
work; men, women and even children, wherever 
found, were deliberately shot down, beaten and 
hacked with sabers. . . .’’. 
(5) The Union garrison consisted of 19 officers 
and 538 troops of whom 262 were United States 
Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.). 
(6) Per the report, ‘‘Of the men, from three 
hundred to four hundred are known to have been 
killed at Fort Pillow, of whom at least three hundred 
were murdered in cold blood after the fort was in 
possession of the rebels and our men had thrown 
down their arms and ceased to offer resistance.’’. 
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(7) The massacre at Fort Pillow demonstrated 
to all U.S.C.T. that surrender was not an option. 
The massacre at Fort Pillow became a rallying cry 
and motivation for the 209,147 U.S.C.T. 
(8) The 209,147 U.S.C.T. fundamentally con-
tributed to the Union’s defeat of the Confederacy. 
(9) The State of Tennessee allows the wrongful 
modification of the historical record by claiming it 
was a battle without a massacre of hundreds of sur-
rendering Union troops and innocent civilians. 
(10) In 1971, Fort Pillow became a State park. 
(11) In 1973, Fort Pillow was added to the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places. 
(12) The following year, in 1974, Fort Pillow 
was designated as a National Historic Landmark. 
(13) Fort Pillow Historic State Park consists of 
1,642 acres. 
(14) The Park contains several attraction areas 
such as a Civil War museum, hiking trail, camping 
ground, and picnic area. 
(15) This site deserves to become a National 
Battlefield Park due to its profound effect on 
U.S.C.T. and all Union forces in their fight to pre-
serve the United States of America. 
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