, 1864-05-06
NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.
TIYE FORT PILLOW IlOEe.
TROfk,
The Report of The ComnIttce on the
Conduct of the War.

tract f,om he reporto the Committee on the Con
duct Of tho War:
Although you. committee were Instructed to. In; IN;
massacre a, Fort Pillow, they hayo deemed It prop
CT to take somc testimony In reference to the oper-
preceding and subsequent to that horrible tlansac-
thnt The atrocities committed u Fort Pillow wera
Conflict, Gut were We're tie results of policy de.
announced. Even II tie uncertainty q the fate 81
menta, Who hive heTetoiore seen taken By the rob-
eli, has fatied to convince the anshorsties Of our
Government of this fact, the testimony herewith
submitted must convince even the most skeptical
that 1t 10 the intention Of tho rebel authorities not
10 recognize tho officers and men Of our coloted
1eeiments ~ entitled to the treatment accorded BY
nil civilized nations to prisoners OF war. The de-
claraticEe Of Forrest and bis officers, both before
and ailer the capture OF Fort Pillow, testified
to By sqsh o. 2ar % men A. hsTe esSapsd aes
various demsnds for surrender, made at Padacah,
Columbus, and other Llaces, tbs renewal Of the
Pillow: The statements made b. rebel officers to the
officers Of our gunhoatB who received the few s1r-
viytrs Il Fort PILLOW al this proves most con-
It wns at Fort Plllos the brutality and cruelty OF
The CO n,ttxf tben de.ai;e at length the taking
Then followed. scsue Of cruelty and murder
without parallel in civilized wnrtnre, and which
needed but the tcmuhsWA aud scalp'ns-kn to ex-
cecd the worst atrocities eTsr committed BY inc
Tic rebels commeresd m Indlseflmsnate slangh-
ter spusipg neither age or ecx Ehsts or black sol
vic with each other in the deyflish work Men
women Iud children, wherever found, were dell6-
efatcly .hot down, beateu and hacked With sabte3.
Some OF the children not more than ten years. old
were loreed to stand up and tace their murdeters
while bein. shut, The sick and Wounded Wers
butehcre0 without mercy. the rebels even entering
shot or sill1ng them they Lay there, unable 10
otter tic lcast resistance.
All over tho hillside the work Of murder was 60
iug on number Of our men wers collected 10
gelh.r III lines or groups. and deliberately eaos.
Some wers ahot Will. In the river, while others on
the bunk were shot and thei Rodles piteasa in.o 70
make crc1tons TO ssve themselves from drowning.
sunle ct tbe rebel. Stood upcn the top q the hlil
short distance from tte SIDE and @ cue ~, 70 GU. n
pa9dIeAiii' ppad i their gus o. pistols ~, missed,
@sfe etfed ssaIn ne preo.te 90 s1 to rs Al around
ftii iH % he damned nlggcra, s'shoOt Item down"
An who assea FOR a msfsy were Answered s1. ey toe
Etaucea Of greater barbarity No cruelty which the
by a these murderc1s. one white soldtor who was
wounded III tie leg so as to be unable to w4lk, was
madc to stand up while his tosmentors shot him.
wcrc held 10 and again shot.
Cns negro who had been ordered BY 1ehe'
officer to hoa s hotss, was ki!!ed by Ss,a hm when Tnsa
m tfict had taken up behind him on his horse,
was eeen bv Chalmers. who at 0lce ordered him
10 pnt him down and shoot him. which was done.
The hnis md tents In which Emmy Of the wounded
had sought thelter, were set on fire, both that
night and the next morning. while the wounded
Wero still in them, these only escaping who were
able to Jet themeclvgs out or who could prevail
on others less injured to help them ont, and even
some OF these. thus seeking TO escape the aames,
were met by these sul1ans and shot down, or had
fastened down to the floor Of tent, face upwards,
by means OF nails driven through his clothing
and into the boards under him, 20 that be could
fire. Anothtr was nailed TO the side Of q building
outside Of tie Fort, and then the building set on
fire and burned.
nflerwa1ds found. all but one So much dIsas ared
and consumed by the flames that they could not be
identified. and the Identification Of that one Is not
doubt TINT It was tho body Of Lieut.. Ajbertson,
Quarter1nastcr Of the 18th Va. cavalry, and ua-
tive OF Tennessee. These deeds Of murder and
newed the next morning. when tbs demons care
fully sought among the dead Tying about in al d.
reciions Tor any other wounded yet alive, and those
they found were deliberately ehot.
Scores OF .ths dead and wounded were found
there the day Of the massacre by the men from
some Of our gunboats who were permitted to 70
The rebels themselves had made pzetense OF
had merely thrown them into tho trenches : and and
aud rarJnes On tho bill side, covering then par
TALLY with earth. Portions Of heads and taces,
hands and feet, weso found protrudlng in every
dIxecsIoa and eveh when Yout CcMsutttee visited
the epot two weeks afterwards, although parties
oil mtn had been sent on shore from time to time,
and were even then eng ged In the sane NV worE, We
ionnd the evidences q this murder and cruelty
still meet painfully evident We saw bodies still
sick men who had been met fleeing from the hos
pital and beaten down and brutally murdered and
their IedieH lett whtre they had fallen.
ty might be- enumerated, but your committee
feels compelled to refrain from giving here Of
the heart eickcning details and refer to the atate
mente contained IN tho ronmuioua testimony here
With submitted. These statements were obiaiacd
By them from eye Witnesses and sufferers, ,maoY Of
item az they were examined b. your committee,
we're lYin. upon beds OF pain and suffering, some
so feeble that their tips could with difficulty tell
their story. But TWO officers are Emo IN to be liT
Ing; and they arc wounded 0ne " tucm, Captain
Porter, may esen now be dead No hope was ea-
Z Or the M men, ne - from 10 10 400 are known to have
been killed Al, Fort PiIlows Of whom At least 900
possession Of tho rebels and our men had thrown
down their arms and ceased to offer resistance.
When your command arrived at Memphis, they
hui been ennseripted By some Of Forests force,
but who. with other conscdpts, had succeeded il,
making h!s escape. He testIaes that whle two
Companies Of rcbel troops, with Mai. Bradford and
many other prisoners, were on the march from
Browpsyllle TO Jackson, Tenn. Mai: Bradtord was
taken by tise rebels, one an officer led about fifty
Yards nom the line Of march, and deliberately mur
desed, IN y1ew OF all thoee assembled.
lie fell. instantly killed By three nusket bulls.
even while aaking that bis life might be spared as
be had forsht them nanfully and was deserving Of
a better taSe. The motive for this murder seems
TO hnye been that, although natlEe OF the South,
he had reu,n,ned loyal 10 his Government
The testimony herewith submitted contains
mapy statements by the rcbels that they did not
irtend TO treat 'thcmc-1nade Yankees" as they
te,mtd loyal sonthernerf, any better than negEo
trr ons There is ono crcnns lance connected With
lie events herein narrated, which your e,mmit.ee
submIttrd digcloaes this most astounding and
3, s,amtfuj met that on the morning Of the day sue
tecoirc The capture OF Fort Pillow the Eunboat Sn-
,er Cloud, No. Is the transport Flute Valley aud
under tiag Of truce for The purpose Of receiving
fhe lew wonndel there and bur5ing the dead.
Vile they were lying there the rebel General
f. Cba nr,s. and other rebel officers, came down to
he lupGipc, and some Of them went on the boats.
No, wti1tanding the Evidences OF reoe. asEoelty
tbe.e were some Of our army oMeers on board the