The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1864-05-11

NaSiA sAltAiuS, OUT lueS
thrown them into the trenches and bitches
about the fort or the little hollows and
ravines on the hillside, covering them
partially with earth. Portions of heads
and faces, hands and feet, were found
protruding in every direction. and were,
when your committee visited the spot
two weeks afterward Although parties
s of men had been sent on shore from time
to time. to bury the bodies unbu d and
rebury the others, and were even then
engaged in the same work, we found the
evidences of this murder and cruelty still
most painfully evident. We saw the
bodies still unburied, at some distance
from the fort, of the sick who had been
met fleeing from the hospital, and beaten
down and brutally murdered. and their
bodies left where they had fallen. Many
other instances of equally atrocious
cruelty might be enumerated, but your
Committee feel compelled to refrain from
giving here more of the heart siekening
details, and refer to the statements con-
tanned in the voluminous testimony here
with submitted. Those statements were
obtained by them from eye witnesses and
sufferers. Many of them, as they were
examined by your committee, were lying
upon beds Of pain and suffering, some so
feeble that their lips could with difficulty
tell their story. But two officers are
known to be living and they are wounded.
One of them, Captain Porter may even
now be dead; no hopes were entertained
Of his recovery. OF the men, from 800 to
400 are known to have been killed at
Fort Pillow, of whom at least 800 were
murdered in cold blood, after the fort
was in possession of the rebels, and our
1, \ Al. I
ceased to offer resistance.
When your committee reached Mem
phis, they found and examined a man,
Mr.. McLagan, who had been conscripted
by some of Forests forces, but with
other conscripts had succeeded in making
his escape. He testified that while two
companies Of rebels with Major Bradford
and many other prisoners were on their
march from Brownsville to Jackson,
Tenn, Major Bradford was taken by five
rebels one an officer, led about fifty
yards from the line of march, and de
liberately murdered in view of all there
assembled. He fell instantly killed by
: the musket balls, even while asking
/. that his life might be spared, as he had
fought them manfully and was deserving
of better fate The motive for this
! murder seems to have been that, although
native Of the South, he remained loyal
to his Government The testimony, here
with submitted, contains many state
ments made by the rebels, that they did
not trust home made Yankees, as they
termed loyal Southerners, any better
than negro troops.
There is one circumstance connected
with the events here narrated, which
your committee cannot permit to pass
unnoticed. The testimony herewith SUBJ
mitted, discloses the most astounding
and shameful fact, that on the morning
of the day succeeding the capture of
Fort Pillow, the gunboat Silver Cloud,
the transport Platte Valley and the gun
boat New Era landed at Fort Pillow
under flag of truce. While they were
lying there the rebel Gen. Chalmers and
other rebel officers came down to the
landing, and some of them went on the
boats. Notwithstanding the evidences of
rebel atrocity and barbarity with which
the ground was cows cred, there were some
Of our army officers on board the Platte
Valley, so silent to every feeling of de-
cency, honor and self-respect, as to make
themselves disgracefully conspicuous in
bestowing civilties and attentions upon
the rebel officers, even while boasting of
the murders they had there committed.
Your committee were unable to ascertain
the names of the officers. They are
assured, however by the military authori-
ties that every effort will be made to
ascertain their names and bring them TO
the punishment they SO richly merit. In
relation to the enforcement or evacua-
ton of Fort Pillow, it would appear that
the troops there stationed were with
drawn on the 25th of January last, in
order to accompany the Meridian ex-
pedition under Gen. Sherman. Gen
Hurlbut testifes that he had received in
structions to permanentlyyacate the post
and deeming it important to occupy it,
that the rebels should not interrupt the
navigation of the river, by planting artil
lery there He sent some troops there
about the middle of February, increasing
their number afterward until the garrison
amounted to nearly GOO men. He also
states that as soon as he learned that the
garrison was attacked, he took measures
to send re- endorsements from Memphis,
and they were actually embarking when
he received information of the capture
of the fort.
All of which respectfully submitted.
(Signed) 3: + WADE,
". GoocH
Adopted by the Committee as their
report