The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-05-07

c0lored regiments, who have heretofore !
been taken by the rebels has failed to con.
vince the authorities Of our government OF
this fact, the testimony herewith submit |
ted must convince even the most skeptical |
that it is the intention Of the rebel author. |
tiles not to recognize the officers aud men |
of our colored regiments a. entitled to the |
treatment accorded by all civilized nations |
to prisoners of war, the declaration of For |
rest and his officers, both before and after |
the capture Of Fort Pillow, ~ testified to |
by such OF our men as have escaped after |
being taken by him. The threats con-
tanned in the demand for surrender made |
atColumbus and:other places-the renewal |
of massacre, the capture of Fort Pillow,
the statements made by rebel officers to |
the officers of our government who re-
ceived the few survivors at Fort Pillow; |
all this proves most conclusively the poll
cy they have determined to adept 1t was
ct Fort Pillow the brutality and cruelty Of
the rebels were most fearfully exhibited"
The committee then detail Ut length the
taking Of Fort Pillow, and then proceed to
say that then followed q scene Of cruelty
and murder without y parallel in civilized
warfare, and which need but the tomahawk
and scalping-knife to exceed the worst
atrocities ever committed by savages. The
rebels commenced an -indiscrimiuate
slaughter, apariug neither age nor sex,
white nor black soldiers. The officers and
men seemed to vie with each other in the
work. Men, women and children, wher-
ever found were deliberately shot down,
and beaten and hacked with sabres. Some
of the children not more than ten years old
were forced to stand up aud face their muir
derers while being shot. The sick and
wounded were butchered without mercy.
the rebels even entering the hospital build
ings and dragging them out to shoot, or
killing them a. they lay there, unable to
offer the least resistance. All over the hill.
side the work of murder was going on.-
Numbers OF our men were collected togeth-
or In lines or groups, and deliberately shot.
Some were shot while in the river; others
on the bank were shot and their bodies
kicked into the water, while many of them
were still living but unable to make exer-
tons to save themselves from drowning.
Some OF the rebels stood upon the top Of
the hill, or short distance from its side,
and called to our soldiers to come up to
them. and - they approached shot them
down in cold blood and if their guns or
pistols missed fire, forced to stand there
untu they were again prepared to fire. All
around were heard cries Of, mo quarter !"
mo quarter = "kili the damned Triggers y
snoot them DOWN. All who asked for
mercy were answered by the most cruel
taunts and sneers. Some were spared for
aume only to be murdered under circum.
stances OF greater barbarity. No cruelty
winch the most fendish malignity could
devise was omitted by these murderers.
One white soldier who was wounded in
the leg so as to be unable to walk, was
made 10 stand up while his tomenters shot
him. Others who were wounded and ma
Die 60 stand up. were held up and again
shot. Que negro who had been ordered h :,
q rebel officer to hold his horse. was Eil,oa
by him when he demonstrated. Another.
M r. enid. whom an officer had taken
up rehind hlm On MS horse, was seen by
Chalmers who ut once ordered him r. MI,
him down and shoot hinE, which was dnna
The rebels themselves, had made nre.
tence OF burying great many OF their vic
Tins. but they had merely thrown them in.
to the trenches and bitches about the For,
or the little hollows and ravines or the hin.
sides, covering them partially with earth
were found protruding In every direction
and even when your Committee visited tn,
spot two weeks afterwards, although par
ties Of men had been sent on shore from
time to time, to bury the bodies and rebur1
the others, and were even then engaged il
the same work, we found the evidence O
this murder and cruelty still most painful
ly evident. We saw bodies still some dis
lance from the Fort, of some sick men wht
had been met tying from the hospital ant
beaten down. These statements were oh
tanned nom eye witnesses. Mai. Bradford
was taken by i've rebels, one an officer. lee
about fifty yards from the line of march
and deliberately murdered in view Of thoss
assembled. He fell instantly killed ,hs
three musket balls, even while asking TIM
his life might be spared, as he had f5uoh
them manfully and was deserving of a bet.
ter fate, for this murder seems TO have hoe,
that motive of the South, he remained low.
al to his governments-the testimony here
with contains many statements by the reh.
els that they did not intend to treat sshome.
made Yankees" as they termed Iowa
Southerners, auy better than negro troops
There is one circumstance connected with
the events herein narrated, which youl
Committee cannot permit to pass unrSaen.
toned. The testimony herewith submit
ted, disclosed this most shameful fact. or
the morning of the day succeeding the can.
ture of Fort Pillow, the gunboat Silye,
Cloud, No. ., the transport Platte Valley
and the gunboat New Era No. Z, landed al
Fort Pillow under q flag Of truce, for the
purpose of receiving the few wounded there
and burying the dead. While they were
lying there, the rebel Gen. Chalmers and
other rebel officers came down to the land.
ing, and some of them went on the boats.