Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-10-09
THE FORT PILLOW AFFAILn.
ACara from Gen. N. b. Forrest

To the Editor of the Ne,c York Times: q y
A correspondent of the Times, whose let
ter was published on the 25th inst, saws:
"At the time of the capture of Fort Pill
| low by the rebel Gen. Forrest, and the
massacre of its entire garrison, General
(then Col.) Lawrence was in command OF
Fort Columbus, point on the Mississippi
river above Fort Pillow. Gen. Forrest,
flushed with his victory and murders,
marched from Fort Pillow directlyupon
Fort Columbus, notified Colonel Law
renee that the commander and parri-
son of Fort Pillow had been massa-
cred, informed him that he COM
manded 10000 troops and knew that he
(Lawrence) had only 1000, and ordered
him to surrender in one hours time or he
and his command should share the same
fate which had been visited on the garrison
at Fort Pillow" a ID
l have hitherto borne in silence these
outrageous assaults upon my character as
man. and soldier; but a decent regard
for my own reputation, and sense of duty
to the brave gentlemen who fought under
me during the war, will not permit me to
remain silent any longer. I must, there
fore, ask you to be pleased to allow me to
say through the columns of the Times, that
the charges made against me by your cor
respondent are utterly false, and that their
falsity can be easily demonstrated by proof
which is within easy reach. e - -
The official report of the United States
officer commanding at Fort Pillow, and
the testimony reported by the Congress
sional investigating committee, of which
Vice President Wade was chairman, show
that the garrison consisted of only about
800 officers and men. Other proofs, which
/ can produce at any time, show that
captured, and can account for, more than
300 of these-65 of them, who were badly
wounded, have been delivered by me to
the officer commanding "a United States
gun-boat in the vicinity of the Fort, and
about $50 Gan official descriptive list of
whom is now in the city in the possession
of Gen. Thomas Jordan) having been turn
over by me to Gen. Polk, at Demopolis,
Ala. Of these captured men, 80 were ne
gro soldiers. Nor were the rest of the gar
rison all killed for many of them effected
their escape, while Others were drowned in
the attempt. 1t will thus be seen that the
proportion of killed was not greater than
usual in the case of so severe fight, accom-
panied by desperate assault and defence.
These facts are known to the government
of the United States and acquit me, not only
in the opinion of the President, Mr.. Stan
ton and Judge Herr, but in that of Congress.
of any violation of the rules of civilized
warfare. Otherwise 1 would have been
long ago arrested and tried upon that
charge. For my own part, conscious of
my innocence and knowing perfectly well
that have always waged war with the
strictest regard to the usages of civilized
nations, L have never Stunned any inyesti-
cation to which the Executive or Congress
might subject my military conduct.
As to the absurd charge that marched
against Columbus with 10000 men and de-
manded its surrender, with the threat that
would, in the event of refusal, massacre"
its garrison, have only to say that never
was, during the war, within forty miles of
Columbus, after its evacuation by the Com
federates in 1862; and that the only troops
which approached it at the time referred
to, was a scouting party of less than 100
men and that the official report of General
Lawrence himself utterly disproves your
correspondents statements.
ir5f faa- N. B. FORREST.