Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-05-07
General Chalmers Makes a State
ment Concerning the Fort
Pillow Affair.
He Denies in Toto the Lying Charges
of Radical Papers and
Statesmen.
How Forrest and Himself Pro
Iected Those who Remain
ed in the Works.
Garfield Thinks II was Not so Bad and
Enough Has Been Said.
The Bill 10 Keep BayOnefs from
the Polls.

WASHINGTON, May 7.-SENATE-
On motion of Mr.. ingalls, resolution
was adopted calling on the President
to communicate to the senate what
measures have been taken to prevent
the occupation of the Indian Terri
tory by white settlers.
The house bill to prohibit military
interference in elections was read
twice, and by a vote of "A against 81
the senate disagreed to the motion of
Mr.. Edmunds to refer it to the judi
ciary committee, and then laid it on
the table to be called up hereafter.
Consideration was then resumed of
the resolution asking for authority to
take testimony in the contested case of
Spoford against kellogg, and Mr..
Carpenter continued his remarks in
support of Kellogg's right to the seat.
Mr.. Chalmers called up as a ques-
tion of privilege the resolution offered
by him for investigation into his con-
duct at Fort Pillow.
He said his friends had pointed out
to him difficulties in the way of such
investigation and that he himself rec
ognized the danger of rekindling the
flames of passion and prejudice, which
all good men see covered up in their
ashes, but it was a hard thing to ask
soldiers who had lost all save honor to
permit that also to be taken from
them by the repetition of the accusa-
tlons that were utterly untrue. The
action of the house yesterday had,
however, satisfied him that gentlemen
were not willing now to go into an in
vestigation, and therefore he had con
cluded to accept the advice of his
friends and make his own statement.
He then narrated incidents of the at
tack on Fort Pillow, in which attack he
had been, early in the day, in com
mand of Confederate cavalry, but
about nine in the morning General
Forrest had arrived and taken com
mand. He admitted to a number of
the garrison making a rush for the
gunboat, which had been fired at and
number of men killed, but if any
had been killed in violation of
the usages of war the most search
ing examination on the part of the
congress committee had been unable
to fix any responsibility for it, at least
on the general officers in command.
He denied that any wounded men had
been burned up in the quarters that
had been set on fire on the morning
after the capture of the fort.
He asserted that forty per cent. of
the garrison were saved wholly un-
touched. A part of the Federal troops
had to run out of the fort, and nearly
all of these were killed or wounded, but
large number of the garrison, most by
white men, had remained, and they
had gathered around General Forrest
and himself for protection, and had
been protected. As to the Confederates
taking advantage of the flag of truce
in order to gain a better position, that
statement was not true. He said so in
vindication of his dead commander,
for glory is the soldiers pride, the
soldiers wealth is honor"
The garrison of Fort Pillow num-
bered 577 men, of whom about 40 per
cent. were saved that about 300 were
killed and about 250 on the Confed-
crate side.
Remarks were made by Mr.. Garfield
as to the impolicy of reopening the
subject, with the intimatiol that the
officers were not as responsible as
had been at first supposed, but
general impression at the time had
been strengthened by the order issued
in about three weeks by Gen. Forrest,
that if the fort were surrendered the
garrison should have been treated as
prisoners of war, but if the works were
stOrmed no quarter might be expect
ed, He was glad so much had been
done by the gentleman from Missis-
sippi to disconnect his name from
any responsibility in the matter.
The subject occupied the attention of
the house for long time, and at one
period there were indications of
trouble between Chalmers and Bur
rqughs, in consequence of the allgslop
made to Chalmers to some canvass
criticisms against Burroughs for his
own conduct in the war, Chalmers,