Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park Study Act
Bill: H.R.671 | Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. (D-IL)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park Study Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the Fort Pillow Historic State Park in Henning, Tennessee, which was the site of the Battle of Fort Pillow during the Civil War, as a unit of the National Park System.

To conduct a special resource study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park 
             in Henning, Tennessee, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park 
Study Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Fort Pillow was originally built by Confederate troops 
        in 1861 and named after General Gideon J. Pillow of Maury 
        County, Tennessee.
            (2) The battle of Fort Pillow was fought on April 12, 1864, 
        at Fort Pillow in Henning, Tennessee, during the American Civil 
        War.
            (3) At Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate forces never 
        defeated the Union Navy. Instead, they perpetrated a heinous 
        massacre after violating a flag of truce by advantageously 
        repositioning rebel troops and by looting government buildings 
        and private storefronts surrounding the fort.
            (4) According to the 1864 Report ``Fort Pillow Massacre'' 
        from the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct 
        of the War, ``The officers and men seem to vie with each other 
        in the devilish work; men, women and even children, wherever 
        found, were deliberately shot down, beaten and hacked with 
        sabers. . . .''.
            (5) The Union garrison consisted of 19 officers and 538 
        troops of whom 262 were United States Colored Troops 
        (U.S.C.T.).
            (6) Per the report, ``Of the men, from three hundred to 
        four hundred are known to have been killed at Fort Pillow, of 
        whom at least three hundred were murdered in cold blood after 
        the fort was in possession of the rebels and our men had thrown 
        down their arms and ceased to offer resistance.''.
            (7) The massacre at Fort Pillow demonstrated to all 
        U.S.C.T. that surrender was not an option. The massacre at Fort 
        Pillow became a rallying cry and motivation for the 209,147 
        U.S.C.T.
            (8) The 209,147 U.S.C.T. fundamentally contributed to the 
        Union's defeat of the Confederacy.
            (9) The State of Tennessee allows the wrongful modification 
        of the historical record by claiming it was a battle without a 
        massacre of hundreds of surrendering Union troops and innocent 
        civilians.
            (10) In 1971, Fort Pillow became a State park.
            (11) In 1973, Fort Pillow was added to the National 
        Register of Historic Places.
            (12) The following year, in 1974, Fort Pillow was 
        designated as a National Historic Landmark.
            (13) Fort Pillow Historic State Park consists of 1,642 
        acres.
            (14) The Park contains several attraction areas such as a 
        Civil War museum, hiking trail, camping ground, and picnic 
        area.
            (15) This site deserves to become a National Battlefield 
        Park due to its profound effect on U.S.C.T. and all Union 
        forces in their fight to preserve the United States of America.

SEC. 3. FORT PILLOW SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a special resource 
study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park in Henning, Tennessee. Fort 
Pillow is a State park that features the American Civil War history and 
the Massacre at Fort Pillow. The Secretary shall--
            (1) evaluate the site's national significance; and
            (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
        designating it as a unit of the National Historic Park System.
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