Title: Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park Study Act
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.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4868 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4868

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 19, 2018

   Mr. Rush introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Secretary of the Interior 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 the ``Fort Pillow National Battlefield 
Park Study Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Fort Pillow was built by Confederate troops in 1861 and 
        named after General Gideon J. Pillow of Maury County.
            (2) In 1862, the area was abandoned due to the Union Navy 
        advancement along the Mississippi River.
            (3) The Fort was attacked and captured by the Union Navy, 
        which mostly controlled it during the war.
            (4) On June 4, 1862, Confederate troops evacuated Fort 
        Pillow, enabling Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
            (5) On April 12, 1864, the Battle of Fort Pillow was fought 
        at Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River in Henning, Tennessee, 
        during the American Civil War.
            (6) The Confederate troops defeated the Union Navy, 
        resulting in the death of 229 of the 262 black Union soldiers 
        engaged in the battle.
            (7) In 1971, Fort Pillow became a State park.
            (8) In 1973, Fort Pillow was designated as a Historic Park.
            (9) Fort Pillow Historic State Park consists of 1,642 
        acres.
            (10) It preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle 
        of Fort Pillow.
            (11) The park contains several attraction areas such as a 
        Civil War museum, hiking trail, camping ground, and picnic 
        area.

SEC. 3. FORT PILLOW SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 
section as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a special resource study of 
Fort Pillow Historic State Park in Henning, Tennessee.
    (b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) evaluate the national significance of the site;
            (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
        designating the site as a unit of the National Park System; and
            (3) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
        protection, and interpretation of the lands by Federal, State, 
        or local governmental entities, or private and nonprofit 
        organizations.
    (c) Applicable Law.--The study authorized under subsection (a) 
shall be conducted in accordance with section 100507 of title 54, 
United States Code.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds 
are first made available for the study under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate a report that describes--
            (1) the findings of the study; and
            (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
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