Hayes Lowe
Fort Pillow, after April 12th
Mon Jul 30 13:23:01 2001


I don't think that young ladies information was very reliable, for one thing, she was near Memphis, some 60 miles away from the fort.

The following is from Forrest’s own report [From the Official Records], and it STRONGLY indicates that while in the area on the 13th, the bulk of his force certainly were not *at* the Fort, and that they were at Brownsville by the 15th:

[On the afternoon of the 12,] details were made, consisting of the captured Federals and negroes, in charge of their own officers, to collect together and bury the dead, which work continued until dark. I also directed Captain Anderson to procure a skiff and take with him Captain Young, a captured Federal officer, and deliver to Captain Marshall, of the gun-boat, the message, copy of which is appended and numbered 5. All the boats and skiffs having been taken off by citizens escaping from the fort during the engagement, the message could not be delivered, although every effort was made to induce Captain Marshall to send his boat ashore by raising a white flag, with which Captain Young walked up and down the river in vain signaling her to come in or send out a boat. She finally moved off and disappeared around the bend above the fort. General Chalmers withdrew his forces from the fort before dark and encamped a few miles east of it.
On the morning of the 13th, I again dispatched Captain Anderson to Fort Pillow for the purpose of placing, if possible, the Federal wounded on board their transports, and report to me on his return the condition of affairs at the river. I respectfully refer you to his report, numbered 6.
My loss in the engagement was 20 killed and 60 wounded. That of the enemy unknown. Two hundred and twenty-eight were buried on the evening of the battle, and quite a number were buried the next day by details from the gun-boat fleet. [...]
On the 15th, at Brownsville, I received orders which rendered it necessary to send General Chalmers, in command of his own division and Bell's brigade, southward; hence I have no official report from him, but will, as soon as it can be obtained, forward a complete list of our killed and wounded, which has been ordered made out and forwarded at the earliest possible moment.



The following media report, dateline Cairo, Ill., April 14.

The steamer Platte Valley came up about 3 1/2 o'clock [on April 12, according to the newspaper, but appears to be the 13th in light of Forrest’s report]. She was hailed by the rebels under a flag of truce and her men sent ashore to bury the dead and take aboard such of the wounded as the rebels had allowed to live. Fifty-seven were taken aboard, including seven or eight colored men. Eight of them died on the way up. The steamer arrived here this evening and was immediately sent to the Mound City hospital to discharge her suffering passengers.--Among the wounded of the colored troops are Capt. Porter, Lieut. Libberts and Adjutant Lemming.

I have also found from the report of the returned prisoners, that six were from Stigel's (Union) Home Guard. This seems to me to be the most likely reason that a retired soldier may have been there, he was with the Home Guard.