Hello everybody, I was wondering if the good folks here could maybe help me with some information about the Confederate riverside forts along the Mississippi River in Tennessee. I am referring to Fort Pillow, Fort Wright, Fort Harris and Fort Pickering. From what I understand Fort Pillow was on the First Chickasaw Bluff, Wright was on the Second Chickasaw Bluff, Harris was on the Third and Pickering was at Memphis on the Fourth Chickasaw Bluff. It's mainly in the armament of the forts and when they were evacuated that I'm looking for information on.

From what I understand Fort Pickering was built on two Indian mounds, with a four-gun redoubt on the larger mound and a three-gun redoubt on the smaller of the two Indian mounds.

http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/tn-west.html#pickering

Is this correct as of May-June 1862?
Fort Harris, six miles upriver from Memphis, Bushrod Johnson in September 1861 said this fort had four guns but that they had been removed to Fort Pillow.

http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moawar&cc=moawar&idno=waro0004&node=waro0004%3A2&view=image&seq=416&size=100

So was this the end of Fort Harris then? It was abandoned by September 1861? Or did it later have other guns mounted in it?

Fort Wright was at Randolph, Tennessee and Bushrod Johnson said in September '61 that Wright had four batteries with a total of eighteen guns, all 32-pdrs.
http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moawar&cc=moawar&idno=waro0004&node=waro0004%3A2&view=image&seq=416&size=100

So would Fort Wright have had the same armament several months later, in May-June 1862? There is some confusion even today as to whether there was one fort at Randolph or two (Fort Wright and Fort Randolph) but from what I can tell at most there may have been a separate outwork at Randolph but I believe Fort Wright was the only real fort there because when a Union steamer was fired upon from the vicinity of Randolph in September of 1862 federal troops landed there and burned what was left of Randolph and their reports mentioned an abandoned Fort Wright but no mention was made of any other fort.
http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1088&context=theses

As for Fort Pillow I read a report saying it had "twenty-two 32-pounders, smooth bore; six 32-pounders, rifled; four 10-inch and three 8-inch columbiads. Five of the smooth-bore 32-pounders are mounted on the intrenchments. The six rifle guns are old pattern light 32-pounders, and will certainly explode after a few rounds; consequently will keep them in reserve with a few rounds for each, and take precautions to avoid casualties if they burst. ... I have about sixty days' rations on hand for 5,000 men, and will increase it as rapidly as possible to double that amount."
http://ebooks.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moawar;cc=moawar;idno=waro0011;node=waro0011:2;view=image;seq=397;size=100;page=root

Does that sound right for Fort Pillow as of spring 1862?

Regarding when they were evacuated, Fort Pillow was abandoned around 3 June 1862 right after the fall of Corinth to the Union. Forts Wright and Harris I'm not sure about and I would presume Fort Pickering at Memphis was manned right up until Memphis was occupied by the Union.

Anybody have any further information about these forts? Thanks very much in advance.