Fort Pillow State Park

Fort Pillow State Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance.

Confederate fort 1861

In 1861, the Confederate army built extensive fortifications here and named the site for General Gideon Johnson Pillow of Maury County.

Union fort, and Battle of Fort Pillow

Because of its strategic location, controlling traffic on the Mississippi River, the fort was attacked and captured by the Union Army, which controlled it during most of the war. June 4, 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuated Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee. An exception to this control occurred for less than one day immediately after the Battle of Fort Pillow in 1864.

The Confederate victory at the Battle of Fort Pillow (April 1864) resulted in the killing of 229 of the 262 black Union soldiers engaged in the battle. The white soldiers numbered 285. An examination of regimental records showed that "less than 36 percent of the men from white units died in battle or of wounds, while the death toll for black units was 66 percent."