Just downstream from Plum Point sits Fort Pillow, an earthen fortification built high on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. While the site is highly celebrated by history buffs, it remains center stage for one of the American Civil War’s most harrowing and bitterly contested chapters.
Construction on the fort originally began under Confederate direction to protect the river approaches to Memphis, though it was eventually abandoned and occupied by Union forces in 1862. The site’s historical infamy was cemented two years later, on April 12, 1864, when a Confederate cavalry division numbering between 1,500 and 2,500 men, led by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, launched a fierce assault to recapture the post.
The garrison defending Fort Pillow consisted of roughly 600 Union troops. Crucially, the force was split almost evenly between white Unionist Southerners and soldiers of the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT). After a morning of heavy fighting during which the Union commander was killed, Forrest demanded an unconditional surrender. The remaining Union officers refused, hoping that federal gunboats on the river would provide reinforcing fire.
What happened next became a source of immediate, nationwide outrage. Confederate cavalrymen quickly breached the earthworks, sending the defenders fleeing down the steep bluff toward the river landing. While attempting to surrender, a disproportionate number of Union soldiers—predominantly Black troops—were systematically shot down. Northern congressional investigations and eyewitness accounts labeled the event a cold-blooded massacre, concluding that over 300 soldiers were executed after they had laid down their weapons. While Confederate reports disputed the extent of the slaughter, “Remember Fort Pillow!” immediately became a fierce battle cry for Black regiments throughout the remainder of the war.
Beyond its dark human history, Fort Pillow serves as a stark monument to the physical transience of the Mississippi River. The fort was explicitly built on the bluffs because it offered a commanding, strategic view of the water, allowing artillery to easily control shipping lanes. However, in the generations since the Civil War, the river has naturally migrated so drastically to the west that its original path is completely altered. Today, visitors walking the quiet, wooded trails of Fort Pillow State Historic Park can peer out from the historic overlooks and barely catch a glimpse of the river that the fort was built to defend.