as any troops in the fort.” With the aforementioned material being said, the significance of The Battle of Paducah becomes clear. Forrest, a future Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, was irritated by the reports that his attack on Paducah failed. The Louisville Journal said the Rebels had been “gloriously drunk, and but little better than a mob.” The Chicago Tribune reported that Forrest’s men had been “ignominiously beaten back by negro soldiers with clubbed muskets.” With this boiling in his blood, Forrest turned his attention to Fort Pillow. Fort Pillow recruited many African American troops for the Union cause. In short, Forrest surrounded Fort Pillow and demanded its surrender. General Bradford, commander of the fort, replied: “My name is not Hawkins,” alluding to the surrender of Colonel Hawkins at Union City two weeks earlier. He continues, “General; I will not surrender.” Forrest then gave the order of an all out assault. With the lingering embarrassment from the Paducah raid, Forrest’s men produced a deadly onslaught of vengefulness. General William T. Sherman, (not present at the battle) said: “Forrest’s men acted like a set of barbarians, shooting down the helpless negro garrison after the fort was in their possession.” In his official report Forrest said: The river was dyed with the blood of the slaughtered for two hundred yards. The approximate loss was upward of five hundred killed, but few of the officers escaping. My loss was about twenty killed. It is hoped that these facts will demonstrate to the Northern people that negro soldiers cannot cope with Southerners.From the first to the last shot, The Battle of Paducah lasted twelve hours. The total Union dead totaled 46 to 50. The total Confederate dead totaled 14 to 25. These numbers are officially reported in the battle records, but are thought to be much lower than...
