Benjamin Wade - Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War

Question. Was the door fastened up?

Answer. Yes, sir; it was barred with one of those wide bolts.

Sergeant W. P. Walker, (white,) sworn and examined:

By Mr. Gooch:

Question. In what capacity did you serve in the army?

Answer. I was a sergeant in the 13th Tennessee cavalry, company D.

Question. Were you at Fort Pillow at the time of the fight there?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Will you state what took place there?

Answer. In the morning the pickets ran in. We were sent out a piece as skirmishers. They kept us out about a couple of hours, and then we retreated into the fort. The firing kept up pretty regular until about two o'clock, when a flag of truce came in. While the flag of truce was in, the enemy was moving up and taking their positions; they were also pilfering and searching our quarters.

Question. They finally took the fort?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. What happened then?

Answer. They just shot us down without showing us any quarter at all. They shot me, for one, after I surrendered; they shot me in the arm, and the shoulder, and the neck, and in the eye.

Question. How many times did they shoot you?

Answer. They shot me in the arm and eye after I surrendered; I do not know when they shot me in the other places.

Question. Who shot you?

Answer. A private shot me with a pistol; there were a great many of us shot.

Question. What reason did he give for shooting you after you had surrendered?

Answer. A man came down the hill and said that General – some one; I could not understand the name – said that they should shoot every one of us, and take no prisoners, and then they shot us down.

Question. How did you escape?

Answer. They thought they had killed me. They searched my pockets half a dozen times, or more, and took my pocket-book from me.

Question. Did you see anybody else shot after they had surrendered?

Answer. Yes, sir; I saw several shot right around me.

Question. Did they shoot all, colored and white?

Answer. They shot all where I was. When they turned in and went to shooting the white men, they scattered and ran, and then they shot them down.

Question. Did you see them do anything besides shooting them?

Answer. I saw some knock them over the heads with muskets, and some stick sabres into them.

Question. Did you see anything of any burning or burying alive?

Answer. No, sir; I did not see that.

Question. Were any of the rebel officers about while this was going on?

Answer. Not where I was; I was down under the hill then. The niggers first ran out of the fort, and then, when they commenced shooting us, we ran down under the hill, and they followed us up and shot us. They came back the next day and shot several wounded negroes.

Question. Did you see that?

Answer. I was lying in a house, but I heard the negroes begging, and heard the guns fired; but I did not see it.

Jason Loudon, sworn and examined.

By the chairman:

Question. To what company and regiment did you belong?

Answer. To company B, 13th Tennessee cavalry.

Question. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. Were you wounded there?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. When?

Answer. In the evening, after I surrendered.

Question. Where were you?

Answer. At the fort.

Question. State what happened when you were wounded.

Answer. Nothing; only they were going around shooting the men down. They shot a sergeant by the side of me twice after he had surrendered.

Question. Who shot him?

Answer. A secesh private.

Question. How near was that to you?

Answer. About ten steps off.

Question. Did he say anything to him?

Answer. He commenced cursing, and said they were going to kill every one of us.

Question. How many did you see shot after they had surrendered?

Answer. I saw five or six shot.

James Walls, sworn and examined.

By Mr. Gooch:

Question. To what company did you belong?

Answer. Company E, 13th Tennessee cavalry.

Question. Under what officers did you serve?

Answer. I was under Major Bradford and Captain Potter.

Question. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow?

Answer. Yes, sir.

Question. State what you saw there of the fight, and what was done after the place was captured.

Answer. We fought them for some six or eight hours in the fort, and when they charged our men scattered and ran under the hill; some turned back and surrendered, and were shot. After the flag of truce came in I went down to get some water. As I was coming back I turned sick, and laid down behind a log. The secesh charged, and after they came over I saw one go a good ways ahead of the others. One of our men made to him and threw down his arms. The bullets were flying so thick there I thought I could not live there, so I threw down my arms and surrendered. He did not shoot me then, but as I turned around he or some other one shot me in the back.

Question. Did they say anything while they were shooting?

Answer. All I heard was, "Shoot him, shoot him!" "Yonder goes one!" "Kill him, kill him!" That is about all I heard.

Question. How many do you suppose you saw shot after they surrendered?

Answer. I did not see but two or three shot around me. One of the boys of our company, named Taylor, ran up there, and I saw him shot and fall. Then another was shot just before me, like – shot down after he threw down his arms.

Question. Those were white men?

Answer. Yes, sir. I saw them make lots of niggers stand up, and then they shot them down like hogs. The next morning I was lying around there waiting for the boat to come up. The secesh would be prying around there, and would come to a nigger and say, "You ain't dead, are you?" They would not say anything, and then the secesh would get down off their horses, prick them in their sides, and say, "Damn you, you ain't dead; get up." Then they would make them get up on their knees, when they would shoot them down like hogs.

Question. Do you know of their burning any buildings?

Answer. I could hear them tell them to stick torches all around, and they fired all the buildings.

Question. Do you know whether any of our men were in the buildings when they were burned?

Answer. Some of our men said some were burned; I did not see it, or know it to be so myself.

Question. How did they bury them – white and black together?

Answer. I don't know about the burying; I did not see any buried.

Question. How many negroes do you suppose were killed after the surrender?

Answer. There were hardly any killed before the surrender. I reckon as many as 200 were killed after the surrender, out of about 300 that were there.

Question. Did you see any rebel officers about while this shooting was going on?

Answer. I do not know as I saw any officers about when they were shooting the negroes. A captain came to me a few minutes after I was shot; he was close by me when I was shot.

Question. Did he try to stop the shooting?

Answer. I did not hear a word of their trying to stop it. After they were shot down, he told them not to shoot them any more. I begged him not to let them shoot me again, and he said they would not. One man, after he was shot down, was shot again. After I was shot down, the man I surrendered to went around the tree I was against and shot a man, and then came around to me again and wanted my pocket-book. I handed it up to him, and he saw my watch-chain and made a grasp at it, and got the watch and about half the chain. He took an old Barlow knife I had in my pocket. It was not worth five cents; was of no account at all, only to cut tobacco with.

William L. McMichael, sworn and examined.

By the chairman: