Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park Study Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 671 To conduct a special resource study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park in Henning, Tennessee, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 1, 2021 Mr. RUSH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To conduct a special resource study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park in Henning, Tennessee, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Fort Pillow National Bat- 4 tlefield Park Study Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds as follows: 7 (1) Fort Pillow was originally built by Confed- 8 erate troops in 1861 and named after General Gid- 9 eon J. Pillow of Maury County, Tennessee. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H671.IH H671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 671 IH (2) The battle of Fort Pillow was fought on 1 April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow in Henning, Ten- 2 nessee, during the American Civil War. 3 (3) At Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate 4 forces never defeated the Union Navy. Instead, they 5 perpetrated a heinous massacre after violating a flag 6 of truce by advantageously repositioning rebel troops 7 and by looting government buildings and private 8 storefronts surrounding the fort. 9 (4) According to the 1864 Report ‘‘Fort Pillow 10 Massacre’’ from the United States Congress Joint 11 Committee on the Conduct of the War, ‘‘The officers 12 and men seem to vie with each other in the devilish 13 work; men, women and even children, wherever 14 found, were deliberately shot down, beaten and 15 hacked with sabers. . . .’’. 16 (5) The Union garrison consisted of 19 officers 17 and 538 troops of whom 262 were United States 18 Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.). 19 (6) Per the report, ‘‘Of the men, from three 20 hundred to four hundred are known to have been 21 killed at Fort Pillow, of whom at least three hundred 22 were murdered in cold blood after the fort was in 23 possession of the rebels and our men had thrown 24 down their arms and ceased to offer resistance.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H671.IH H671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 671 IH (7) The massacre at Fort Pillow demonstrated 1 to all U.S.C.T. that surrender was not an option. 2 The massacre at Fort Pillow became a rallying cry 3 and motivation for the 209,147 U.S.C.T. 4 (8) The 209,147 U.S.C.T. fundamentally con- 5 tributed to the Union’s defeat of the Confederacy. 6 (9) The State of Tennessee allows the wrongful 7 modification of the historical record by claiming it 8 was a battle without a massacre of hundreds of sur- 9 rendering Union troops and innocent civilians. 10 (10) In 1971, Fort Pillow became a State park. 11 (11) In 1973, Fort Pillow was added to the Na- 12 tional Register of Historic Places. 13 (12) The following year, in 1974, Fort Pillow 14 was designated as a National Historic Landmark. 15 (13) Fort Pillow Historic State Park consists of 16 1,642 acres. 17 (14) The Park contains several attraction areas 18 such as a Civil War museum, hiking trail, camping 19 ground, and picnic area. 20 (15) This site deserves to become a National 21 Battlefield Park due to its profound effect on 22 U.S.C.T. and all Union forces in their fight to pre- 23 serve the United States of America. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H671.IH H671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 671 IH SEC. 3. FORT PILLOW SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY. 1 The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a special 2 resource study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park in 3 Henning, Tennessee. Fort Pillow is a State park that fea- 4 tures the American Civil War history and the Massacre 5 at Fort Pillow. The Secretary shall— 6 (1) evaluate the site’s national significance; and 7 (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 8 designating it as a unit of the National Historic 9 Park System. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:12 Feb 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H671.IH H671 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS