5fish
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Here again Fan Boys of Forrest claim it was a ruse when he threaten "no quarter" to union post.Yes, the presence of Forrest at Ft Pillow is key.
He used this ruse more than once and from what I see it was not a ruse. If you look at each time he used the ruse it either worked or the union soldier repulsed his assaults but the one place were they resisted and failed to repulse Forrest men there was a massacre of union soldiers. It was not a ruse when Forrest threatened "no quarter" because the one time the ruse was ignore and he succeed in overrunning the union fort death followed.
Here are some of the union post he attacked before Ft Pillow... See the pattern...
A Devil of a Mess in Tennessee
What possessed Nathan Bedford Forrest’s troops to massacre their foes at Fort Pillow? Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest could not have known the
www.historynet.com
As the Confederate raiders set out on March 22, Forrest looked to ground in western Tennessee and Kentucky that had already proven lucrative for his command. Earlier raids through the region had secured supplies and recruits and thrown his opponents into nervous turmoil. Determined to make his mark once more, Forrest dispatched various forces to obtain maximum results. Colonel William L. Duckworth approached Union City, Tenn., employing the common Forrest stratagem of bluff and intimidation to convince his opponent, Col. Isaac R. Hawkins, to surrender some 500 men and 300 horses. Captain Henry A. Tyler attempted a similar ruse at Columbus, Ky. With only 150 men at his disposal, Tyler’s command was too weak to assault the Union garrison directly. Using the name of his superior, “A[braham] Buford,” to give the impression of a larger force, the captain offered his counterpart terms that also took a racial tone. “Should you surrender, the negroes now in arms will be returned to their masters,” Tyler explained. “Should I, however, be compelled to take the place, no quarter will be shown to the negro troops whatever; the white troops will be treated as prisoners of war.” Tyler knew that such a hyperbolic demand was the only means by which he could hope to capture the post. So did the Union commander, who refused to surrender.
In the meantime, Forrest headed for Paducah, Ky. The river town promised greater spoils, but offered more significant challenges. In addition to the garrison, which included African-American troops and featured formidable Fort Anderson, the Union defenders enjoyed the benefit of support from two gunboats, the Paw Paw and the Peosta. A foolhardy and unauthorized assault by Col. Albert P. Thompson resulted in that officer’s death and additional casualties. A bloodcurdling surrender demand, laced with Forrest’s traditional threat of “no quarter,” failed. Yet the aggressive Confederate general remained undeterred.
He had inflicted considerable damage, setting the Union losses in his various operations at 79 killed, 102 wounded and 612 captured, while placing his own at 15 killed and 42 wounded. But as he turned back to Tennessee, he recognized that more remained to be achieved—and chose his next target: “There is a Federal force of 500 or 600 at Fort Pillow, which I shall attend to in a day or two, as they have horses and supplies which we need,” he reported on April 4.