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River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre in the American Civil War Hardcover – September 22, 2005

by Andrew Ward (Author)

57 ratings

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An account of the controversial April 1864 Civil War battle between Confederate cavalry leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and a garrison of Unionists and former slave artillerymen offers insight into how corruption and racism in occupied Tennessee played a role in the Confederate victory and how Forrest went on to found the Ku Klux Klan. By the author of Dark Midnight When I Rise. 30,000 first printing.

Print length

576 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking Adult
Publication date

September 22, 2005
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

6.42 x 1.69 x 9.52 inches
ISBN-10

0670034401
ISBN-13

978-0670034406
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This massive narrative painstakingly recounts the notorious—and much-disputed—massacre of the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, Tenn., by Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate cavalry on April 12, 1864. The outnumbered garrison, containing an artillery regiment of 300 freed slaves and a cavalry regiment of 350 white Tennessee Unionists, asked for a truce but various errors on both sides led the Confederates to believe that the Union soldiers were refusing Forrest's call to surrender. The ensuing attack left approximately two-thirds of the garrison dead or taken prisoner. Ward (Dark Midnight When I Rise: The Story of the Jubilee Singers) details overwhelming evidence that many were killed while surrendering or wounded, and that the rebels slaughtered fleeing African-American civilians as well. A congressional investigation resulted, but Forrest returned to civilian life and reputedly went on to found the KKK. The author vividly builds his case, portraying a wide range of the actors in the drama as well as the broader context—western Tennessee's unhappy history of slavery meant that the Union garrison was riven from within while assaulted from without. Ward's story of this notorious "collision of Southerners—white and black" makes an outstanding addition to Civil War literature. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Fort Pillow's military significance in the Civil War was dwarfed by its symbolism. It was a static Union position on Tennessee's Mississippi River bank, garrisoned by white and newly recruited black troops, and assaulted and captured in 1864 by Confederates who took few prisoners. Rebel commander Nathan Bedford Forrest, antebellum slaver, postbellum Klansman, exulted in his victory. To the North, however, the battle at Fort Pillow was a massacre, a term author Ward says he initially avoided in his research but concludes is the unavoidable truth. His history must be the last word on this historically highly controversial affair. It judiciously examines all arguments advanced in defense of Fort Pillow as a legitimate, albeit particularly brutal, act of war; his narrative integrates the Confederate case and then relentlessly refutes it in the particulars of the battle and its gory aftermath. He is masterful in setting its context of slavery's unraveling, and in his portraits of perpetrators and victims as well. The conflict in microcosm, Ward's history will capture the Civil War readership. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Adult; 1st edition (September 22, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670034401
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670034406
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.95 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.42 x 1.69 x 9.52 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #701,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,365 in U.S. Civil War History

Customer Reviews:
57 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		70%
4 star		17%
3 star		4%
2 star		7%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Apitz

Fort Pillow massacre or not?

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018

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I visited this historical site in Tennessee. While there i was dismayed by the local curator's reluctance to discuss whether the Union troops were given alcohol. I sensed confusion so I wanted to read further on the subject. This account seems to be written from the Union perspective. This fight provoked both sides to stop parole of POWs and lead to the growth of internment camps on both sides. I have read an account from the confederate side and I believe this was not our country's finest hour. This bloody and perverted and excessive force used on fleeing soldiers is hard to imagine. It gave me a look into the civil war I had not encountered before. It is a valuable look into a battle that lacked strategic significance and yet caused so much future heartbreak.

5 people found this helpful

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Museum Man

Excruciating in its detail.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2018

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I work in a museum in Union City Tennessee,just a few miles from Fort Pillow.The book was a treasure trove of information on the events occurring in the area during the war.It might shock some readers with its depictions of the divisions,politics,and turmoil that resulted in more than simply battles in a war,but something akin to thousands of individual vendettas.These were hard people in hard times.The reviews of this book vary considerably and one must wonder if opinions are divided North versus South.If so, it is true that some things never change.

3 people found this helpful

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george c. luckette

Hidden history

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2019

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A rarely talked about moment in history, a real eye opener, a must read for civil war fanatics

3 people found this helpful

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george beitzel

A GREAT READ

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014

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A well researched history of an incident that is often bent to meet the authors civil war biases. This book lays out the incident in great and interesting detail.A great read.

4 people found this helpful

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Jim Betz

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2018

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great

One person found this helpful

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Michael Hoffman

Biased against Forrest but required reading nonetheless

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2007

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I would not describe this work as a polemic. The author is sufficiently professional to have done his research and the raw data that he presents is worth the price of the book. Fans of Forrest can read between the lines of the author's bias. The information exculpating Forrest is presented, it's just that the author puts his own spin on it in some far-fetched ways that strain credulity. 500 black people showed up for Forrest's funeral. There is no proof whatsoever that they did so for any other reason than to show their respect. The author spins this into the remarkable explanation that they came to be certain he was dead! Forrest "fathered a black child." How do we know this allegation is true? Because no black person would lie about such a thing, since they would never volunteer for the ignominy of being known as a descendant of Forrest. There is plenty of laughable drivel like that in this book. The good news is that rare historical facts are also presented and winnowing the facts from the spin yields welcome new documentation and in some cases, ammunition on behalf of Forrest, a warrior of fantastic, archetypal prowess who ended his life a sincere Christian and spokesman for racial reconciliation. His conversion should be applauded rather than sneered at, but the vitriol of the victors has not dissipated with time.

8 people found this helpful

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O. Pflug

Who are you going to believe?

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2005

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Fort Pillow still stirs emotions. Neo-Confederates claim that no massacre occurred. Due to the persistence and volume of their complaints textbooks and even Fort Pillow's official webpage state that there is "controversy over what exactly occurred on April 12, 1864." However, arround 40 survivors gave testimony to a Congressional investigation that defenders of Fort Pillow were shot down after they had laid down arms, many of them surviving wounds they received after trying to surrender. Union survivors not only gave testimony under oath to the investigation, but they also related their experiences to newspaper interviewers and family members in their own letters immediately after the battle. And yes, there were a couple of Confederates who described the massacre in letters to their families. Many others freely admitted shooting soldiers who were floundering in the Mississippi. It was official Confederate policy not to recognize blacks as soldiers.

Only after northern outrage boiled over did Forrest and the South begin to build their case that Fort Pillow was not a massacre.

Some reviewers will have you believe that Ward is hiding some of the story, but that is not the case. He uses the works of Forrest's defenders, and mentions his late in life disavow of violence. Forrest's black aids are in the book.

Ward also does a fine job of setting up the battle, showing why Fort Pillow's defenders were in no mood to surrender without a fair fight.

Yes, there are errors in the book; Ward is not a Civil War specialist. But, the case for the massacre is there.

Ex-slaves and Tennessee whites fighting for the North defended Fort Pillow. Forrest and his men reviled them as traitors to the South. Apparently, they are still hated by Neo-Confederates. Only by discounting their testimony as lies can anyone claim that there was no massacre.

17 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A fine detailed and expansive work on this terribe chapter of ...

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2015

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Must reading for those interested in Bedford Forrest. A fine detailed and expansive work on this terribe chapter of the War.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Zulu Warrior

River Run Red

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2013

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A very detailed account of the massacre at Fort Pillow by General Nathan Bedford and the Confederacy against the white and black Union defenders of the fort. On April 12th, 1864, 3,000 Confederate soldiers stormed Fort Pillow defended by 350 white and 300 black Unionist soldiers, although the fort had surrendered the Confederates ignoring the white flag killed or maimed whites, white officers for commanding the blacks and any black man, women or child they could find.
I found the first quarter of this book to be hard going and difficult to get into, from then on when we get into the battle itself it proves to be a good read, beware the size of this book with 518 pages, when you take away the notes at the back of the book it reduces it to only 319 pages, impressive.

stephen hardy

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2018

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Great product arrived promptly and was as described Would highly recommend

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