Question. Where have you resided last?
Answer. I was in Missouri engaged in furnishing beef to the government
troops on the North Missouri railroad until a year ago last July. I then
went down to Fort Pillow, and have been there ever since.
Question. What was your business there?
Answer. I owned 215 acres of the fort, bordering on the river, and the
very land we fought on. I was putting in 100 acres of cotton just
outside the fortifications, which was my principal business.
Question. You lived outside the fort?
Answer. Yes, sir--slept there. I was in the fort every day; it was only
about a mile from the landing--not a mile from the fortifications.
Question. Just say when you saw Forrest's men; the day and the time of
day, and what you did.
Answer. On Tuesday morning, the 12th of this month, I was awakened about
five o'clock, or half past five, by a little darkey boy, who came up to
my room and says: "Oh, Mr. Benton, all of Forrest's men have come, and
they are just going into the fort. What will I do?" I got out of bed and
looked out of the window towards the fort, and saw about three or four
hundred of Forrest's men drawn up in line, and some one was making a
speech to them, which was answered by cheering. They cheered, and then
the pickets fired. I put some things in my valise and started for the
fort in a roundabout way, and got in, by running the pickets, about six
o'clock, and went immediately to Major Booth and asked for a gun, and
took my stand with the soldiers inside the breastworks, where I remained
and shot at every person of Forrest's men that I could get a chance at,
firing forty-eight shots in all, until the flag of truce was sent in.
Question. About what was the time of day it came in?
Answer. It came in about two o'clock, I should think--half past one or
two o'clock in the afternoon.
Question. Had they made any attack then?
Answer. Oh, yes, sir.
Question. Had they tried to carry the fort by storm and been repulsed?
Answer. At one time the confederate troops had all disappeared.
Question. Were four hundred all there were there?
Answer. Those were all I saw there. This was when they first made their
appearance when I first saw these four hundred. After getting into the
fort we saw more than a thousand coming in at the different passes, and
the sharpshooters were stationed on every hill on every side of us
except the river side.
Question. Do you recollect how many attacks they made to carry the fort
before the flag of truce came?
Answer. It is not proper to call their fighting but one attack upon the
fort, although they all, or nearly all, seemed to be driven outside the
outside works at one time, and soon came back fighting harder and in
greater force than before.
Question. Did they use artillery?
Answer. Yes, sir. They did not hurt us with that; they shot at the
gunboats.
Question. When the flag of truce came in did they make any disposition
of their troops around the fort there?
Answer. Yes, sir; after the flag of truce was sent in and the firing
ceased they came up on all sides to within ten yards of the very
embankments that screened us.
Question. While the flag of truce was waiting?
Answer. Yes, sir; more especially on the northern side, just under the
bank looking towards Coal Creek.
Question. How long was that flag inside of our lines?
Answer. One hour was the time. I suppose it was all of an hour.
Question. Do you know the nature of it?
Answer. It was for an unconditional surrender.
Question. It was refused by Major Booth?
Answer. By Major Bradford, yes, sir. Major Booth had been killed. He
asked for time to consult with the gunboat, and finally returned the
answer that there was none of Hawkins's men there, and he never would
surrender.
Question. Did not Major Bradford make any protest against troops coming
up under the flag in that way?
Answer. I don't know, sir.
Question. When the flag went back did they commence firing again?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. Kept it up for how long?
Answer. They commenced firing again, but the firing didn't last fifteen
minutes. Up to this time there had not been twenty killed on our side.
Question. What was the strength of the garrison?
Answer. 580, I think, just.
Question. How many of these were negroes?
Answer. About 380--nearly 400--I don't know exactly to a man.
Question. How many citizens besides yourself?
Answer. William W. Cutler, of Chicago, and a young man by the name of
Robinson; he was a soldier but in citizen's clothes, and got off on that
plea.
Question. The second flag that came in--about how long was it after the
first?
Answer. Well, there was no _second_ flag of truce, except the one. There
was no firing in the interim.
Question. Was there no firing while the first was in?
Answer. No, sir, not a single shot fired on either side. After the flag
of truce had been rejected, or the surrender had been rejected, they
were so close to the fort that about 3,000 of them just sprang right in,
and the whole garrison threw down their arms at once. The bigger portion
of the darkeys jumped down the bank towards the Mississippi river,
without any arms at all, and were followed by Forrest's men and shot
indiscriminately, black and white, with handkerchiefs held over them in
a great number of instances--as many as fifty I should think.
Question. Did you see any of those prisoners formed in line and shot
down?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. How many?
Answer. They were collected at least four different times.
Question. How long a line?
Answer. Well, it was more in a collection than it was properly in a
straight line. There was a line probably as long as this room, or
longer--about thirty or thirty-five feet.
Question. These lines were scattered by rebel shots several times?
Answer. They were.
Question. These men were unarmed?
Answer. Unarmed; no arms of any description, and they holding up both
hands begging for quarter.
Question. Were you put in the line?
Answer. No, sir; I was not. It was attempted to put me in line, but I
clung to a man who tried to shoot me, but I caught his gun and prevented
him, and he took my money from me, some seventy dollars, and ordered me
into line, raising his gun to strike me; and as I came to the line the
captain made a feint to strike me with his sword, and told me to give
him my pocket book, which I did, and as he turned to look after others,
I sprang away and clung close to this man that had just taken my money.
I said to him that he had taken all my money, and he must keep me from
being shot like a dog, as I was a citizen, and had nothing to do with
the fight. He abused me in every way by bad language, saying that we had
fought them like devils, and tried to kill all of Forrest's men, until
we came to the back of the stores, where he gave me a soldier's coat and
told me to wait a moment until he could step in and steal his share. As
soon as I was left I took some clothing, a saddle blanket, and halter
that were there and started out of the fort as one of Forrest's men, but
on the way I saw three persons shot--mulattoes and blacks--shot down
singly in cold blood. I succeeded in getting over the fortifications and
hid under fallen timber, where I remained until dark. After dark I
attempted to go towards Hatchie River bottom, but the fallen timber
being so bad I got lost, and wandered near the Pass No. 2, leading out
of the fort, inside of it, where I could see all, where I laid until the
next day about two o'clock. I heard fifty-one or fifty-two shots fired
singly at different times within the fort during that time, and screams
and cheers. About two o'clock the dogs were getting so close to me that
I knew they were on my track.
Question. What do you mean by the dogs?
Answer. Hunting out people everywhere. They have dogs.
Question. They had bloodhounds?
Answer. Yes, sir. I left the most of my clothing and hastened down a
ravine in the timber, and kept on through the ravines till I came to the
Coal Creek bottom, some mile and a half, and swam across. Finally, I
succeeded in getting to the island. I had to swim across the river and a
bayou. That is all that I saw. Oh! I was there at the fort two days
after the battle and saw the remains of burned persons; helped to bury
one of the dead that I saw shot in cold blood lying right where he was
left, and saw many of them, white and black, all buried together, and a
number, three days afterwards, not buried.
Question. How many did you see shot in this way?
Answer. I should think probably about two hundred.
Question. It was an indiscriminate butchery, was it?
Answer. Yes, sir. There were about fifteen or twenty that lay close in
one pile, huddling together, shot after they were wounded.
Question. Some white soldiers shot after they were wounded?
Answer. Yes, sir, with the hospital flag flying, and they holding white
handkerchiefs over their heads. I saw at least ten soldiers shot
individually with white handkerchiefs over their heads. They tore off
pieces of their shirts--anything they could get--for flags of truce and
to denote surrender.
Question. You say these men were shot down in hospital, with hospital
flag flying?
Answer. Yes, sir, lying right down under it--not up walking at all.
Every man lying near me was killed--lying close to me and on me. Two lay
over me, because they kept piling themselves right up on top close
under the bank. It was just down under the brow of the hill. A great
many were lying in the water and were shot. Trees that were lying one
end in the water and the other on shore, they would just go over on the
other side of them and hide in the water, and the rebels would go over
and shoot them.
Question. Your citizen's clothes saved you?
Answer. Yes, sir; I told them I had nothing to do with them. They robbed
every citizen, taking off most of their clothing.
Question. How much did they take from you?
Answer. Seventy dollars.
Question. You say you were robbed twice.
Answer. Yes, once by the captain of the company and once by the private.
I carry my money in my vest pocket always, and had my pocket-book in my
pocket with notes in it.
Question. That was what you gave to the captain, wasn't it?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. And the seventy dollars in money to the soldier?
Answer. Yes, sir. He asked, "Give me your money," and the other for the
pocket-book.
Question. You say they had bloodhounds; did you see any of them?
Answer. Yes, sir; and not only I but others saw them. One other, Mr.
Jones, was treed by them, and staid there a long time.
Question. What Jones was that?
Answer. I don't know his given name. He lives on Island 34. I can find
out his name. He is not any too good a Union man, but is rather southern
in his feelings.
Question. State about Bradford's death--when he was shot. What was done?
Was he wounded before the surrender?
Answer. No, sir; but it was reported by very reliable persons that
Bradford was shot and hung near Covington, in Hatchie River bottom.
Question. Who told you this?
Answer. This same Jones; and there were some darkeys came in to the
gunboat and said that. Darkey evidence is very correct there. You might
not think it worth while to take their evidence, but it is a great deal
more to be relied upon than the southern evidence there. I might state
that I was inquired after by a large number of officers, and it was said
they would hang me on a flag-pole.
Question. What for?
Answer. From the fact that I employed government darkeys from Colonel
Phillips, at Memphis.
Question. On your plantation?
Answer. Yes, sir. And they shot all my horses unfit for cavalry.
Question. Did they shoot your darkeys?
Answer. I understand they did, and burned them all. I understand they
took one yellow woman, and two or three boys escaped that I tried to
take to the fort with me in the morning to help fight. The balance, a
darkey whose name I don't know, said they were killed and burned in the
house.
Question. You did not go back there, then?
Answer. I did not go back there. That is only what is told me. It was
told me by persons who were hid right near, and I saw persons bury the
bodies after they were burned.
Question. Where?
Answer. In the fort, sir--burned in the house.
Question. In connexion with the fort buildings?
Answer. Yes, sir, and out on timber. There was a large number of them
burned in the buildings, but they had been buried the day before.
Question. You say there were 580 men, you think, in the fort?
Answer. Yes, sir.
Question. How many do you suppose escaped?
Answer. Well, I know there were not more than 100 as they marched out
there surrounded by the other troops, and I would not think there were
fifty of them. There were live darkeys in Cairo hospitals who were
buried alive. Two of them have died since they got there.
Question. Did you see any of these men buried alive?
Answer. No, I did not; but they are facts that can easily be proved by
the darkeys--the darkeys themselves--and those who saw it done, and saw
the quartermaster burned, too.