I mention the above, because I only took notes on genealogy and have no idea how I came across my understanding of what occurred at Fort Pillow, but nevertheless, I will state it. My understanding was that Forrests' men massacred the blacks within the fort and that Forrest was elsewhere, but aware of what was going on. The newspapers were intent on building a story that Forrest was there watching and inciting, as they were trying to build a case against him running for public office, but there was no evidence of what they claimed. I believe it turned out that simply being an officer in the Confederacy was enough to ban him, but the papers helped with public opinion.
I'm curious why no one has mentioned reasons for the massacre;e.g-if Forrest was NOT inciting, why was it happening and why did Forrest feel that he could not stop it? Sure, there is no excuse for murder, but Forrest's men didn't murder everyone they came across. I would give my opinion, which is based on the research I did in 1976, but I no longer have any of those sources to support what I would say, and I do not feel like dealing with that card being played. So someone else please do so - this is obvious stuff that you can find simply by googling. Or are we being politically correct?