119-hr926

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 926 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 926

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 4, 2025

 Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Amo, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, 
Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Jackson of 
 Illinois, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Norton, Mr. Raskin, 
 and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) 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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as ``Fort Pillow National Battlefield Park 
Study Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds as follows:

    (1) Fort Pillow was originally built by Confederate troops 
 in 1861 and named after General Gideon J. Pillow of Maury 
 County, Tennessee.

    (2) The battle of Fort Pillow was fought on April 12, 1864, 
 at Fort Pillow in Henning, Tennessee, during the American Civil 
 War.

    (3) At Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate forces never 
 defeated the Union Navy. Instead, they perpetrated a heinous 
 massacre after violating a flag of truce by advantageously 
 repositioning rebel troops and by looting government buildings 
 and private storefronts surrounding the fort.

    (4) According to the 1864 Report ``Fort Pillow Massacre'' 
 from the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct 
 of the War, ``The officers and men seem to vie with each other 
 in the devilish work; men, women and even children, wherever 
 found, were deliberately shot down, beaten and hacked with 
 sabers. . . .''.

    (5) The Union garrison consisted of 19 officers and 538 
 troops of whom 262 were United States Colored Troops 
 (U.S.C.T.).

    (6) Per the report, ``Of the men, from three hundred to 
 four hundred are known to have been killed at Fort Pillow, of 
 whom at least three hundred were murdered in cold blood after 
 the fort was in possession of the rebels and our men had thrown 
 down their arms and ceased to offer resistance.''.

    (7) The massacre at Fort Pillow demonstrated to all 
 U.S.C.T. that surrender was not an option. The massacre at Fort 
 Pillow became a rallying cry and motivation for the 209,147 
 U.S.C.T.

    (8) The 209,147 U.S.C.T. fundamentally contributed to the 
 Union's defeat of the Confederacy.

    (9) In 1971, Fort Pillow became a State park.

    (10) In 1973, Fort Pillow was added to the National 
 Register of Historic Places.

    (11) The following year, in 1974, Fort Pillow was 
 designated as a National Historic Landmark.

    (12) Fort Pillow Historic State Park consists of 1,642 
 acres.

    (13) The Park contains several attraction areas such as a 
 Civil War museum, hiking trail, camping ground, and picnic 
 area.

    (14) This site deserves to become a National Battlefield 
 Park due to its profound effect on U.S.C.T. and all Union 
 forces in their fight to preserve the United States of America.

SEC. 3. FORT PILLOW SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

 The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a special resource 
study of Fort Pillow Historic State Park in Henning, Tennessee. Fort 
Pillow is a State park that features the American Civil War history and 
the Massacre at Fort Pillow. The Secretary shall--

    (1) evaluate the site's national significance; and

    (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
 designating it as a unit of the National Historic Park System.
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