Fort Pillow State Park

In 1861, the Confederate States Army built extensive fortifications here and named the site for General Gideon J. Pillow of Maury County.

Because of its strategic location, controlling traffic on the Mississippi River, the fort was attacked and captured by the Union Army, which controlled it during most of the war. An exception to this control occurred for less than one day immediately after the Battle of Fort Pillow in 1864.

June 4, 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.