Committee hears support for Fort Pillow national battlefield study
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Summary
Members voiced bipartisan support for HR 9 26 to commission a special resource study into whether Fort Pillow should be a National Park Service unit; proponents stressed the site's Civil War history and the need to tell a fuller story for the nation's 250th anniversary.
The subcommittee heard testimony in favor of HR 9 26, the Fort Pillow National Battlefield Study Act, which would initiate a special resource study to evaluate Fort Pillow’s suitability for inclusion in the National Park System.
Ranking Member Jared Huffman described the Fort Pillow site and recounted the April 1864 attack, saying a joint congressional investigation at the time described the incident as an "indiscriminate slaughter," including many African American soldiers. Rep. Cohen, sponsor of HR 9 26, said descendants and advocates had come to testify and urged committee support. (Ranking Member Huffman; Representative Cohen, opening remarks.)
Members and witnesses noted that the site is currently a Tennessee State Park and has been on the National Register of Historic Places; proponents said a federal study would provide a fuller public reckoning of the site's history ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary observances.
What’s next: The bill was discussed and supported in testimony; no formal committee action was taken at the hearing.
