The Battle of Fort Pillow and One of Americas most Controversial Battlefields. 🇺🇸 The Battle of Fort Pillow, fought on April 12, 1864, during the American Civil War, occurred at a Union garrison on the Mississippi River in Henning, Tennessee. Constructed in 1862 by Confederate forces under Brigadier General Gideon Johnson Pillow, the fort was captured by Union troops later that year and served as a defensive post north of Memphis. By 1864, it was manned by approximately 600 Union soldiers, rou