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Fort Pillow State Park was created in 1971 so as to preserve the site of the Civil War era military fort and notorious battle. It is a National Historic Landmark.
The fort was originally built by the Confederacy to serve as a protection for Memphis. When Memphis was taken by the Union it was abandoned by the Confederates and taken over by the Union. The Union soldiers there were a mix of black and white soldiers. In April of 1864 a battle took place there and the Union was defeated. It is considered that a massacre of many of the black Union troops occurred in spite of their surrender. It is reported that 229 of 262 black Union soldiers were killed.
Our guest today is Robby Tidwell, the long time manager of the Park. We talk about the efforts he has led to upgrade the parks amenities and the challenges of managing a site associated with such controversy.