July 20, 1862: Gideon Pillow to His Brother

Gideon Pillow of Tennessee had been President James K. Polk’s law partner and was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. He is best remembered for his role in the loss of Fort Donelson in February 1862, where he was second  but turned the Fort over to Simon Bolivar Buckner, so as not to be the one to surrender it to U.S Grant.

Transcript:

July 20^th 1862—

My Dear Brother,

The Northern Gov’t is alarmed— the people there are not volunteering as they expected. I am satisfied they will ultimately adopt the policy of seizing our Negro men wherever they can be had—with the aid of their Army—that they will arm these Negroes and place them in their Army. I am not afraid of these Negroes in the Field, but all Negroes so taken off will be lost forever to us. That this Policy is certain to be adopted in the future I entertain in no sort of doubt. I think our only safety for our men is to bring them to the Interior of the South. The women & children and old men they will not take for this use. Whenever they shall have settled their Policy, they will go to catching & gathering Negroes. From the great number to be found in Mississippi Bottom and from the facility of reaching them and of transporting them North to camps of Instruction, they will have armed bodies of men in operation in less than 30 days & they will secure the River Bottom. I intend, as soon as Cartis gets out of the way, to make an effort to get my Negroes across the River & have them brought to this Region of country.

I send this to you by [illeg]. I wrote you a few days since to send down wagons for my Family to move home. That had better be deferred until Fall and until our Army enters Tennessee and drives back the Federals.

In the mean time you had better look to your Ferry Negro men—I greatly want your services to aid me in getting men out, but I do not know if it will be safe to wait until you can come. We will accomplish our independence, but we will lose one thousand milla of Dollars worth of Negroes. If our negroes learn that the Federals are collecting Negroes to fill their Army—and are told that when the war is over that they will be taken to Cuba and sold to the Spanish, they would be hard to catch. It will beyond all doubt come to that. Two ship loads have already been taken from South Carolina coast & sold in Cuba. And the North will make any deportation of the great influx of Negroes they find to their interest in the future. Come by this place to see me—It is important. The policy of which speak well be in full operation in 3 days—possibly sooner.

Your brother

Gid. J. Pillow

Come without the loss of a day and don’t hint the matter to any living creature—The secret must be kept or will fail and in Arkansas if my movement is known or suspected it will produce a stampede— G.J.P.

If from ill health you cannot come, write me fully about matters at Home—I am satisfied the Army will soon move into Tenn. The safety of our property depends upon early action—If you cannot come send the bearer back as early as possible & let him take a fresh mule if one can be had—If the system of catching ones commences it will be too late to warn our fellows—There is great difficulty in feeding Negroes over here or of hiring them out or making any other deportation of them, but I prefer all them to the danger of loosing them altogether. G.J.P.

Citation: Gideon Johnson Pillow (1806-1878), autograph letter signed to his brother. 20 July 1862. AMs AMs 779/6