Part 35 (2/2)

'Question. What did you do before you went into the fight?

'Answer. I was cooking for Co. K, of Illinois cavalry; I cooked for that company nearly two years.

'Question. What white officers did you know in our army?

'Answer. I knew Captain Meltop and Colonel Ransom; and I cooked at the hotel at Fort Pillow, and Mr. Nelson kept it.

I and Johnny were cooking together. After they shot me through the hand and head, they beat up all this part of my head (the side of his head) with the breach of their guns.

”Ransome Anderson, (colored), Co. B, 6th United States heavy artillery, sworn and examined. By Mr. Gooch:

'Question. Where were you raised? 'Answer. In Mississippi.

'Question. Were you a slave? 'Answer. Yes, sir.

'Question. Where did you enlist? 'Answer. At Corinth.

'Question. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow? 'Answer.

Yes, sir.

'Question. Describe what you saw done there. 'Answer. Most all the men that were killed on our side were killed after the fight was over. They called them out and shot them down.

Then they put some in the houses and shut them up, and then burned the houses.

'Question. Did you see them burn? 'Answer. Yes, sir.

'Question. Were any of them alive? 'Answer. Yes, sir; they were wounded, and could not walk. They put them in the houses, and then burned the houses down.

'Question. Do you know they were in there? 'Answer. Yes, sir; I went and looked in there.

'Question. Do you know they were in there when the house was burned? 'Answer. Yes, sir; I heard them hallooing there when the houses were burning.

'Question. Are you sure they were wounded men, and not dead, when they were put in there? 'Answer. Yes, sir; they told them they were going to have the doctor see them, and then put them in there and shut them up, and burned them.

'Question. Who set the house on fire? 'Answer. I saw a rebel soldier take some gra.s.s and lay it by the door, and set it on fire. The door was pine plank, and it caught easy.

'Question. Was the door fastened up? 'Answer. Yes, sir; it was barred with one of those wide bolts.

”James Walls, sworn and examined. By Mr. Gooch:

'Question. To what company did you belong? 'Answer. Company E, 13th Tennessee cavalry.

'Question. Under what officers did you serve? 'Answer. I was under Major Bradford and Captain Potter.

'Question. Were you in the fight at Fort Pillow? 'Answer.

Yes, sir.

'Question. State what you saw there of the fight, and what was done after the place was captured. 'Answer. We fought them for some six or eight hours in the fort, and when they charged, our men scattered and ran under the hill; some turned back and surrendered, and were shot. After the flag of truce came in I went down to get some water. As I was coming back I turned sick, and laid down behind a log. The secesh charged, and after they came over I saw one go a good ways ahead of the others. One of our men made to him and threw down his arms. The bullets were flying so thick there I thought I could not live there, so I threw down my arms and surrendered. He did not shoot me then, but as I turned around he or some other one shot me in the back.

'Question. Did they say anything while they were shooting?

'Answer. All I heard was, 'Shoot him, shoot him!' 'Yonder goes one!' 'Kill him, kill him!' That is about all I heard.

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