Chase,

The Navy did not spend a lot of time on history when I went in '69. I could have taken the time to look it up, but I belive you wanted what I knew, which was actually nothing. Just a striaght homnest answer.

In reading the ORs seems like I saw the Monticello mentioned in operation in or around Fort Pillow. Coulds be wrong don't take that as fact.

One of my major problems is that I have to spend so much time defending my heritage from attacks from various angles and people, I have very little time to do any actual study for myself, therefore I became a researcher. The really bad thing is this stuff is like a wheel, just keeps going in circles. Know what I mean?

What is happening about Genl. N. B. Forrest, a group of students want his name removed from a ROTC building becasue of the Fort Pillow incident, KKK etc. The KKK connection is easy to prove and basically amounts to nothing, but Fort Pillow is another matter. We are trying to sort fact from fiction and lay all war propaganda and legends aside and find the truth. We have the ORs and such which does or does not prove anything. We have the Congressional hearding which the other side claims to be racist. So now we a we looking for any first hand accounts of Union or Southern soldiers who actually were involved. We found some from USCT, but it appears their answers were staged because facts, time and place prove them to wrong.

Any factual help you can offer would be appreciated. Even tough you lean a bit to the north I still believe you look for the truth, that is way I ask.

GP