Fort Defiance & Fort Pillow
Driving from Shawnee National Forest to Fort Pillow State Park, TN | Fort Defiance State Park | Towosahgy State Historic Site | Fort Pillow State Park | January 2024
After an enjoyable time in Shawnee National Forest, it was time to escape the impending doom of snow in the Midwest and search for warmer weather. However, we didn’t want to rush to the gulf coast because there were a series of severe storms headed that way as well. We thought it would be best to linger a bit between Tennessee and Arkansas before continuing South — and luckily, we’re pretty good at traveling slow. We started South, continuing to follow the Mississippi River and IL-3 and gaining just a couple more counties in the Southern Tip of Illinois. In Cairo, we continued all the way South to Fort Defiance State Park. The last time we drove through here, this entire area was under water because of heavy rains, but today it was much drier. Because of the frequent flooding, there really isn’t much to do except picnic and watch the barge traffic at the confluence. There are several monuments and placards down near the confluence as well: one commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition (who used the site to practice their ability to track the latitude and longitude), and one for the Union post that was situated here during the Civil War during Grant’s Fort Donelson Campaign.
We had originally planned on crossing into Missouri at this point and heading South from there, but the bridge was closed. We briefly considered just going directly to Kentucky, but opted instead (in the name of filling in county holes) to back track a bit and cross at the I-57 bridge. Once across the bridge we continued South on state roads towards the Dorena-Hickman Ferry on the Mississippi. Because this whole area is basically on a flood plain, there is hardly anything out here — but we did spot a cute little fox running through a field. Along the way we made a brief stop at Towosahgy State Historic Site: a Mississippian Culture mound site. We got out and walked around and read what little interpretation there was, but there was a promise of rain in the forecast and we wanted to get across on the ferry lest they stop service for the weather.
When we made it to the end of the road, there wasn’t any infrastructure here which made us wonder if the ferry was still running. We checked their online pages and made sure we didn’t miss anything announcing a closure, then continued to wait. Finally, we spotted what looked like a barge, and soon enough it landed and we drove on, along with one other van. Unlike other ferries that we’ve taken across the Ohio and Illinois rivers, this one was not free, but the receipt does grant you half off a return trip and it never expires, so if we ever find ourselves coming back this way at least we have that! On the ride, we were able to get out and walk around, but we didn’t stay out long as the cold drove us back in.
Once back on dry land we continued South on more state highways bagging an elusive and out of the way county in Tennessee. Most of the recreation opportunities around this area were water sport related so we pushed on to our campsite for the night: a paid spot in Fort Pillow State Park an hour North of Memphis. It was worth it to us because it had free hot showers and were able to refill our water tank, which was finally unfrozen! The weather was even tolerable to be outside at night, but then it started raining which made us move inside the van for the night.
The next morning we woke up to a dense fog and rain, and the temperature was noticeably colder than the day before. But we braved the elements and drove out to the site of Fort Pillow. This was a sprawling Confederate Fort built on a bluff over the Mississippi River. After Grant succeeded in capturing Fort Donelson in early 1862, the interior of Kentucky and Tennessee was opened up. Grant moved up the Tennessee River to fight the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth. With their rail lines threatened, the Confederate garrisons along the river North of Memphis (Fort Pillow included) were ordered to evacuate and consolidate forces at Vicksburg. This allowed the Union capture of Fort Pillow and the destruction of the Confederate Brown Water Navy at Memphis in June of 1862.
Fort Pillow was garrisoned by the Union for the rest of the war, but was attacked by General Forrest during his raid of 1864. The massacre of the garrison’s black troops by Forrest’s soldiers became a rallying cry for other black units for the rest of the war.
Even though Fort Pillow was an enormous sprawling fort, it was next to impossible to see through the forest and trees. (Even during the Federal occupation, only a small portion of the fort was actually used). We made an effort to hike out to a promising area that may have offered views of the river and a bit more historical interpretation, but the rain from the night before left the ground sodden and extremely muddy so we contented ourselves with just a short walk and the park stamp before continuing South.
