Fort Pillow State Historic Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance. In 1861, the Confederate army built extensive fortifications and named the site for General Gideon Johnson Pillow of Maury County. It was attacked and held by the Union Army for most of the American Civil War period except immediately after the Battle of Fort Pillow, when it was retaken by the Confederate Army. The battle ended with a massacre of African-American Union troops and their white officers attempting to surrender, by soldiers under the command of Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Remains of historic Fort Pillow's earthworks are preserved. The park has a museum and interpretive sites.

It offers recreational activities; including camping, picnicking, and fishing. In 1973, the earthworks were added to the National Register of Historic Places. On June 4, 1862, Confederate troops evacuated Fort Pillow, enabling Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee. Because of its strategic location controlling traffic on the Mississippi River, the fort was occupied by the Union Army, which controlled it during most of the war. An exception to Union control of the fort took place for less than one day immediately after the Confederate victory in the Battle of Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864. The battle resulted in the massacre of 229 of the 262 U.S. Colored Troops engaged in the battle. In addition to regimental records, contemporary accounts by troops on both sides, as well as journalists, describe it as appalling slaughter. Within about three weeks, as political controversy grew, Confederates began to dispute accounts of a massacre.

Subsequent reports after the battle from Union officers to the Department of War countered much that was reported in the popular press and some of the testimony given before Congress. This slaughter by the Confederate troops under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest has been classified by historians as a massacre. Union soldiers for the remainder of the Civil War. While the Union casualty count for the battle does not indicate that the Confederate forces took many prisoners, Confederate records show about 200 prisoners were shipped south. In 1866, the Union Army created a cemetery for both Confederate and Union soldiers south of the battle site. In 1867, they moved about 250 bodies of Confederate and Union soldiers from that cemetery to the Memphis National Cemetery. National Register of Historic Places. National Historic Landmark summary listing. Thompson, Erin L. "At Fort Pillow, Confederates Massacred Black Soldiers After They Surrendered". Marcia M. Greenlee, The Afro-American Bicentennial Corporation (February 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form" (PDF). Washington, DC: National Park Service. Peter LaPaglia (February 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Property Photograph Form: Site of Focaust survivor, born in Budapest, Hungary (d. Jan 9 Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright, born in Mumbai, India (d. Jan 9 Seymour Barab, American cellist (Philip Glass Ensemble), and composer of fairy tale operas (Little Red Riding Hood), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. Jan 10 Rodger Ward, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 & USAC National C'ship 1959, 62; International Motorsports HOF), best memory foam cushion born in Beloit, Kansas (d. Jan 11 Gory Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler, born in Ray, Arizona (d. Jan 11 Kathleen Byron, British actress (Abdication, Profile, Saving Private Ryan), born in London, England (d. Jan 12 John Davis, American weightlifter (Olympic gold bantamweight 1948, heavyweight 1952), born in Smithtown, New York (d. Jan 12 Leo Smit, American classical pianist, composer (The Alchemy of Love), teacher and photographer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d.