Modern historians generally believe that Forrest's attack on Fort Pillow was a massacre, noting high casualty rates, and the rebels targeting black soldiers. It was the South's publicly stated position that slaves firing on whites would be killed on the spot, along with Southern whites that fought for the Union, whom the Confederacy considered traitors. According to this analysis, Forrest's troops were carrying out Confederate policy. The historical record does not support his repeated denials that he knew a massacre was taking place, or that he even knew a massacre had occurred at all. Consequently, his role at Fort Pillow was a stigmatizing one for him the rest of his life, both professionally and personally, and contributed to his business problems after the war.