Considered the final land battle of the American Civil War, fought over a month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, resulting in a Confederate victory.
Key Facts
- Dates fought
- May 12–13, 1865
- Location
- Banks of the Rio Grande, east of Brownsville, Texas
- Weeks after Appomattox
- More than one month after Lee's surrender
- Last soldier killed
- Private John J. Williams, 34th Indiana Infantry
- Outcome
- Confederate victory
- Artillery source
- Allegedly supplied by French Army garrison at Matamoros
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Union and Confederate forces in southern Texas had maintained an unofficial truce since early 1865. Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith had refused to surrender Trans-Mississippi forces. Union Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, newly commanding an all-black unit and inexperienced in combat, ordered an unprovoked attack on a Confederate camp near Fort Brown for reasons that remain unclear.
On May 12–13, 1865, Union forces initially captured a few Confederate prisoners near Palmito Ranch. The following day, Colonel John Salmon Ford counterattacked and repulsed the Union troops with Confederate cavalry and artillery reportedly supplied by the French garrison at Matamoros, driving the Union forces back to their lines along the Rio Grande.
The battle resulted in a Confederate tactical victory despite occurring weeks after the Civil War was effectively over. Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana Infantry is believed to have been the last Union soldier killed in the war. Kirby Smith formally surrendered all Trans-Mississippi Confederate forces on June 2, 1865, bringing the conflict to its official close.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Colonel Theodore H. Barrett.
Side B
1 belligerent
Colonel John Salmon Ford.