Battle of Palmito Ranch

Battle of Palmito Ranch
Part of the American Civil War
Sketch map of battle
Date May 12–13, 1865 Location Cameron County, Texas Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Theodore H. Barrett	John "Rip" Ford
Units involved
2nd Texas United States Cavalry (dismounted) 62nd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry	2nd Texas Confederate Cavalry Regiment Gidding's Regiment Anderson's Battalion Benavides' Regiment
Strength
500	300
Casualties and losses
4 killed 12 wounded 101 captured	5–6 wounded 3 captured

The Battle of Palmito Ranch, also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill, is generally recognized as the final battle of the American Civil War. It was fought May 12 and 13, 1865, on the banks of the Rio Grande east of Brownsville, Texas and a few miles from the seaport of Los Brazos de Santiago, more than a month after Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in the Eastern Theater. Though the Battle of Appomattox Court House is identified as the last major battle of the war, Palmito Ranch was the last engagement between organized forces of the Union Army and Confederate States Army involving casualties.

Union and Confederate forces in southern Texas had been observing an unofficial truce, but Union Colonel Theodore H. Barrett ordered an attack on a Confederate camp near Fort Brown for unknown reasons; anecdotes suggest he wanted to see combat before the war ended. The Union attackers captured a few prisoners, but the following day the attack was repulsed near Palmito Ranch by Colonel John Salmon Ford, and the battle became a Confederate victory. Union forces were surprised by Confederate artillery, said to have been supplied by the French Army occupying the nearby Mexican town of Matamoros. Rumors also persist that Confederates were assisted by a steam-powered French gun boat patrolling the Rio Grande.

Casualty estimates are not dependable, but Union Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana Infantry Regiment is believed to have been the last man killed in combat during the war.

After July 27, 1864, the Union Army withdrew most of the 6,500 troops deployed to the lower Rio Grande Valley, including Brownsville, which they had occupied since November 2, 1863. The Confederates were determined to protect their remaining ports, which were essential for cotton sales to Europe, and the importation of supplies. The Mexicans across the border tended to side with the Confederates because of the lucrative smuggling trade. Beginning in early 1865, the rival armies in south Texas honored a gentlemen's agreement, as they saw no point in further hostilities between them.

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