Conclusion of The American Civil War - Disbandment After The Battle at Palmito Ranch (May 13)

Disbandment After The Battle At Palmito Ranch (May 13)

The last land battle of the Civil War took place near Brownsville, Texas, and it was won by the Confederates. The Confederates held the city of Brownsville in the early part of 1865. In January or February Major General Lew Wallace was sent by the Union government to Texas. On March 11 Wallace had a meeting with the two major Confederate commanders of the region, Brigadier General James Slaughter and Colonel John "Rip" Ford, under the premise that the official purpose was the "rendition of criminals." The real reason was to agree that any fighting in the region would be pointless and negotiate an unofficial indefinite cease fire. Slaughter and Ford, at this point in time, occupied Fort Brown near Brownsville.

In May Colonel Theodore H. Barrett was in temporary command of Union troops at Brazos Santiago Island. He had little military field experience and desired, it is surmised, "to establish for himself some notoriety before the war closed." Barrett knew that an attack on Fort Brown was in violation of orders from headquarters, since the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia already surrendered by Lee at Appomattox on April 9 and many other Confederate forces had surrendered or disbanded by then. In spite of these known facts Barrett decided anyway to go ahead with his plans.

On May 12, Barrett instructed Colonel David Branson of the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry to attack the Confederate encampment at Brazos Santiago Depot near Fort Brown. Barrett commanded the 62nd United States Colored Infantry and the 2nd Texas Cavalry, and advanced towards Fort Brown with the intention of reoccupying Brownsville with Union forces thinking they would not encounter any problems, assuming all the Confederates surely had heard of Lee's surrender by this time. To their surprise they encountered Confederates that did not know of Lee's surrender.

A ferocious battle erupted at Palmito Ranch, about 12 miles outside Brownsville. The battle was lost by Barrett's Union regiments mainly because they were outmaneuvered and overrun. Of the original 300 Union troops that fought at Palmito Ranch, they lost over one third, mostly to capture with a few killed or seriously injured.