Colonel Theodore H. Barrett

Battle at Palmito Ranch, Texas

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox over a month before the Civil War Battle at Palmito Ranch.

Colonel Theodore H. Barrett commanded the Union troops at Brazos Santiago Island. On May 11, 1865, Barrett ordered Lieutenant Colonel David Branson to attack Rebel outposts and camps on the mainland.

Taking the 250 men of 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry and 50 men of 2nd Texas Cavalry, Branson reached White’s Ranch at 2 AM on May 12th. Upon finding no one at the ranch, he withdrew and marched to Palmito Ranch, a Confederate camp located along the Rio Grande River.

Folks from nearby Mexico had spotted the Union army and reported their location to the Confederates in the morning hours.

Branson’s approach scattered the Confederates. Rather than leaving the ranch, Branson and his men decided to eat and feed their horses.

When Confederate reinforcements arrived at 3 PM, Branson returned to White’s Ranch. Barrett brought the 34th Indiana’s 200 men to his aid and then took over the command.

Union troops skirmished most of the way to Palmito Ranch. Then sharp fighting started about 12 miles outside Brownsville.

Around 4 PM, Confederate Colonel John S. “Rip” Ford rode in with a large cavalry force.

Federal troops formed a battle line, which the Confederates hammered with artillery.

Barrett’s retreat ended the last battle of the Civil War—which was a Confederate victory.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Conclusion of the American Civil War,” Wikipedia.com, 2018/03/21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclusion_of_the_American_Civil_War.

“Conclusion of the American Civil War,” Wikiwand.com, 2018/03/22 http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Conclusion_of_the_American_Civil_War.

Long, E.B. and Long, Barbara. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865, A Da Capo Paperback, 1971.

“Palmito Ranch,” Civil War Trust, 2018/03/26 https://www.civilwar.org/learn/civil-war/battles/palmito-ranch.

Plante, Trevor K. “Ending the Bloodshed,” National Archives, 2018/03/21

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2015/spring/cw-surrenders.html.