The Last Battle of the Civil War

Palmetto Ranch

Jeffrey Wm Hunt

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9780292734616
• eBook ISBN:
  9780292798342
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

This in-depth military history sheds new light on one of the most forgotten—yet most mythologized—battles of the Civil War. More than two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, the New York Times reported a surprising piece of news. On May 12–13, the last battle of the Civil War had been fought at the southernmost tip of Texas, resulting in a Confederate victory. Although the Battle of Palmetto Ranch did nothing to change the war's outcome, it added the final irony to a conflict replete with ironies, unexpected successes, and lost opportunities. In this book, Jeffrey Hunt draws on previously unstudied letters and court martial records to offer a full and accurate account of the battle of Palmetto Ranch. As he recreates the events of the fighting that pitted the United States' 62nd Colored Troops and the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry against Texas cavalry and artillery battalions commanded by Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford, Hunt lays to rest many misconceptions about the battle. Hunt reveals that the Texans were fully aware of events in the East—and still willing to fight for Southern independence. He also demonstrates that, far from fleeing the battle in a panic as some have asserted, the African American troops played a vital role in preventing the Union defeat from becoming a rout.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENT
• PROLOGUE
• CHAPTER 1 QUESTIONS OF WAR ON A DISTANT RIVER
• CHAPTER 2 BORDER COTTON
• CHAPTER 3 EFFORTS TO END A WAR
• CHAPTER 4 “NOTHING LEFT TO US BUT TO FIGHT”
• CHAPTER 5 AN UNEXPECTED ADVANCE
• CHAPTER 6 THE FIRST DAY’S FIGHT
• CHAPTER 7 FIGHTING TO NO PURPOSE
• CHAPTER 8 TRIUMPH AND DISASTER
• CHAPTER 9 A HARRIED RETREAT
• CHAPTER 10 THE LAST SHOT
• CHAPTER 11 PRISONERS, FLAGS, PAROLES, AND PEACE
• CHAPTER 12 THE BLAME FOR FAILURE
• CHAPTER 13 COURT-MARTIAL
• CHAPTER 14 EPILOGUE
• APPENDIX 1 ORDER OF BATTLE
• APPENDIX 2 BARRETT’S FIRST REPORT
• APPENDIX 3 BARRETT’S SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX