View source for Battle of Palmito Ranch

{{short description|Final battle of the American Civil War}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Palmito Ranch
| image             = Battle of Palmito Ranch map.jpg
| image_size        = 200
| caption           = Sketch map of battle
| partof            = the [[Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War|Trans-Mississippi Theater]] of the<br />[[American Civil War]]
| date              = May 12–13, 1865
| place             = [[Cameron County, Texas]]
| result            = [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|United States|1863}} ([[Union (American Civil War)|Union]])
| combatant2        = {{flag|Confederate States|1865}}
| commander1        = [[Theodore H. Barrett]]
| commander2        = [[John Salmon Ford|John "Rip" Ford]]
| units1            = 2nd Texas United States Cavalry (dismounted)<br />[[1st Missouri Regiment of Colored Infantry|62nd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops]]<br />[[34th Indiana Infantry Regiment|34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry]]
| units2            = 2nd Texas Confederate Cavalry Regiment<br />Gidding's Regiment<br />Anderson's Battalion <br />[[Santos Benavides|Benavides' Regiment]]
| strength1         = 500
| strength2         = 300
| casualties1       = 4–30 killed<br />12 wounded<br />101 captured
| casualties2       = 5–6 wounded<br />3 captured
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Expedition from Brazos Santiago}}
}}

The '''Battle of Palmito Ranch''', also known as the '''Battle of Palmito Hill''', is considered by some criteria the [[Conclusion of the American Civil War|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, at the southern tip of Texas. The battle took place more than a month after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia under [[Robert E. Lee]] to [[Union Army|Union]] forces at [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox Court House]], which had since been communicated to both commanders at Palmito. However, in early May Confederate General [[Edmund Kirby Smith]] had rejected a proposal from Union Major-General [[John Pope (general)|John Pope]] to surrender Confederate forces in the [[Trans-Mississippi Department]] on the same terms that General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] had given to Robert E. Lee. As such Kirby-Smith only officially surrendered all Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department on June 2, 1865.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://civilwarmonths.com/2020/05/26/the-trans-mississippi-surrender/ |title=The Trans-Mississippi surrender |website=The Civil War Months |access-date= 5 January 2025}}</ref>

Union and Confederate forces in southern [[Texas in the American Civil War|Texas]] had been observing an unofficial truce since the beginning of 1865, but Union Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, newly assigned to command an all-black unit and never having been involved in combat, ordered an attack on a Confederate camp near [[Fort Brown]] for unknown reasons. 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 resulted in a Confederate victory. Union forces were surprised by artillery said to have been supplied by the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|French Army]] garrison occupying the up-river Mexican town of [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Matamoros]].

Casualty estimates are not dependable, but Union Private [[John J. Williams (American Civil War)|John J. Williams]] of the [[34th Indiana Infantry Regiment]] is believed to have been the last man killed during the engagement. He could then arguably be considered the last man killed in the American Civil War.
[[File:Battle of Palmito Ranch marker.jpg|thumb|350px|Marker on Texas State Highway 4]]

==Background==
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2018}}<!--last two paragraphs have no citations-->
After July 27, 1864, the Union Army withdrew most of the 6,500 troops deployed to the lower [[Rio Grande Valley (Texas)|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 [[Mexico|Mexicans]] across the border tended to side with the Confederates because of the lucrative cotton export trade.<ref>Comtois, p. 51</ref> 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.<ref name="Marvel, p. 69">Marvel, p. 69</ref>

Union Major General [[Lew Wallace]] proposed a negotiated end of hostilities in Texas to Confederate Brigadier General [[James E. Slaughter]], and met with Slaughter and his subordinate Colonel Ford at [[Port Isabel, Texas|Port Isabel]] on March 11–12, 1865.<ref>Hunt, 2002, p. 32</ref> Despite Slaughter's and Ford's agreement that combat would prove tragic, Slaughter's superior, Confederate Maj. Gen. [[John George Walker|John G. Walker]], rejected the ceasefire in a scathing exchange of letters with Wallace. Despite this, both sides honored a tacit agreement not to advance on the other without prior written notice.

A brigade of 1,900 Union troops commanded by Col. Robert B. Jones of the [[34th Regiment Indiana Infantry|34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry]] were on [[blockade]] duty at the Port of Brazos Santiago at the mouth of the present-day ship channel of the Port of Brownsville. The 400-man 34th Indiana was an experienced regiment that had served in the [[Vicksburg Campaign]] and was reorganized in December 1863 as a "Veteran" regiment, composed entirely of veterans from several other regiments whose original enlistments had expired. The 34th Indiana deployed to Los Brazos de Santiago on December 22, 1864, replacing the [[91st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment|91st Illinois Volunteer Infantry]], which returned to [[New Orleans]]. The brigade also included the 87th and 62nd United States Colored Infantry Regiments ("[[United States Colored Troops]]", or U.S.C.T.) which had a combined strength of about 1,100. Shortly after Gen. Walker rejected the [[armistice]] proposal, Col. Jones resigned from the army to return to [[Indiana]]. He was replaced in the regiment by Lt. Col. Robert G. Morrison and at Los Brazos de Santiago by Colonel Theodore H. Barrett, commander of the 62nd U.S.C.T.

The 30-year-old Barrett had been an army officer since 1862, but he had yet to see combat. Anxious for higher rank, he volunteered for the newly raised "colored" regiments and was appointed in 1863 as colonel of the 1st Missouri Colored Infantry. In March 1864, the regiment became the 62nd U.S.C.T. Regiment. Barrett contracted [[malaria]] in [[Louisiana]] that summer, and while he was on convalescent leave, the 62nd was posted to Los Brazos de Santiago. He joined it there in February 1865.

==Reasons for fighting==

Historians still debate why this engagement at Palmito Ranch took place. Lee had surrendered to Grant in [[Appomattox Court House, Virginia]], on April 9, triggering a series of formal surrenders in other places throughout the country. The Confederate and Union officers in Brownsville knew that Lee had surrendered, effectively ending the war. However, the Confederate General commanding the Trans-Mississippi Department, Edmund Kirby-Smith, had not yet surrendered.

Soon after the battle, Barrett's detractors claimed he desired "a little battlefield glory before the war ended altogether."<ref name="Marvel, p. 69"/> Others have suggested that Barrett needed horses for the 300 unmounted cavalrymen in his brigade and decided to take them from his enemy.<ref>Trudeau, 1994, p. 301</ref> Louis J. Schuler, in his 1960 pamphlet "The last battle in the War Between the States, May 13, 1865: Confederate Force of 300 defeats 1,700 Federals near Brownsville, Texas", asserts that Brig. Gen. [[Egbert B. Brown]] of the U.S. Volunteers had ordered the expedition to seize as [[contraband]] 2,000 bales of cotton stored in Brownsville and sell them for his own profit,<ref name="bville"/> but Brown was not even appointed to command at Brazos Santiago until later in May.<ref>Hunt, Jeffrey William (2002). ''The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch'', p. 46. University of Texas Press. {{ISBN|0-292-73460-3}}</ref>

According to historian [[Jerry D. Thompson|Jerry Thompson]]:
:What was at stake was honor and money. With a stubborn reluctance to admit defeat, Ford asserted that the dignity and manhood of his men had to be defended.  Having previously proclaimed that he would never capitulate to "a mongrel force of Abolitionists, Negroes, plundering Mexicans, and perfidious renegades"...Ford was not about to surrender to invading black troops.... Even more important was the large quantity of Richard King and Mifflin Kenedy's cotton stacked in Brownsville waiting to be sent across the river to Matamoros. If Ford did not hold off the invading Federal force, the cotton would be confiscated by the Yankees and thousands of dollars lost."<ref>Jerry Thompson, in ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 107#2 (2003) pp. 336–337.</ref>

==Battle==
[[File:Palmito_Ranch_Battlefield_Texas.jpg|305px|thumb|right|Map of Palmito Ranch Battlefield core and study areas by the [[American Battlefield Protection Program]]]]
Union [[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] David Branson wanted to attack the Confederate encampments commanded by Ford at White and Palmito ranches near [[Fort Brown]] outside Brownsville. Branson's Union forces consisted of 250 men of the 62nd U.S.C.T. in eight companies and two companies of the (U.S.) 2nd Texas Cavalry Battalion. The 300-man 2nd Texas, like the earlier-formed [[1st Texas Cavalry Regiment (Union)|1st Texas Cavalry Regiment]], was composed largely of Texans of Mexican origin who remained loyal to the United States.<ref>[http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qfp01 Texas State Historical Association]</ref> They moved from Brazos Santiago to the mainland. At first Branson's expedition was successful, capturing three prisoners and some supplies, although it failed to achieve the desired surprise.<ref>Kurtz, p. 32</ref> During the afternoon, Confederate forces under Captain William N. Robinson counterattacked with less than 100 cavalry, driving Branson back to White's Ranch, where the fighting stopped for the night. Both sides sent for reinforcements; Ford arrived with six French guns and the remainder of his cavalry force (for a total of 300 men), while Barrett came with 200 troops of the 34th Indiana in nine under-strength companies.<ref name="cornell">{{cite web|last=Branson|first=David|url=https://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moawar;cc=moawar;rgn=full%20text;idno=waro0101;didno=waro0101;view=image;seq=00289;node=waro0101%3A1|title=No. 2|work=The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official records of the Union and Confederate Armies|publisher=Cornell University Library| access-date= April 26, 2010}}</ref><ref>Marvel, p. 70. Fully 25% of the 34th was ill with fever and another 25% detailed to labor duties.</ref>

The next day, Barrett started advancing westward, passing a half-mile to the west of Palmito Ranch, with skirmishers from the 34th Indiana deployed in advance.<ref name="Kurtz, p. 33">Kurtz, p. 33</ref> Ford attacked Barrett's force as it was skirmishing with an advance Confederate force along the Rio Grande about 4 p.m. He sent a couple of companies with artillery to attack the Union right flank and the remainder of his force into a frontal attack. After some confusion and fierce fighting, the Union forces retreated toward [[Boca Chica (Texas)|Boca Chica]]. Barrett attempted to form a rearguard, but Confederate artillery prevented him from rallying a force large enough to do so.<ref>Comtais, p. 53</ref> During the retreat, which lasted until 14 May, 50 members of the 34th Indiana's rearguard company, 30 stragglers, and 20 of the dismounted cavalry were surrounded in a bend of the Rio Grande and captured.<ref>Trudeau, 1994, pp. 308–309</ref> The battle is recorded as a Confederate victory.<ref>Marvel, p. 73</ref>

[[File:John J. Williams (last soldier to die in the American Civil War).jpg|thumb|200px|[[John J. Williams (American Civil War)|John J. Williams]], the presumed last soldier to die in the American Civil War]]
Fighting in the battle involved Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Native American troops. Reports of shots from the Mexican side, the sounding of a warning to the Confederates of the Union approach, the crossing of Imperial cavalry into Texas, and the participation by several among Ford's troops are unverified, despite many witnesses reporting shooting from the Mexican shore.<ref name="Kurtz, p. 33"/>

In Barrett's official report of August 10, 1865, he reported 115 Union casualties: one killed, nine wounded, and 105 captured.<ref>''Official Records Part 1'', Volume 48, pp. 265–267. He also claimed to have written a report on the battle on May 18, 1865 but stated that "it may not have reached" higher headquarters.</ref> Confederate casualties were reported as five or six wounded, with none killed.<ref>Marvel, pp. 72–73</ref> Historian and Ford biographer [[Stephen B. Oates]], however, concludes that Union deaths were much higher, probably around 30, many of whom drowned in the Rio Grande or were attacked by French border guards on the Mexican side. He likewise estimated Confederate casualties at approximately the same number.<ref name="bville">{{cite web|url=http://blue.utb.edu/localhistory/historical_landmarks_page%204.htm|title=Historical Landmarks of Brownsville (Number 47)|publisher=University of Texas Brownsville|access-date=April 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060417204025/http://blue.utb.edu/localhistory/historical_landmarks_page%204.htm|archive-date=April 17, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Oates, Stephen B. (1987). ''Rip Ford's Texas (Personal Narratives of the West)'', University of Texas Press. {{ISBN|0-292-77034-0}}, p. 392</ref>

Using [[court-martial]] testimony and post returns from Brazos Santiago, historian [[Jerry D. Thompson]] of [[Texas A&M International University]] determined that:
* the 62nd U.S.C.T. incurred two killed and four wounded;
* the 34th Indiana had one killed, one wounded, and 79 captured; and
* the 2nd Texas Cavalry Battalion had one killed, seven wounded, and 22 captured,
* totaling four killed, 12 wounded, and 101 captured.<ref>Thompson, Jerry, and Jones, Lawrence T. III (2004). ''Civil War and Revolution on the Rio Grande Frontier: A Narrative and Photographic History'', Texas State Historical Association, {{ISBN|0-87611-201-7}}, Note 78 p. 152</ref>

Private [[John J. Williams (American Civil War)|John J. Williams]] of the 34th Indiana was the last fatality during the Battle at Palmito Ranch, likely making him the final combat death of the entire war.<ref>Marvel, p. 72</ref>

==Aftermath==
President [[Jefferson Davis]] was captured and imprisoned on May 10, 1865, marking the effective end of the Confederate government. In addition, that day [[President of the United States|United States President]] [[Andrew Johnson]] declared "armed resistance ...virtually at an end."<ref name="gardiner"/> Historian [[James M. McPherson|James McPherson]] joins other historians in concluding that the war ended when the Confederate government ended.

Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith officially surrendered all Confederate forces in the [[Trans-Mississippi Department]] on June 2, 1865, except those under the command of [[Brigadier General (CSA)|Brigadier General]] Chief [[Stand Watie]] in the [[Indian Territory]].<ref>Long, 1971, p. 692</ref> [[Stand Watie]], of the [[1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles]], on June 23, 1865, became the last Confederate general to surrender his forces, in [[Doaksville, Indian Territory]].<ref name="Long693">Long, 1971, p. 693</ref> On that same day, [[President of the United States|United States President]] [[Andrew Johnson]] ended the [[Union blockade]] of the Southern states.<ref>rev^6 "Long693"<!-- what is this? --></ref>

[[File:Battle of Palmito Ranch Texas historical marker.jpg|thumb|200px|Texas historical marker]]
Many senior Confederate commanders in Texas (including Smith, Walker, Slaughter, and Ford) and many troops with their equipment fled across the border to Mexico. Wanting to resist capture, they may also have intended to ally with French Imperial forces, or with Mexican forces under deposed President [[Benito Juárez]].

The Military Division of the Southwest (after June 27 the Division of the Gulf), commanded by Maj. Gen. [[Phillip H. Sheridan]], occupied Texas between June and August. Consisting of the [[IV Corps (Union Army)|IV Corps]], [[XIII Corps (Union Army)|XIII Corps]], the [[African-American]] [[XXV Corps (Union Army)|XXV Corps]], and two 4,000-man cavalry divisions commanded by Brig. Gen. [[Wesley Merritt]] and Maj. Gen. [[George Armstrong Custer|George A. Custer]], it aggregated a 50,000-man force on the Gulf Coast and along the Rio Grande to pressure the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|French intervention in Mexico]] and garrison the Reconstruction Department of Texas.

In July 1865, Barrett proffered charges of disobedience of orders, neglect of duty, abandoning his colors, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline against Morrison for actions in the battle, resulting in the latter's [[court martial]]. Confederate Col. Ford, who had returned from Mexico at the request of Union Gen. [[Frederick Steele]] to act as parole commissioner for disbanding Confederate forces, appeared as a defense witness and assisted in absolving Morrison of responsibility for the defeat at Palmito Ranch.<ref name="bville"/>

The history of this engagement provides accounts of the roles of [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] Confederate veterans and of the treatment by Confederates in South Texas of black prisoners of war. Hispanic Confederates served at Fort Brown in Brownsville and on the field of Palmito Ranch. Col. [[Santos Benavides]], who was the highest-ranking Hispanic in either army, led between 100 and 150 Hispanic soldiers in the Brownsville Campaign in May 1865.<ref>''Palmito Ranch, Battle of.'' Texas Historical Association. ''Handbook of Texas Online'', 2011</ref>

{{blockquote|text=Some of the Sixty-Second Colored Regiment were also taken [in the Battle of Palmito Ranch]. They had been led to believe that if captured they would either be shot or returned to [[slavery]]. They were agreeably surprised when they were paroled and permitted to depart with the white prisoners. Several of the prisoners were from [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] and vicinity. They were assured they would be treated as prisoners of war. There was no disposition to visit upon them a mean spirit of revenge.<ref name="RIP Ford's Texas 1987">Ford, Salmon John. ''RIP Ford's Texas: Personal Narratives of the West.'' Edited by Stephen B. Oates. University of Texas Press. Austin, TX. (1987).</ref>|author=Colonel John Salmon Ford, May 1865}}

When Colonel Ford surrendered his command following the campaign of Palmito Ranch, he urged his men to honor their paroles. He insisted that "The negro had a right to vote."<ref name="RIP Ford's Texas 1987"/>

=="Last battle of the Civil War"==

Although officially most historians say this was the last land action fought between the North and the South, some sources suggest that the [[Battle of Hobdy's Bridge|battle on May 19, 1865, of Hobdy's Bridge]], located near [[Eufaula, Alabama]], was the last skirmish between the two forces. Union records show that the last Northern soldier killed in combat during the war was Corporal John W. Skinner in this action. Three others were wounded, also from the same unit, Company C, 1st Florida U.S. Cavalry.<ref name="southhist">[http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/hobdys2.html Hobdy's Bridge], Explore Southern History</ref><!-- Needs improved source --><!-- Adding a seemingly improved source, as requested, with quote that makes it reasonably clear that The Troy Messenger is merely rather skeptically reporting the claims of others --><ref name="TroyMessenger2015-05-09a">{{cite web | url = https://m.troymessenger.com/2015/05/09/ambush-at-hobdys-bridge-re-enactment-may-16-17/ | title = 'Ambush at Hobdy's Bridge' re-enactment May 16–17 | date = May 9, 2015 | author = Jaine Treadwell | publisher = The Troy Messenger | access-date = July 30, 2018 | quote = Bob McLendon, event coordinator and member of Pvt. Augustus Braddy Camp 385, an event sponsor, said ... on May 19, 1865 ... "Cpl. John W. Skinner of First Florida Cavalry was killed and three Union soldiers were wounded and were the last casualties of the war." | archive-date = October 27, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211027225742/https://m.troymessenger.com/2015/05/09/ambush-at-hobdys-bridge-re-enactment-may-16-17/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Historian Richard Gardiner stated in 2013 that on May 10, 1865:
:A confrontation took place at Palmetto Ranch. There was no Confederacy in existence when the "battle" occurred. The ex-Confederates at Palmetto Ranch were aware that Lee had surrendered and that the war was over. What happened in Texas can only be understood as a "post-war" encounter between Federals and ex-Confederate "outlaws."<ref name="gardiner">Richard Gardiner, "The Last Battle?eld of the Civil War and Its Preservation,"  ''Journal of America's Military Past'' (Spring/Summer 2013) vol. 38  p. 9 [http://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1572&context=bibliography_faculty online]</ref>

The Confederates won this engagement, but as there was no organized command structure, there has been controversy about the Union casualties. In 1896 these same men had their pensions cut, although this was quickly rectified by an appeal to the commissioner of pensions. The assistant secretary to the commissioner overturned the pension cut, legally ruling the men as the last Union casualties of the war.<ref name="southhist"/><!-- Needs improved source -->

On April 2, 1866, President Johnson declared the insurrection at an end, except in Texas. There a technicality concerning incomplete formation of a new state government prevented declaring the insurrection over.<ref name="Long693"/> Johnson declared the insurrection at an end in Texas and throughout the United States on August 20, 1866.<ref name="Long693"/>

==Battlefield==
{{Infobox NRHP
  | name = Palmito Ranch Battlefield
  | nrhp_type = nhl
  | image = 
  | caption = 
  | nearest_city = [[Brownsville, Texas]]
  | coordinates = {{coord|25|56|48|N|97|17|7|W|display=inline,title}}
  | locmapin = Texas#USA
  | map_label = Palmito Ranch Battlefield
  | label_position = top
  | locmap_relief = yes
  | area = {{convert|6000|acre}}
  | designated_nrhp_type = September 25, 1997<ref name="NHLlist">{{Cite web|author=Staff|date=June 2011|title=National Historic Landmarks Program: Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State, Texas|url=https://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/tx/TX.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702030329/http://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/tx/TX.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 2, 2015|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=January 10, 2018}}.</ref>
 | added = June 23, 1993
 | refnum = 93000266<ref name="nris">{{NRISref |refnum=93000266|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
The area has remained relatively unchanged, with the marshy, windswept prairies almost the same as they were in 1865. The site is more than {{convert|5400|acre|ha}} in size, and was designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1997. The area is indicated by a large highway marker telling the history of the engagement, installed on the "Boca Chica Highway" ([[Texas State Highway 4]]) near where Palmito Ranch originally stood. The [[Civil War Trust]] (a division of the [[American Battlefield Trust]]) and its partners have acquired and preserved {{convert|3|acres|km2}} of the battlefield.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/preserve/saved-land] [[American Battlefield Trust]] "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 25, 2018.</ref> 
[[File:Palmito Ranch Battlefield 2012-09-30 11-15-36.jpg|thumb|center|1000px|Panorama of the battlefield]]

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}}
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Cameron County, Texas]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==

* [https://digital.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moawar;cc=moawar;rgn=full%20text;idno=waro0101;didno=waro0101;view=image;seq=00289;node=waro0101%3A1 Theodore Barrett's and David Branson's Official Battle Reports], pp.&nbsp;265–269, Digital Library, Cornell University
* Bailey, Anne, J. ''Trans-Mississippi Department''.  p.&nbsp;1100
* Benedict, H. Y. ''Texas'' In [https://books.google.com/books?id=CF4fijqC9GgC&pg=PA465 ''The Encyclopedia Americana''].  New York: The Encyclopedia Americana Corporation, 1920 {{OCLC|7308909}}
* Blair, Jayne E. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rMJ3AAAAMAAJ ''The Essential Civil War: A Handbook to the Battles, Armies, Navies and Commanders'']. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2006. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2472-6}}
* [[Bruce Catton|Catton, Bruce]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pXcKAQAAIAAJ&q=Palmito+Ranch ''The Centennial History of the Civil War''. Vol. 3, ''Never Call Retreat'']. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965. {{ISBN|978-0-671-46990-0}}
* Comtois, Pierre. "War's Last Battle." ''[[America's Civil War]]'', July 1992 (Vol. 5, No. 2)
* Conyer, Luther. ''Last Battle of the War''. From the Dallas, Texas ''News'', December 1896. In Brock, R. A. [https://archive.org/details/southernhistoricv24sout ''Southern Historical Society Papers'']. Volume XXIV. Richmond: Published by the Society, 1896 {{OCLC|36141719}}
* [http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/ Civil War Trust]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} web site. Retrieved January 20, 2014
* Civil War Preservation Trust. Campi, James, ed. and Mary Goundrey, Wendy Valentine. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iLYhJ7ZOh8sC&pg=PA308 ''Civil War Sites: The Official Guide to the Civil War Discovery Trail''], 2d ed. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-7627-4435-0}}. 1st ed. published 2003
* Delaney, Norman C. ''Palmito Ranch, Tex., eng. at. May 12–13, 1865''.  p.&nbsp;556. In [https://books.google.com/books?id=La5ZAAAAYAAJ&q=Palmito+Ranch ''Historical Times Illustrated History of the Civil War''], edited by Patricia L. Faust. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. {{ISBN|978-0-06-273116-6}}
* [[David J. Eicher|Eicher, David J.]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=1p94XzYASDAC ''The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War'']. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. {{ISBN|0-684-84944-5}}. Retrieved January 20, 2014
* {{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/littlejohncollection/sets/72157608709983272/|title=Manuscript: Letter by John Salmon "Rip" Ford describing the last battle of the Civil War|access-date=December 12, 2008|work=The Littlejohn Collection on Flickr|date=November 6, 2008|publisher=Wofford College, Sandor Teszler Library}}
* Forgie, George B. ''Brownsville, Texas: City of Brownsville'' In Current, Richard N. ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kcpaAAAAYAAJ&q=Palmito+Ranch ''The Confederacy: Selections from the Four-Volume Macmillan Encyclopedia of the Confederacy''] New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1993, introductory material, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-02-864920-7}}.  p.&nbsp;173
* Frazier, Donald S. ''Brownsville, Texas: Battles of Brownsville''.  p.&nbsp;173
* [[Shelby Foote|Foote, Shelby]]. ''[[The Civil War: A Narrative]]''. Vol. 3, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GBArQ76CtB8C&pg=PA1019 ''Red River to Appomattox'']. New York: Random House, 1974. {{ISBN|978-0-394-46512-8}}
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* Glatthaar, Joseph T. [https://books.google.com/books?id=R_XJNDMnEGAC&pg=PA12 ''The American Civil War: The War in the West 1863 – May 1865'']. Taylor & Francis, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-57958-377-4}}. First published: Oxford: Osprey, 2001. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-242-5}}. Retrieved January 20, 2014
* [[Horace Greeley|Greeley, Horace]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=x8sNAQAAMAAJ ''The American conflict: a history of the great rebellion in the United States of America'']. Volume II. Hartford: O.D. Case and Co., 1867. {{OCLC|84501265}}. Retrieved April 9, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-8371-1438-5}}
* Hendrickson, Robert. ''The Road to Appomattox''. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-471-14884-5}}, p.&nbsp;221.
* Hunt, Jeffrey Wm. [https://books.google.com/books?id=J8sMl6qWgXQC&pg=PA5 ''The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch'']. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-292-73461-6}}, a scholarly history
* Hunt, Jeffrey Wm. [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qfp01 Palmito Ranch, Battle of] [[Handbook of Texas|''Handbook of Texas Online'' (1999)]]
* Jones, Terry L. [https://books.google.com/books?id=VXEMyi7gS5IC ''Historical Dictionary of the Civil War, Volume 1'']. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-7811-2}}. Retrieved January 20, 2014
* Keegan, John. [https://books.google.com/books?id=GkVurHLeLiYC&pg=PA300 ''The American Civil War: A Military History'']. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-307-26343-8}}
* Kennedy, Frances H., ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=35PHeA9YUxwC ''The Civil War Battlefield Guide'']. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-395-74012-5}}
* Kurtz, Henry I. "Last Battle of the War." ''Civil War Times Illustrated'', April 1962 (Vol. I, No. 1)
* Long, E. B. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LGoYsAkAknwC&pg=PT1375 ''The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865'']. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971 {{OCLC|68283123}}  Page numbers are from 1971 print edition; web address is for 2012 reprint.
* [[Benson Lossing|Lossing, Benson John]] and William Barritt. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gmvkkyCLMv8C ''Pictorial history of the civil war in the United States of America'', Volume 3] {{OCLC|1007582}} Hartford: Thomas Belknap, 1877.  Retrieved May 1, 2011.
* Martin, ed., John H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YPQxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA278 ''Columbus, Geo., from Its Selection as a "trading Town" in 1827, to Its Partial Destruction by Wilson's Raid in 1865.'']. Columbus, GA: Gilbert, Book Printer and Binder, 1874.  p.&nbsp;178
* Marvel, William. [http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-palmetto-ranch-american-civil-wars-final-battle.htm ''Battle of Palmetto Ranch: American Civil War's Final Battle'']. Originally published by ''Civil War Times'' magazine as "Last Hurrah at Palmetto Ranch", January 2006 (Vol. XLIV, No. 6). Published Online: June 12, 2006. Retrieved from Historynet.com on January 20, 2014
* [[Edward A. Pollard|Pollard, Edward A.]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=v0MmhI_NaggC ''The Lost Cause; A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates'']. New York: E. B. Treat & Co. 1867 {{OCLC|18831911}}
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=Uj9WAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA26 ''Studies in History, Economics, and Public Law, Volume 36'']. New York: Columbia University Press, 1910, p.&nbsp;26 {{OCLC|6342393}}
* Swanson, Mark. [https://books.google.com/books?id=chi2uKo8ZxMC&pg=RA3-PA36 ''Atlas of the Civil War, Month by Month: Major Battles and Troop Movements'']. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-8203-2658-0}}. Retrieved January 17, 2014
* Tucker, Phillip Thomas. ''The Final Fury: Palmito Ranch, The Last Battle of the Civil War'' (2001), a scholarly history 
* Tucker, Spencer C., ed. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TO2mx314ST0C&pg=PA1038 ''Almanac of American Military History, Volume 1'']. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-59884-530-3}}. Retrieved January 20, 2014
* Trudeau, Noah Andre. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jGR079pJKl8C&q=Palmito+Ranch ''Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War 1862–1865'']. Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-7858-1476-4}}. Originally published: New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1998
* Trudeau, Noah Andre. ''Out of the Storm: The End of the Civil War, April – June 1865.'' Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1994. {{ISBN|0-316-85328-3}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150515013443/http://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tx005.htm "Battle of Palmito Ranch"], U.S. National Park Service; CWSAC Battle Summaries. Retrieved January 20, 2014
* Wagner, Margaret E., [[Gary W. Gallagher]], Hayden L Gomez, and Paul Dicklemen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7svFnyOLknUC&pg=PA330 ''The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference'']. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, Inc., 2009 edition. {{ISBN|978-1-4391-4884-6}}. First Published 2002. pp.&nbsp;328–330
* [[Geoffrey C. Ward|Ward, Geoffrey C.]] and [[Ken Burns|Kenneth Burns]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hsKLPs5XqtQC&pg=PA317 ''The Civil War'']. New York: Knopf, 1990, p.&nbsp;317. {{ISBN|978-0-394-56285-8}}. Retrieved January 17, 2014
* Wertz, Jay and [[Edwin C. Bearss]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=d0QaAQAAIAAJ&q=Palmito+Ranch ''Smithsonian's Great Battles and Battlefields of the Civil War'']. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-688-13549-2}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Battle of Palmito Ranch}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110718182037/http://www.wnpa.org/freepubs/PAAL/Battle_Palmito_Ranch.pdf A PDF of Fish and Wildlife Service Information on the Park and Battle]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100529231201/http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/CWSII/CWSACReportTexasUpdate.pdf PDF on Texas Historic Civil War Battlefields]

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[[Category:Battles in 1865]]
[[Category:Battles of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War|Palmito Ranch]]
[[Category:Confederate victories of the American Civil War|Palmito Ranch]]
[[Category:Battles of the American Civil War in Texas|Palmito Ranch]]
[[Category:Cameron County, Texas]]
[[Category:1865 in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:1865 in Texas]]
[[Category:May 1865 in the United States]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
[[Category:Battlefields of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Cameron County, Texas]]
[[Category:Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]
[[Category:Texas in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cameron County, Texas]]
[[Category:American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places]]