The Civil War Round Table of Kansas City held its 469th Regular Meeting on Tuesday, June 23, 2015.

Our speaker was Arnold Schofield, who serves as the Preservation Director of the Civil War Round Table of Kansas City. Arnold spoke about the Battle of Palmito Ranch. A summary of the battle from Wikipedia ...

"The Battle of Palmito Ranch is generally regarded as the final battle of the American Civil War, since it was the last engagement involving casualties. It was fought on 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 (now known as Matamoros). It took place more than a month after Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

"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 reasons unknown (some claimed he wanted to see combat before the war completely ended.) The Union attackers gained a few prisoners, but the attack was repulsed near Palmito Ranch the next day by Col. John Salmon Ford, and most historians regard it as a Confederate victory. Casualties estimates are not dependable, but Union Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana is believed to have been the last man killed in combat in the war. The engagement is also known as the Battle of Palmito Hill or the Battle of Palmetto Ranch."

Arnold Schofield discussing the Battle of Palmito Ranch.

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