Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-14
Lees Surrender Does Not Mark the
Exact Date.
FHE BATTLE OF PALMETTO RANCH
Last VoIIey Fired by a Regiment
Of CoIored Infantry.
SOME DESULTORY FIGHTING
E:y IDA M. TARBELL.
Copyright 1897, the s. S. Mcclure Coz


Written for Ii. Evening Star.
The SURRENDER of Lee to Grant on April
o. 1865, is Il most universally set as the
end of the cS,il war. But If by the END
of the war We mean the return of peace,
the civil wal was still many months from
close in April, 1885. The surrender OF
Lee. in fact. twas merely the beginning Of
the end.
1t was not Suntil April 26 that Johnston
surrendered 70 Sherman. but for some
time after Le..s and Johnstons armies had
been paroleds bands not included in the
capitulation Svaged war in the east. 1t
was not in fact, until the end Of June that
these hostile; military organizations had
all surrendered. Even then guerrtllas ex-
listed in vario;AAs parts Of the mountains and
in secluded villages, and pTowled about the
towns. General Halleck, who commanded
the military division of the James after
Lees surrender. reported the presence OF
numbers Of these bands in his vicinity, but
called them amply outlaws. and he said
too, that in most cases they were probably
made up as much from deserters from the
Union armies as from rebel guerrilla bands
Such a state of things was really to be
expected. Tie disbanding Of the armies
threw great bodies Of men adrift Those
from the north went back to an organized
society. Shops, farms and factories cried
for them. The great mass Of men freed
was absorbed almost at once. Yet even
in the north the effect of the breaking up
of the army was visible in spots and I'M
comfortably ST. for time. In the south the
condition was thousand times more COM
plicated. All those commercial and indus
trial enterprises which took up the men
Of the north we're destroyed. Plantations
were ruined, industries had disappeared
Most serious IF all. the whole system Of
labor was disorganized. Men who had
been property owners went back to their
homes to find hopeless desolation waiting.
Because of their superior pluck and fntelli-
gence they took hold of the task of recon-
struction Immediately. There was more
chance for them than for the thousands
of men who before the war had lived by
salaries or on days wages. For this class
there was almost no hope. The men who
had employed them were forced to do their
own clerical and manual work row. Hun
dreds of these men, seeing no chance, kept
up their warlike attitude. They found
arms in one way or another. and taking to
the forests or the mountains for months
they carried on a bushwhacker's war.
In the west the surrender of organized
forces was slower than in the east. 1t was
not until May {: that General Richard Tay-
lor commanding in Mobile surrendered his
army, and the trans-Mississippi region was
much more obstinate about giving In. II
should be said for them. however, that 1t
was some time before they knew of Lees
surrender, and even then their information
was by rumor only. AS late as May IL a
baltic of some Importance was fought in
Texas. This engagement is known as the
battle of Palmetto ranch. 1t came ABOUT
in this way:
The Last Battle.
Near the mouth Of the Rio Grande Is an
island known as Brazos, where, In the
spring of 1865 considerable force of fed
eral troops were stationed. A few miles Up
the river was station, Palmetto ranch,
where confederate forces guarded a guam
tity of cattle and supplies. On the even
ing of May IL some $50 men, all colored
infantry, with small detachment of I'M
mounted cavalry, was dispatched from
Brazos Santiago against Palmetto ranch.
Early the morning of the 18th the post
was reached, am, after a vigorous attack,
large quantity OF stores were seized by the
attacking party. The commander of the
federal party did not feel strong enough to
hold the place, and so fell back and sent
for reinforceme..ls. On their arrival he at
tackled again. and again drove out the con-
federates. This time he burned up barracks
and stores, cleaning out the post entirely.
The victory was short-lived. for the same
with larger force. and drove of their as
sailants. The federals retired, fighting as
they went. The battle was kept up for
three hours, but finally the confederates
gained the day. This battle is called by
many the last battle Of the civil war. JEFF
ferson Davis, in his Rise and Fall Of the
Confederacy, speaks OF 1t SO, and adds:
THUS in the last as In the first battle Of
the war, the confederates were successful"
The commander of the colored troops, who
did the bulk Of the fighting at Palmetto
Ranch, writes In his official report of the
affair: "The last volley Of the war, 1t is
believed, was fired by the 62d U. 8. Colored
Infantry about unset Of the 18th of May,
1855. between " hite's ranch and the Boca
Chica, Texas"
Mexican Aid.
This battle Is remarkable for other rea-
sons than its date and the gallantry of the
colored troops. 1t Is one Of the times when
the imperialists of Mexico forgot them
selves so far as to lend aid to the confed-
crate cause. The federals were fired upon
several times from the Mexican side Of the
Rio Grande In their advance upon the con-
federates, and body-of the imperial COW
airy actually came across the river and
aided the confederates in their finally sue
cessful attack. This was believed by the
federals at the time though not reported
as positive fact. I have It, however, from
one Of the officers Of the confederates' side
Nor was this by any means the only time
the imperialists took sides with the rebel
lion. Nor was 1t remarkable that they
should have done so. Maximilian had the
sympathy OF the confederacy. Nearly all the
southern newspapers supported him, and
overtures OF various kinds were made to