The Last Battle of the Civil War Palmetto (Palmito) Hill
On the
morning of June 18, 1865, readers of the New York Times awoke to
find a shocking and unexpected story in their daily paper. From the Rio Grande
An Indiana Regiment Cut to Pieces—Eighty Survivors out of Three Hundred Men—Maximilian's Soldiers with the Rebels There had been many
such stories over the past four years and a good number in just the last few
months. But this one was especially unanticipated. The grim headlines spoke for
themselves.
According
to notations on the back of this picture, at this battle was Jehu Phillips of
Helenwood, Tennessee. This is possible
as many of the Tennessee Union Volunteer regiments consolidated with Indiana
Infantry regiments during the closing years of the war. I have some of the pension applications
given by Jehu but nothing regarding his widow filling pensions as of yet. Grandfather of Joseph Phillips below. Here in 1949 my grandfather stands beside
the monument erected in memory of this Battle near Brownsville, Texas. Both Jehu Phillips and his son Riley
Phillips of Helenwood served in the Union Army.
More than two months after Robert E. Lee
surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, the New York
Times reported a most 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 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. For these reasons,
it has become both one of the most forgotten and most mythologized
battles of the Civil War.
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. In particular, he
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 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry troops played a vital role in
preventing the Union defeat from becoming a rout.
Read more accounts of the Battle by the CHARRO Radio Club website
Return to Joe Payne’s Claiborne County Page