The Junior Historian, Volume 7, Number 6, May 1947 Page: 1
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STIlE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
*
VoI. VII, No. 6 AUSTIN, TEXAS MAY, 1947
THE REBELS' LAST FIGHT
by JOSEP'H YO()UN
MIembler-at-Large, I)allasiTHI' Confederate States of Amer-
ica were near their death. This
information the Rebels of South
Texas, in early May, 1865. knew
to be tragically true. What they did
not know was that the Confederacy for
all practical purposes was already (lead.
Generals Robert E. Lee and Joseph E.
Johnston had, the preceding month,
surrendered their armies, and the weary,
broken soldiers of those armies were
plodding homeward to burned towns
and destrove(l farms.
"'hose Rebels of South Texas had
known ever since Union General Lew
Wallace arranged a truce with them
lack in February that the Confederacy's
end would soon Ibe a reality. General
Wallace reasoned, and the Texans
agree(l with him. that no matter how
many men were killed in South Tl'exas
it would not affect the final outcome of
the war. Thus, since Februarv, South
Texas Ihad seen 1no bloodshed, and it was
therefore surprise(l at the news which
ca1le from lPalmllito Ranch on May 12.
)On May i Union Colonel "l'Theo:lore
II. Barrett, who was aware that tile war
was over. launched from Ihis ;base at
Brazios Sanltiago, tile Federal enlcamp-
mnt (on lBrazs Island near the mouth
of thle Rio Grande. a force of 300 men,
sent to take possCssion of Brownsville.
Liutenant Colonel David Branson was
placed in collmllall( of this expedition,
which consisted of 250 men from tlhe
6211d UCite(l States Colored Infantry
n(1d 5o mIll n()t yet mounted fr(nom the
21n(1 Texas Cavalry, a Yankee organiza-
tioll vel though earningg the 'Texas
lnamlie. l'he crossing from Brazos Is-land to Boca Chica, a small port town
on the mainland, was effected with
great difficulty because of a storm; the
entire force, however, was across by
nine-thirty that night. From Boca Chi-
ca, Lieutenant Colonel Branson marched
his command all night, capturing the
deserted Rebel outpost of White's
Ranch on the way, and halted ab:)ut a
mile and a half beyond that ranch to
prepare for an attack in the morning
on Palmito Ranch. the major barrier
in their advance on Brownsville.
To the Confederates at Palmito
Ranch, May 12 seemed to be like every
other day had been during the past few
months. They expected to make note
of their comrades who had deserted
during the night and prepare for an-
other day of inactivity. That day, how-
ever, their inactivity was short-lived;
someone gave the alarm that the Yan-
kees were advancing on Palmito Ranch.
Captain W. N. Robinson, Confe:lerate
commander at the ranch, marshaled his
battalion of 15o cavalrymen to try to
halt the charging Yanks. The surprise
was almost complete, however, and the
Rebels were driven from the field after
a short fight. Strangely, no nien were
killed in the engagement. There the
Federal halted to rest and prepare for
the expected Confederate counterat-
tack. The Yankees relaxed and ex-
amined their spoils, consisting of the
Texans' rations, clothing, three prison-
ers, two horses, and four beef cattle.
The burning (of Palmito Ranch so that
it would never again serve as a Rebel
outpost was their next task.
Captain Robinson halted his men
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 7, Number 6, May 1947, periodical, May 1947; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391473/m1/3/?q=%22civ-war%22: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.