John "Rip" Ford on the last battle of the American Civil War: Palmito Ranch

Like the Battle of New Orleans, the final engagement of the War of 1812, the last battle of the American Civil War -- the Battle of Palmito Ranch -- was actually fought after hostilities had officially ceased. The major difference between these two battles, though, is that the Battle of New Orleans was fought because the news of thesigning of the Treaty of Ghent (in Belgium) had not reached then-remote Louisiana, while the belligerents on both sides of the Battle of Palmito Ranch were aware of the capitulation of the Confederate government and military of the previous month.
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As noted in Jeffrey Hunt's "The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch," Confederate leaders and the rank-and-file in southern Texas received confirmation (via a few copies of the New Orleans Times-Picayune dated April 29, 1865) that Generals Lee and Johnston had surrendered and that the Confederate government had effectively collapsed with the fall of Richmond. Many soldiers stationed in southern Texas left their posts to return home, but a number stayed despite -- or perhaps because of -- the tough talk coming from the North and the new President, Andrew Johnson, who was vowing to crush the Rebellion once and for all.

For reasons that still remain unclear, Union forces based on the coastal islands drove inward on May 12, 1865 with the apparent goal of taking Brownsville, Texas.

View Larger Map They were met and eventually repelled by Confederate forces that stood between the coast and Brownsville, commanded by Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford. (A Confederate force further inland was commanded by General Slaughter.) Ford explains here, in a letter from 1883:
The next day the Union forces were again repelled - some might say they were routed. The Union forces ultimately retreated back to the coastal area from whence they came.

After hostilities ceased, however, a court martial took place regarding the events of this battle. A Union officer, Colonel Morrison, who took part in the battle, was accused by Colonel Barret - the officer who initiated the battle in the first place - of incompetence during the fight. Both sides of the case were argued, with each side offering testimony from a variety of witnesses.

"But the most dramatic witness produced by Bigelow was John S. “Rip” Ford, late colonel in the Army of the Confederate States of America.
Ford had gone to Mexico when the last of his troops headed home prior to the Federal occupation of Brownsville. But he did not stay there long. General Steele, who commanded the Union forces along the Rio Grande, asked Ford to return to the United States and act as a parole commissioner for Rebel troops in southern Texas. Thinking his situationover, the famous cavalryman decided that there was 'no future for an American outside the . . . United States.' Besides, he felt that 'there was more chivalry in sharing the fate' of the former Rebels who had been unable to flee Texas and who were thus unable to escape the 'disagreeable results of the late, unfortunate war.'
So Ford returned to Brownsville, and he was thus on hand to testify at Morrison’s court-martial. This made the Indiana officer’s trial unique, to say the least. Seldom, if ever, is the enemy invited to tell the story of a battle from his point of view in a military courtroom. Ford’s presence at the trial made the record of the proceedings the most complete account of the battle of Palmetto Ranch. But at the time it did something else (Hunt, 161)."

Ford's testimony vindicated Morrison, and laid the blame for the loss at Palmito Ranch at the feet of Barret.
 

Comments

[Ford Ranger]

This is some very interesting information, thank you for taking the time to write it.