Did America’s Bloodiest Conflict, The Civil War, End In Texas?

Many civil war history buffs, especially those from the lone star state, believe the war really ended with a battle in South Texas.

The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the United States of America, resulting in almost 700,000 deaths. A couple of crazy stats:

• Almost as many men died in captivity alone as we lost in the entire Vietnam War.
• The battle of Gettysburg took more lives than the American revolution and the War of 1812 combined.

It truly was a brutal and horrible war. The terrible fighting compounded by very rudimentary medical care and facilities, if there were any available at all.

On April 9th, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, and, (it seemed), that was that. However, Lee only surrendered his army, not the Confederacy as a whole and many military units carried on the fight.

What Famous Civil War Battle Happened In Texas

At least a full month AFTER Lee surrendered, the Battle of Palmito Rancha took place near Brownsville, Texas.

Ironically the Confederates won what is considered—in Texas, at least—the last land action of the Civil War. With cavalry and artillery, the Confederates killed or wounded some 30 opponents, captured more than 100 others and forced the remainder back to a base near the mouth of the Rio Grande. It was a short-lived victory, however, as they agreed to lay down their arms a couple of weeks later. - history.com

It would be over a year before President Johnson, (who had taken office following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln), officially declared the war "over" on August 20, 1866.