Pension index file for John J. Williams, last fatality of the Civil War

Although the Battle of Palmito Ranch is generally considered a post-war battle, its final fatality, John J. Williams, has the dubious honor of being recognized as the last soldier to die in battle in the Civil War.

John J. Williams, circa 1865

Despite Lee’s surrender to Grant a month earlier, in mid-May 1865 some Confederate troops remained in southern Texas. Since March, they had had a gentleman’s agreement with the Union troops in the area that there wouldn’t be any more fighting, but Union colonel Theodore Barrett, for reasons unknown, ordered Lieutenant Colonel David Branson to take some of the troops stationed on the island of Brazos Santiago and attack Confederates at White’s Ranch and Palmito Ranch, a few miles away on the mainland.

On 11 May, Branson took 250 men from the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry and 50 dismounted men from the 2nd Texas U.S. Cavalry and went to White’s Ranch but didn’t find any Confederates there. On the 12th, Branson and his troops continued on to Palmito Ranch, skirmishing with Confederates along the way. It looked like the Union troops would take the ranch, but then the Confederate numbers were reinforced and the Federals had to retreat back to White’s Ranch.

After being sent word of Branson’s predicament, Colonel Barrett brought 200 troops from the 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. They skirmished with the Confederates some more, but eventually the arrival of a big Confederate cavalry force made them form a battle line. After being bombarded by artillery, and to avoid being outflanked, the Federals made an orderly retreat back to Brazos Santiago. But the Union retreat left the 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry vulnerable to attack from the Confederate cavalry, and this is when 22-year-old Private John Jefferson Williams was killed, making him the last soldier to die in battle during the war.

1860 federal census record for 17-year-old John J. Williams and his parents and siblings

By the time the Federals made it back to safety, they had 4 killed, 12 wounded, and 101 captured, while the Confederates had 5 or 6 wounded and 3 captured, giving the Confederate troops a fairly useless victory since the outcome of the war had already been determined.

Read more about the Battle of Palmito Ranch on Wikipedia, the Heritage Preservation Services website, or theTexas Military Forces Museum website. Or search Fold3’s Civil War collection for documents on John Williams, including his pension file index card.

John J. Williams Last Civil War Fatality