Battle of Palmito Ranch

Hwy 4, Boca Chica Beach Road is a living history tour, too.  We tuned to FM 1610 for a narration to learn the story of the last battle of the Civil War on May 12 & 13, 1865, more than a month after Robert E Lee surrendered at Appomattox.  

The battle resulted in the loss of 11 Federals with no Confederate casualties and was won by the Confederates with the Union troops retreating back to Brazos Island. 

Most of the facts are taken from the writings of Rip Ford, soldier and Texas Ranger, now archived in the Haley Library in Midland. 

A few miles east was the location of Fort Belknap, occupied for just a few months during the Spanish American War in 1846. Unsanitary conditions, insects, thorn scrub, and  disease resulted in many deaths and one or two funerals a day. 

After the summer, most soldiers had relocated to Matamoras or Camargo. 

This marker designates the remains of the railroad constructed by Gen Phillip Sheridan in 1865. Earlier, in 1846, General Zachary Taylor constructed a floating bridge across Boca Chica Bay for  to transport military supplies from Brazos Santiago to White Ranch and Clarksville.