Friday, 26 May 1865
At New Orleans, Confederate Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, acting for General Edmund Kirby Smith, Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, enters into a military convention with Federal Major General Peter Joseph Osterhaus, representing Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby. Under the terms of the surrender, all resistance would cease, and officers and men would be paroled under the terms similar to those of the Appomattox surrender. Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Orville Shelby refuses to capitulate, opting instead to go to Mexico, dispersing the remainder of his forces who refuse to go along with him. Some troops scatter with Shelby to Mexico, the Far West, or just go home. Now only Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie, in charge of the Indian Division, remains as the last holdout yet to surrender.
Gershom Mott, U.S.A., is appointed Major General.
Union troops scout after a band of roving Confederates and skirmishing breaks out in Carroll and Ray Counties, Missouri, including in the Crook River timber, as the Yankees continue to inflict serious damage to the few remaining Rebels, partisans and guerrillas.
Federal cavalry scouts against Indians from Plum Creek, in the Nebraska Territory to the vicinity of Mullahla's Station, where a few head of cattle were stolen.
Federal operations continue against Indians near the Overland Stage Road on the Platte and Sweetwater Rivers, with skirmishes at Saint Mary's Station, Sweetwater Station, Platte Bridge, all in the Dakota Territory, Sage Creek in the Colorado Territory.
The attacking Indians burn some of the above stations, tear down telegraph lines, kill quite a few white men and soldiers, in addition to wounding many others.
Full report: General Edmund Kirby Smith’s subordinate, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, surrenders the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department to Major General Peter Joseph Osterhaus, representing Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby at New Orleans. Smith receives the same terms granted to General Robert Edward Lee. This ends virtually all effective organized resistance. One of the last Confederate generals to capitulate, Smith, who had become commander of the area in January 1863, was charged with keeping the Mississippi River open to the Southerners. Yet he was more interested in recapturing Arkansas and Missouri, largely because of the influence of Arkansans in the Confederate Congress who helped to secure his appointment.
Drawing sharp criticism for his failure to provide relief for Vicksburg, Mississippi in the summer of 1863, Smith later conducted the resistance to the Union’s failed Red River campaign of 1864. When the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee and Joseph Johnston surrendered in the spring of 1865, Smith continued to resist with his small army in Texas. He insisted that Lee and Johnston were prisoners of war and decried Confederate deserters. This morning, General Simon Buckner, acting for Smith, meets with Union officers in New Orleans to arrange the surrender of Smith’s force under terms similar to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. Smith reluctantly agrees, and will officially lays down his arms at Galveston on June 2. Smith himself will flee to Mexico, and then to Cuba, before returning to Virginia in November 1865 to sign an amnesty oath. He was the last surviving full Confederate general until his death in 1893.
Twenty-three days after Smith’s surrender, Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Cherokee, would become the last Confederate field general to surrender.
At New Orleans, Confederate Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, acting for General Edmund Kirby Smith, Confederate commander of the Trans-Mississippi Department, enters into a military convention with Federal Major General Peter Joseph Osterhaus, representing Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby. Under the terms of the surrender, all resistance would cease, and officers and men would be paroled under the terms similar to those of the Appomattox surrender. Confederate Brigadier General Joseph Orville Shelby refuses to capitulate, opting instead to go to Mexico, dispersing the remainder of his forces who refuse to go along with him. Some troops scatter with Shelby to Mexico, the Far West, or just go home. Now only Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie, in charge of the Indian Division, remains as the last holdout yet to surrender.
Gershom Mott, U.S.A., is appointed Major General.
Union troops scout after a band of roving Confederates and skirmishing breaks out in Carroll and Ray Counties, Missouri, including in the Crook River timber, as the Yankees continue to inflict serious damage to the few remaining Rebels, partisans and guerrillas.
Federal cavalry scouts against Indians from Plum Creek, in the Nebraska Territory to the vicinity of Mullahla's Station, where a few head of cattle were stolen.
Federal operations continue against Indians near the Overland Stage Road on the Platte and Sweetwater Rivers, with skirmishes at Saint Mary's Station, Sweetwater Station, Platte Bridge, all in the Dakota Territory, Sage Creek in the Colorado Territory.
The attacking Indians burn some of the above stations, tear down telegraph lines, kill quite a few white men and soldiers, in addition to wounding many others.
Full report: General Edmund Kirby Smith’s subordinate, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, surrenders the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department to Major General Peter Joseph Osterhaus, representing Major General Edward Richard Sprigg Canby at New Orleans. Smith receives the same terms granted to General Robert Edward Lee. This ends virtually all effective organized resistance. One of the last Confederate generals to capitulate, Smith, who had become commander of the area in January 1863, was charged with keeping the Mississippi River open to the Southerners. Yet he was more interested in recapturing Arkansas and Missouri, largely because of the influence of Arkansans in the Confederate Congress who helped to secure his appointment.
Drawing sharp criticism for his failure to provide relief for Vicksburg, Mississippi in the summer of 1863, Smith later conducted the resistance to the Union’s failed Red River campaign of 1864. When the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee and Joseph Johnston surrendered in the spring of 1865, Smith continued to resist with his small army in Texas. He insisted that Lee and Johnston were prisoners of war and decried Confederate deserters. This morning, General Simon Buckner, acting for Smith, meets with Union officers in New Orleans to arrange the surrender of Smith’s force under terms similar to Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Virginia. Smith reluctantly agrees, and will officially lays down his arms at Galveston on June 2. Smith himself will flee to Mexico, and then to Cuba, before returning to Virginia in November 1865 to sign an amnesty oath. He was the last surviving full Confederate general until his death in 1893.
Twenty-three days after Smith’s surrender, Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Cherokee, would become the last Confederate field general to surrender.
