Which Texas battle in May 1865 was the last land battle of the Civil War?

The Battle of Palmito Ranch was the last land battle of the Civil War, fought in Texas in May 1865.

The engagement took place on May 12–13 near the Rio Grande, east of Brownsville. Union troops advanced against Confederate forces commanded by Colonel John Salmon “Rip” Ford, but the Confederates counterattacked and won. The fighting occurred more than a month after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9.

Palmito Ranch is sometimes described more cautiously as the last major land action because other small clashes occurred around the war’s closing weeks. Hobdy’s Bridge in Alabama, for example, has been proposed as a later skirmish. Still, Palmito Ranch is the standard answer for the last recognized land battle between organized Union and Confederate forces.

The battle also had a grim final distinction: Private John J. Williams of the 34th Indiana is generally considered the last Union soldier killed in combat during the Civil War. Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department did not formally surrender until June 2, 1865.