Trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War
The year 1862 brought a specific number to the violence in Missouri. Nearly twenty-seven thousand Missourians died in guerrilla warfare that tore the state apart. This figure represents one of the highest death tolls from internal conflict on American soil during the Civil War. The fighting was not limited to large battles between armies. Gangs known as bushwhackers ambushed Union troops and loyalist militias throughout the countryside. Leaders like William C. Quantrill and William T. Anderson gained national notoriety for their brutal tactics. They carried out robberies and murders that some considered ongoing resistance even after the war ended. Jesse James, Frank James, Cole Younger, and his brothers kept groups of men under arms for sixteen years following the conflict.
March 26 through 28 marked three days of intense fighting at Glorieta Pass in 1862. Confederate forces under Henry H. Sibley had pushed north along the Rio Grande from El Paso into New Mexico Territory. Despite initial success at Valverde, they were stopped by Union volunteers from California. A Texan observer later remarked that without those devils from Pike's Peak, the country would have been theirs. The battle involved relatively few soldiers with only 140 Union and 190 Confederate casualties. Yet it dissolved any possibility of the Confederacy taking New Mexico or advancing further toward Denver. In April, the California Column pushed remaining Confederate forces out of present-day Arizona during the Battle of Picacho Pass. The war against Apache, Navaho, and Comanche tribes continued for California garrisons until replaced by U.S. Army troops after the Civil War concluded.
Texas became known as the back door of the Confederacy when ports to the east fell under blockade. Cotton crops flowed overland to Mexican border towns like Matamoros and Bagdad. Blockade runners shipped these goods to Europe in exchange for essential supplies. Union attempts to capture Texas and western Louisiana repeatedly failed between 1862 and the end of the war. Confederate victories at Galveston, Sabine Pass, and the Second Bayou Teche Campaign repulsed invasion forces. The disastrous Red River Campaign in western Louisiana ended Union efforts to retake the region. Jeffery Prushankin argues that Edmund Kirby Smith's pride and poor judgment prevented Richard Taylor from winning a victory that could have affected the situation east of the Mississippi River. Isolated events continued at a low level even after Lee surrendered in April 1865.
the 17th of July 1863 saw the culmination of a campaign led by Union General James G. Blunt at Honey Springs. This battle involved Native American units allied with both the Confederacy and the United States government. Seven officially recognized battles occurred within Indian Territory which occupied most land of present-day Oklahoma. Officers and soldiers supplied from Native American lands numbered 7,860 men from Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole nations. Brigadier General Stand Watie, a Cherokee leader, commanded the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles regiment. He raided Union positions and supply wagons well after other Confederate forces abandoned the area. Watie became the last Confederate general to surrender when he signed a cease-fire agreement on the 23rd of June 1865.
the 7th of March 1863 marked the day Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith took command of the Trans-Mississippi Department. The region had become almost completely isolated from the rest of the Confederacy following the surrender of Vicksburg in July 1863. Union control of the entire Mississippi River split the Confederate states in two. The department was nicknamed Kirby Smithdom to emphasize the lack of direct control from the Confederate Government. Headquarters operated out of Shreveport, Louisiana, and Marshall, Texas. Kirby Smith maintained administrative autonomy for over two years while events unfolded elsewhere. His command included Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Indian Territory, and western Louisiana under his authority until the 19th of April 1865.
May 12 through 13 brought the final battle of the war at Palmito Ranch in southern Texas. This engagement ended with a Confederate victory despite all other major armies having surrendered months earlier. Stand Watie's surrender on the 23rd of June 1865 made him the last Confederate general to capitulate. Kirby Smith officially surrendered his command in Galveston, Texas, on the 2nd of June 1865 after all eastern armies had laid down arms. The last battle occurred when Lee's forces had already surrendered in April 1865. Price's Raid ended when his troops were defeated at Westport that October. The region remained active with skirmishes long after the main conflict concluded across the Eastern United States.
Common questions
How many Missourians died in guerrilla warfare during 1862?
Nearly twenty-seven thousand Missourians died in guerrilla warfare that tore the state apart. This figure represents one of the highest death tolls from internal conflict on American soil during the Civil War.
When did Confederate forces under Henry H. Sibley fight at Glorieta Pass?
March 26 through 28 marked three days of intense fighting at Glorieta Pass in 1862. The battle involved relatively few soldiers with only 140 Union and 190 Confederate casualties yet it dissolved any possibility of the Confederacy taking New Mexico or advancing further toward Denver.
Who was the last Confederate general to surrender in the Trans-Mississippi theater?
Brigadier General Stand Watie became the last Confederate general to surrender when he signed a cease-fire agreement on the 23rd of June 1865. He commanded the 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles regiment and raided Union positions well after other Confederate forces abandoned the area.
What happened to the Trans-Mississippi Department after Vicksburg fell in July 1863?
The region had become almost completely isolated from the rest of the Confederacy following the surrender of Vicksburg in July 1863. Union control of the entire Mississippi River split the Confederate states in two and the department was nicknamed Kirby Smithdom to emphasize the lack of direct control from the Confederate Government.
When did the final battle of the war occur at Palmito Ranch?
May 12 through 13 brought the final battle of the war at Palmito Ranch in southern Texas. This engagement ended with a Confederate victory despite all other major armies having surrendered months earlier.
All sources
4 references cited across the entry
- 4webStand Watie, CherokeeNative American Heritage Project — June 16, 2014