Reduced In Numbers

Gen Edmund K Smith

Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered what was left of his troops on June 2^nd 1865 at Galveston, Texas.

The Confederacy was reduced by the end of May to the Department of Trans Mississippi including the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.  Some this territory was even held by the Union at this point.  The commander of this Department was Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith.  Smith had a few thousand troops, most of them located in Texas.  On May 20^th 1865 Smith moved his headquarters to Houston, Texas from Shreveport, Louisiana in preparation of defending Texas.  However he lost hundreds of men to desertion every day, as people felt the war was over.

Smith could see the end was coming and May 26^th 1865 he agreed to terms proposed by Union General Edward R S Canby.  With terms similar to those offered to other Confederate military leaders, Smith agreed to surrender his Department on June 2^nd 1865 at Galveston, Texas.  Following the surrender Smith went into exile in Mexico and Cuba.

Opening Up Kentucky

A Confederate victory the Battle of Richmond was fought August 29^th and 30^th 1862 in the Richmond, Kentucky area.

In August 1862 two Confederate armies moved into Kentucky looking to threaten Union areas along the Ohio River and do some recruiting.  These were commanded by Brigadier General Edmund Kirby Smith and Major General Braxton Bragg.  They moved more or less parallel across the state, with Smith moving from Knoxville and Bragg from Chattanooga.

Smith’s men moved north on August 29^th 1862 from Big Hill, Kentucky toward Richmond, Kentucky, where they met Union skirmishers.  Shortly after noon Union artillery and infantry came up, forcing Smith’s cavalry under Confederate Colonel John S Scott to retreat back to Big Hill.  Union troops in the area were commanded by Brigadier General Mahlon Dickerson Manson, and they pursued and skirmished with the Confederates into the late afternoon.  That night Manson reported to his commander Major General William Bull Nelson.

The fighting continued the next day with each bringing in more troops.  In the end the Union troops retreated.  The Confederates captured about 4,300 Union men.  The Union also had 78 men killed and 372 wounded and 1 missing.  This battle laid open the way for the Confederate to move north towards Lexington and Frankfort.

They Got Across The River

Major General Frederick Steel

Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith caught up with Union General Frederick Steel's force on April 30th 1864, bring on the Battle of Jenkin's Ferry.

After having been slammed at Mark’s Mills and Poison Spring, and being low on supplies, Major General Frederick Steele’s Union forces were in retreat from Camden, Arkansas. On the afternoon of April 29th 1864 they began crossing the flooded Saline River at Jenkin’s Ferry. On April 30th the Confederate’s caught up and made repeated attacks on the Union troops. The Federals fought off the attacks and managed to cross the river with men and supply wagons. General Edmund Kirby Smith’s Confederates lost the last chance to destroy Steele’s army due to his army being deployed piecemeal. They failed to hit the Union’s vulnerable left, choosing instead frontal attacks, which devastated Kirby’s men.

Both armies had high casualties, with the Confederates reporting 443 dead, wounded or missing, and the Union side reporting 521 casualties. The battle is still consider a Union victory as they held back the Rebel’s until they could cross the Saline River. The Union troops continued to retreat toward Little Rock, Arkansas.