https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmito_Ranch

The Battle of Palmito Ranch

For what it’s worth….not one battle as you asked for, but a number of great battles:

Sixth Alabama - Infantry Regiment:
The Sixth Infantry organized at Montgomery, May 6, 1861, with twelve companies, and about 1400 men. It was first ordered to Corinth, and from there went to Virginia. Reaching Manassas Junction, it was brigaded under Gen. Ewell. It was on the field, but not actively engaged in the first Manassas, and passed the fall and winter in that vicinity. General Rodes succeeded Ewell in command of the brigade. In the spring it moved to Yorktown with the army, and there re- organized, and re-enlisted for the war. It was on the field at Williamsburg, but not under fire. At Seven Pines the regiment took a prominent part, suffering terribly, losing 102 killed, and 282 wounded out of about 650 engaged; while the brigade lost 1296 out of about 2500. Its mutilated columns again took a conspicuous part at Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor and Malvern Hill, and suffered very severely. It was in the advance in the movement across the Potomac, and lost slightly at Boonsboro; but at Sharpsburg was severely cut up, the loss being 52 killed and 104 wounded. The regiment was present, but did not take part at Fredericksburg. With its brigade companions - the Third, Fifth, Twelfth , and Twenty-sixth - Col. O'Neal commanding them, the regiment was in the victorious wave of battle at Chancellorsville, and again its ranks were thinned by its losses. It shared the perils of the Pennsylvania campaign, when Gen. Battle led the brigade, and in the fierce shock on the rocky slopes of Gettysburg it suffered frightfully. Having wintered near Orange Courthouse, the regiment was at the Wilderness, where it lost considerably; and was badly mutilated at Spottsylvania. It took part in the Valley campaign of Gen. Early, and suffered severely at Winchester; and lost a number captured at Cedar Creek. Moving back to Petersburg, it was placed in Fort Mahone, and was almost continuously under fire till its colors were folded at Appomattox; its number present being about 80 men under Lieut. Col. Culver. Of 2109 names on its rolls, nearly 400 perished in battle, 243 died of disease in the service, and 675 were discharged or transferred.

No offense, but that formatting makes nobody want to read it.

https://www.nps.gov/abpp/battles/tx005.htm

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS)

American Battlefields

Palmito Ranch

Other Names: Palmito Hill

Location: Cameron County

Campaign: Expedition from Brazos Santiago (1865)

Date(s): May 12-13, 1865

Principal Commanders: Col. Theodore H. Barrett [US]; Col. John S. "Rip" Ford [CS]

Forces Engaged: Detachments from the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment, 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment, and 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry [US]; Detachments from Gidding’s Regiment, Anderson’s Battalion of Cavalry, and numerous other Confederate units and southern sympathizers [CS]

Estimated Casualties: Total unknown (US 118; CS unknown)

Description: Since March 1865, a gentleman’s agreement precluded fighting between Union and Confederate forces on the Rio Grande. In spite of this agreement, Col. Theodore H. Barrett, commanding forces at Brazos Santiago, Texas, dispatched an expedition, composed of 250 men of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment and 50 men of the 2nd Texas Cavalry Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. David Branson, to the mainland, on May 11, 1865, to attack reported Rebel outposts and camps. Prohibited by foul weather from crossing to Point Isabel as instructed, the expedition crossed to Boca Chica much later. At 2:00 am, on May 12, the expeditionary force surrounded the Rebel outpost at White’s Ranch, but found no one there. Exhausted, having been up most of the night, Branson secreted his command in a thicket and among weeds on the banks of the Rio Grande and allowed his men to sleep. Around 8:30 am, people on the Mexican side of the river informed the Rebels of the Federals’ whereabouts. Branson promptly led his men off to attack a Confederate camp at Palmito Ranch. After much skirmishing along the way, the Federals attacked the camp and scattered the Confederates. Branson and his men remained at the site to feed themselves and their horses but, at 3:00 pm, a sizable Confederate force appeared, influencing the Federals to retire to White’s Ranch. He sent word of his predicament to Barrett, who reinforced Branson at daybreak, on the 13th, with 200 men of the 34th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. The augmented force, now commanded by Barrett, started out towards Palmito Ranch, skirmishing most of the way. At Palmito Ranch, they destroyed the rest of the supplies not torched the day before and continued on. A few miles forward, they became involved in a sharp firefight. After the fighting stopped, Barrett led his force back to a bluff at Tulosa on the river where the men could prepare dinner and camp for the night. At 4:00 pm, a large Confederate cavalry force, commanded by Col. John S. “Rip” Ford, approached, and the Federals formed a battle line. The Rebels hammered the Union line with artillery. To preclude an enemy flanking movement, Barrett ordered a retreat. The retreat was orderly and skirmishers held the Rebels at a respectable distance. Returning to Boca Chica at 8:00 pm, the men embarked at 4:00 am, on the 14th. This was the last battle in the Civil War. Native, African, and Hispanic Americans were all involved in the fighting. Many combatants reported that firing came from the Mexican shore and that some Imperial Mexican forces crossed the Rio Grande but did not take part in the battle. These reports are unproven.

Result(s): Confederate victory

CWSAC Reference #: TX005

Preservation Priority: III.4 (Class D)

kind of reminds me of the battle of new orleans.

"Isn't everybody going to do Gettysburg?"

Probably. But have her do a subset of that battle -- the Battle of Little Round Top.

It's part of the movie Gettysburg and stars Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-palmetto-ranch-american-civil-wars-final-battle.htm

Battle of Palmetto Ranch: American Civil War’s Final Battle

William Marvel
Civil War Times [magazine]
Republished at History.net
6/12/2006

[snip]

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Battle-Civil-War-Palmetto/dp/0292734611/

The Last Battle of the Civil War: Palmetto Ranch (Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series, No. 4) Paperback – August 15, 2002

by Jeffrey W. Hunt (Author)

Arrives before Christmas

More than two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865, the New York Times reported a most surprising piece of news. On May 12-13, the last battle of the Civil War had been fought at the southernmost tip of Texas—resulting in a Confederate victory. Although Palmetto Ranch did nothing to change the war's outcome, it added the final irony to a conflict replete with ironies, unexpected successes, and lost opportunities. For these reasons, it has become both one of the most forgotten and most mythologized battles of the Civil War.

In this book, Jeffrey Hunt draws on previously unstudied letters and court martial records to offer a full and accurate account of the battle of Palmetto Ranch. As he recreates the events of the fighting that pitted the United States' 62nd Colored Troops and the 34th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry against Texas cavalry and artillery battalions commanded by Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford, Hunt lays to rest many misconceptions about the battle. In particular, he reveals that the Texans were fully aware of events in the East—and still willing to fight for Southern independence. He also demonstrates that, far from fleeing the battle in a panic as some have asserted, the African American troops played a vital role in preventing the Union defeat from becoming a rout.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeffrey Wm Hunt is the Director of the Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas.
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Product Details

Series: Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage (Book 4)
Paperback: 233 pages
Publisher: University of Texas Press; 1 edition (August 15, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0292734611
ISBN-13: 978-0292734616
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
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Thanks, I'll look at this.

Just as a civil war FYI, Brig. Gen. Stand Watie was the last Confederate general in the field to cease hostilities and did so on June 23, 1865. He formally entered into a "cessation of hostilities," as distinct from a surrender. Both sides agreed to cease hostilities, nobody surrendered, although it has been refferred to, albeit incorrectly, as a surrender.

Two battles where new technology changed naval combat forever

USS Monitor v. Merrimack (CSS Virginia), after the Virginia tore apart a line of regular US Navy ships - the Battle of Hampton Roads - is an exciting battle that marked the changing of the world.

Also, the Hunley's destruction of the USS Housatonic was the first time in history that a submarine sank an enemy vessel - another world-changing battle.

CSS David's attack on USS New Ironsides, 1863, was the first successful use of a torpedo boat in war.

Battle of Cherbourg - USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama, an infamous commerce raider, after a running fight.

The American Civil War saw the development of a series of naval inventions that changed the way the whole world fought at sea. Ships of the Line, the "wooden ships and iron men" of the British age of sail were no match for the Union or Confederate ironclads.

Consider the problem the French or British would have had had they actually entered the war against the South and brought their proud wooden sailing ships across the Atlantic and tried to force their way into a Confederate port defended by several ironclad Union monitors. The Merrimack (CSS Virginia) sank two Union ships and seriously damaged and drove off a third - and they could do nothing to the ironclad. With time, the CSS Virginia, all by herself, could have send Nelson's whole fleet to the bottom at Trafalgar - the old style ships could not penetrate the armor, and could not outrun the steamship.

Torpedoes and submarines - the South was outnumbered and outgunned, but Southern naval ingenuity cost the Union dearly, and taught the world many things.

So maybe consider a naval battle instead of a land battle.

If you live in a state on the Mississippi, then perhaps a battle such as Island No. 10 - a great river battle - or the Battle of Vicksburg (which had both a land and a naval component) would be interesting.

The naval component of the war: the Anaconda Plan - is what really brought the South to its knees. Had the Union not effectively blockaded the South, the South had the money and cotton to be able to buy as much ammunition and weapons as they needed to arm the whole region, and probably would have not been beatable within any politically acceptable time range.

It was the Navy, really, that cut off the Confederacy from Britain and France, and thereby starved it. The Confederate inventions to try to break the blockade showed a great deal of "'Yankee' Ingenuity" and changed naval warfare forever.

So tell her to stand out by doing some naval battle instead.

Thanks. No offense taken. That is in the original format presented here:
http://www.archives.alabama.gov/referenc/alamilor/6thinf.html .

Why don't you suggest she visit with a local Veterans Legion about the Vietnam War.

Well, as it turns out, she was randomly assigned to the battle of Cold Harbor.