One of the last Confederate generals surrenders

Trans-Mississippi Theatre of the American Civil War
The Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War consists of the major military operations west of the Mississippi River. The area is often thought of as excluding the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed the Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The campaign classification established by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior is more fine-grained than the one used in this article. Some minor NPS campaigns have been omitted and some have been combined into larger categories. Only a few of the 75 major battles the NPS classifies for this theater are described. Boxed text in the right margin show the NPS campaigns associated with each section. Activity in this theater in 1861 was dominated largely by the dispute over the status of the border state of Missouri. The Missouri State Guard, allied with the Confederacy, won important victories at the Battle of Wilson's Creek and the First Battle of Lexington. However, they were driven back at the First Battle of Springfield. A Union army under Samuel Ryan Curtis defeated the Confederate forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge in northwest Arkansas in March 1862, solidifying Union control over most of Missouri. The areas of Missouri, Kansas, and the Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma) were marked by extensive guerrilla activity throughout the rest of the war, the most well-known incident being the infamous Lawrence massacre in the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas of August 1863. In the spring of 1862, Confederate forces pushed north along the Rio Grande River from El Paso, Texas through the New Mexico Territory, but were stopped at the Battle of Glorieta Pass (March 26-28, 1862). In 1863, General Edmund Kirby Smith took command of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi Department, and unsuccessfully tried to relieve the Siege of Vicksburg by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on the opposite eastern banks of the Mississippi River in the state of Mississippi. As a result of the long campaign / siege and surrender in July 1863 by Gen. John C. Pemberton, the Union gained control of the entire Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy. This left the Trans-Mississippi Department almost completely isolated from the rest of the Confederate States to the east. It became nicknamed and known as "Kirby Smithdom", emphasizing the Confederate Government's lack of direct control over the region. In the 1864 Red River Campaign, a U.S. force under Major General Nathaniel P. Banks tried to gain control over northwestern Louisiana, but was thwarted by Confederate troops commanded by Richard Taylor. Price's Raid, an attempt led by Major General Sterling Price to recapture Missouri for the Confederacy, ended when Price's troops were defeated in the Battle of Westport that October. On June 2, 1865, after all other major Confederate armies in the field to the east had surrendered, Kirby Smith officially surrendered his command in Galveston, Texas. On June 23, Stand Watie, who commanded Southern troops in the Indian Territory, became the last Confederate general to surrender.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_jN93j0ZME

Image:
1. Head Quarters Trans-Miss. Department, General Orders
2. Attack of the Union Flotilla at Galveston. Courtesy of Harper's Weekly.
3. Battle of Galveston, assault on the pier. Courtesy of Harper's Weekly and the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
4. The CS Bayou City capturing the USS Harriet Lane during the Battle of Galveston.

American Civil War: General Edmund Kirby Smith
Updated October 03, 2019
General Edmund Kirby Smith was noted Confederate commander during the Civil War. A veteran of the Mexican-American War, he elected to join the Confederate Army in 1861 and initially saw service in Virginia and East Tennessee. In early 1863, Smith assumed command of the Trans-Mississippi Department. Responsible for all Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River, he ably defended his department from Union incursions for the majority of his tenure. Smith's forces were the last major Confederate command to surrender when they capitulated to Major General Edward R.S. Canby at Galveston, TX on May 26, 1865.
Early Life
Born May 16, 1824, Edmund Kirby Smith was the son of Joseph and Francis Smith of St. Augustine, FL. Natives of Connecticut, the Smiths quickly established themselves in the community and Joseph was named a federal judge. Seeking a military career for their son, the Smiths sent Edmund to military school in Virginia in 1836.
Completing his schooling, Smith earned admittance to West Point five years later. A middling student who was known as "Seminole" due to his Florida roots, he graduated ranked 25th in the class of 41. Assigned to the 5th US Infantry in 1845, he received a promotion to second lieutenant and a transfer to the 7th US Infantry the following year. He remained with the regiment through the beginning of the Mexican-American War in May 1846.
Mexican-American War
Serving in Brigadier General Zachary Taylor's Army of Occupation, Smith took part in the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma on May 8-9. The 7th US Infantry later saw service in Taylor's campaign against Monterrey that fall. Transferred to Major General Winfield Scott's army, Smith landed with American forces in March 1847 and began operations against Veracruz.
With the fall of the city, Smith moved inland with Scott's army and earned a brevet promotion to first lieutenant for his performance at Battle of Cerro Gordo in April. Nearing Mexico City late that summer, he was brevetted to captain for gallantry during the Battles of Churubusco and Contreras. Losing his brother Ephraim at Molino del Rey on September 8, Smith fought with the army through the fall of Mexico City later that month.
General Edmund Kirby Smith
• Rank: General
• Service: US Army, Confederate Army
• Nickname(s): Seminole
• Born: May 16, 1824 at St. Augustine, FL
• Died: March 28, 1893 at Sewanee, TN
• Parents: Joseph Lee Smith and Frances Kirby Smith
• Spouse: Cassie Selden
• Conflicts: Mexican-American War, Civil War
• Known For: Commanding Officer, Trans-Mississippi Department (1863-1865)
Antebellum Years
Following the war, Smith received an assignment to teach mathematics at West Point. Remaining at his alma mater through 1852, he was promoted to first lieutenant during his tenure. Departing the academy, he later served under Major William H. Emory on the commission to survey the US-Mexico boundary. Promoted to captain in 1855, Smith changed branches and shifted to the cavalry. Joining the 2nd US Cavalry, he moved to the Texas frontier.
Over the next six years, Smith took part in operations against the Native Americans in the region and in May 1859 received a wound in the thigh while fighting in the Nescutunga Valley. With the Secession Crisis in full swing, he was promoted to major on January 31, 1861. A month later, following Texas' departure from the Union, Smith received a demand from Colonel Benjamin McCulloch to surrender his forces. Refusing, he threatened to fight to protect his men.
Going South
As his home state of Florida had seceded, Smith assessed his position and accepted a commission in the Confederate Army as a lieutenant colonel of cavalry on March 16. Formally resigning from the US Army on April 6, he became chief of staff to Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston later that spring. Posted in the Shenandoah Valley, Smith received a promotion to brigadier general on June 17 and was given command of the brigade in Johnston's army.
The following month, he led his men at the First Battle of Bull Run where he was badly wounded in the shoulder and neck. Given command of the Department of Middle and East Florida while he recovered, Smith earned a promotion to major general and returned to duty in Virginia as a division commander that October.
Moving West
In February 1862, Smith departed Virginia to take command of the Department of East Tennessee. In this new role, he advocated for an invasion of Kentucky with the goal of claiming the state for the Confederacy and obtaining needed supplies. This movement was finally approved later in the year and Smith received orders to support the advance of General Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi as it marched north. The plan called for him to take his newly-created Army of Kentucky north to neutralize Union troops at Cumberland Gap before joining with Bragg to defeat Major General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio.
Moving out in mid-August, Smith quickly diverted from the campaign plan. Though he won a victory at Richmond, KY on August 30, he failed to unite with Bragg in a timely manner. As a result, Bragg was held by Buell at the Battle of Perryville on October 8. As Bragg retreated south, Smith finally rendezvoused with the Army of Mississippi and the combined force withdrew to Tennessee.
Trans-Mississippi Department
Despite his failure to aid Bragg in a timely fashion, Smith earned a promotion to the newly-created rank of lieutenant general on October 9. In January, he moved west of the Mississippi River and assumed command of the Southwestern Army with his headquarters at Shreveport, LA. His responsibilities expanded two months later when he was appointed to command the Trans-Mississippi Department.
Though consisting of the entirety of the Confederacy west of the Mississippi, Smith's command badly lacked manpower and supplies. A solid administrator, he worked to strengthen the region and defend it against Union incursions. During 1863, Smith attempted to aid Confederate troops during the Sieges of Vicksburg and Port Hudson but could not field sufficient forces to relieve either garrison. With the fall of these towns, Union forces assumed complete control of the Mississippi River and effectively cut the Trans-Mississippi Department off from the rest of the Confederacy.
Alone in the West
Promoted to general on February 19, 1864, Smith successfully defeated Major General Nathaniel P. Banks' Red River Campaign that spring. The fighting saw Confederate forces under Lieutenant General Richard Taylor defeat Banks at Mansfield on April 8. As Banks began to retreat down the river, Smith dispatched forces led by Major General John G. Walker north to turn back a Union thrust south from Arkansas. Having accomplished this, he attempted to send reinforcements east but was unable to do so due to Union naval forces on the Mississippi.

Instead, Smith directed Major General Sterling Price to move north with the department's cavalry and invade Missouri. Departing in late August, Price was defeated and driven south by the end of October. In the wake of this setback, Smith's activities became limited to raiding. As Confederate armies began surrendering at Appomattox and Bennett Place in April 1865, the forces in the Trans-Mississippi became the only Confederate troops remaining in the field.
Meeting with Major General Edward R.S. Canby at Galveston, TX, Smith finally surrendered his command on May 26. Concerned that he would be tried for treason, he fled to Mexico before settling in Cuba. Returning to the United States later in the year, Smith took an oath of amnesty at Lynchburg, VA on November 14.
Later Life
After a brief tenure as president of the Accident Insurance Company in 1866, Smith spent two years heading the Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Company. When this failed, he returned to education and opened a school at New Castle, KY. Smith also served as president Western Military Academy at Nashville and chancellor of the University of Nashville. From 1875 to 1893, he taught mathematics at the University of the South. Contracting pneumonia, Smith died on March 28, 1893. The last living commander on either side to hold the rank of full general, he was buried in the University Cemetery at Sewanee."

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Jack Price on Edmund Kirby Smith
Interview of the late Jack Price, noted FL Civil Rights/KKK Historian on the subject of Edmund Kirby Smith at a "Teach In" at Santa Fe Community College in 2015. He may shock you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnHyrvB_kbg

Images:
1. Edmund Kirby Smith late in life .
2. Edmund Kirby-Smith attended Hallowell School in Alexandria, Virginia.
3. U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1850s
4. General Edmund Kirby-Smith tomb in Sewanee, Tennessee.


Background from {[https://prabook.com/web/edmund.kirby-smith/3759580]}
Edmund Kirby-Smith
also known as "Ted", "Seminole"
educator military Soldier
Edmund Kirby-Smith was an American soldier and educator. He started his military career as the second lieutenant in the 5th U. S. Infantry and rose to the rank of General in Confederates States Army in 1864. After the war, he served as president of the University of Nashville and professor of mathematics at the University of the South.

Background
Edmund Kirby-Smith was born on May 16, 1824, in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. His father, Joseph Lee Smith, a native of Connecticut, had a distinguished career as a soldier in the War of 1812, as a lawyer, and as a judge. He married Frances Marvin Kirby, daughter of Ephraim Kirby of Litchfield, Connecticut, and gave her surname to each of their children. After the death of an older brother, Ephraim Kirby-Smith, in the Mexican War, Edmund, until that time known as Edmund K. Smith, began to use his full name, and a generation later the family name had become Kirby-Smith.

Education
Of warrior stock on both sides of his house, Edmund Kirby-Smith early chose a military career. In 1836 he went to Alexandria to be prepared for the United States Military Academy by Benjamin Hallowell at Hallowell School. He entered the Academy in 1841 and was graduated four years later, having been a cadet at the period during which the majority of West Point-trained general officers of both the Union and the Confederate armies received their preparation.

Career
In 1845 Edmund Kirby-Smith was assigned to the 5th Infantry as a brevet second lieutenant and took part in the war with Mexico, first under Taylor and later under Scott, participating in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Molino del Rey, and Chapultepec. He was brevetted for gallantry at Cerro Gordo and at Contreras.

After the war, he was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, and in 1849 became an assistant professor of mathematics at West Point. He rejoined his regiment in 1852 and served on the frontier for three years, during which time he was in command of the military escort for the Mexican Boundary Commission, and was himself botanist of the expedition. His report of his observations was published by the Smithsonian Institution. In 1855 he was promoted to captain, and assigned to the famous 2nd Cavalry, which was at once sent to Texas, where at frequent intervals during the next few years it was operating against hostile Indians.

Kirby-Smith exulted in life, both as a soldier in active service and as an ardent hunter in a sportsman's paradise. In 1858, on leave, he spent several months in Europe, touring England, Wales, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Upon his return, he rejoined his regiment, then in New Mexico on the Wichita Expedition, and was wounded at the battle of Nescatunga, June 13, 1859. For some months after the battle, he commanded the expedition. Later he was in command of the regiment, stationed for a time at Camp Cooper, and in 1860 he was promoted to major. The secession of Florida found him fully decided as to his own course, and he resigned from the army on March 3, 1861. Before resigning, however, he had declined to surrender Camp Colorado, then under his command, to the Texas militia under General McCulloch, and had expressed his readiness to fight to hold it.

Returning to Florida, he was at once commissioned colonel of cavalry and sent to Lynchburg to organize, muster into service, and equip the regiments as they arrived in Virginia. He was chief of staff to Joseph E. Johnston at Harper's Ferry, aided in organizing the army of the Shenandoah, and, promoted to brigadier-general in June, was placed in command of the 4th Brigade of that army. He was severely wounded at Manassas, where he had a part in turning the tide of battle in favor of the Confederates. Later he was promoted major-general and placed in command of a division of Beauregard's army.

Early in 1862, he was given command of the department of East Tennessee, Kentucky, North Georgia, and western North Carolina. In June, in order to recover the Cumberland Gap, and in cooperation with Bragg to crush the Federal force under Buell and recover Nashville, he invaded Kentucky, fought and won the battle of Richmond, cleared the Gap of Federal troops, and occupied Lexington, threatening Cincinnati. He withdrew only after Bragg's retirement. The Confederate Congress thanked him, and in October he was promoted lieutenant-general. Disgusted with Bragg, he asked that his own command be detached, but this request was refused.

In January 1863 he was ordered to Richmond to assist in reorganizing the army and in February was placed in command of the Trans-Mississippi Department, consisting of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Indian Territory. Cut off from the East after the fall of Vicksburg, he became the virtual civil and military ruler of the whole region, which wags now called "Kirby-Smithdom." At once he set out to learn the resources of the country. Such communication as he had with Richmond was through the blockade, so he usually acted upon his own responsibility, sending great quantities of cotton abroad and selling it at high prices, bringing in machinery for factories and shops. Untouched by Federal troops, Texas produced great crops of grain and huge quantities of meat for supplying the rest of the department. The only military movement of importance was the Federal expedition under Banks which Kirby-Smith repulsed at Mansfield on April 8, 1864.

In February 1864 he had been commissioned general. On June 2, 1865, he surrendered the last military force of the Confederacy. After the surrender, Kirby-Smith went into Mexico and thence to Cuba. A plan to settle in Mexico was soon abandoned, and in November he returned to the United States. For a brief period, he was president of an insurance company and of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company. He was an active layman in the Protestant Episcopal church, and longed to enter the ministry, but deciding, finally, that he was too old to be ordained, he turned to teach and established a short-lived military school in Kentucky. In 1870 he became president of the University of Nashville, resigning in 1875 to accept the professorship of mathematics at the University of the South, where he taught happily and with distinction for eighteen years. He contributed an article on "The Defense of the Red River" to Battles and Leaders of the Civil War.

Achievements
• Edmund Kirby-Smith was recognized for his military service in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He fought with distinction in many battles, including campaigns at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, and Richmond. He was notable for his command of the Trans-Mississippi Department after the fall of Vicksburg to the United States.

Religion
Edmund was a member of Protestant Episcopal church.
Connections
On September 24, 1861, Edmund Kirby-Smith married Cassie Selden, the daughter of Samuel S. Selden. They had five sons and six daughters.
Father: Joseph Lee Smith
Mother: Frances Marvin Kirby
Brother: Ephraim Kirby Smith
Wife: Cassie Selden
Brother: Benjamin Kirby Smith
Daughter: Caroline Selden Kirby-Smith Crolly
Daughter: Frances Kirby-Smith Wade
Son: Edmund Kirby-Smith
Daughter: Rowena Selden Kirby-Smith Buck
Daughter: Lydia Kirby-Smith Hale
Daughter: Elizabeth Chaplin Kirby-Smith
Son: Reynold Marvin Kirby-Smith
Son: William Selden Kirby-Smith
Daughter: Josephine Kirby-Smith Fayerweather
Son: Joseph Lee Kirby-Smith
Son: Ephraim Kirby-Smith


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Thank you for the additional history material on the Civil War history LTC Stephen F.