Last Man Out

May 13, 1865 - It was on this day that a Union soldier named John J. Williams became the last man to die in the American Civil War. Williams spent most of the war guarding supplies, and his first taste of combat would be his last.

Two months after General Lee surrendered, remnant forces of the Union and Confederate armies clashed at the Battle of Palmito Ranch near Brownsville, Texas. During a charge by the Confederate cavalry, Williams was shot in the chest as he tried to reload his rifle. He died quickly.

The Confederates would claim victory that day, even though they had already lost the war.