Last Review of the Confederacy

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says happened right here in Navarro County — so let the record show where this story comes from. Now, most tales of the Civil War end with surrender. A general lays down his sword, the men go home, and the whole thing fades into history.

But there was one unit — one stubborn, iron-willed outfit — that didn't quite follow that script. And the last chapter of their story played out right along the banks of Chambers Creek, south of a little place called Chatfield. The man at the center of it all was General Joseph Orville Shelby — Jo Shelby, as folks knew him, born in 1830.

He commanded a cavalry force of Missourians that went by a name you didn't forget: the Iron Brigade, later the Iron Division. From 1861 through 1864, those men rode hard across Missouri and Arkansas alongside generals Thomas C. Hindman, John S.

Marmaduke, and Sterling Price. And through all of it, Shelby earned praise for his command. That's not decoration — the marker says so plainly.

Shelby and his men wintered in Texas in 1864 into 1865. And then spring came, and with it, the news no Confederate soldier wanted to hear — word of surrenders in the east filtering in like smoke under a door. Shelby was ordered to lead his men to Shreveport, Louisiana, to surrender.

He did not go to Shreveport to surrender. Instead, they planned an attack on the city — an actual assault — to prevent the collapse of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy. Think about that for a moment.

The war was ending everywhere else, and these men were drawing up battle plans. But severe weather waylaid them, and the attack never came. So they made another decision, one that was equal parts defiant and desperate: they would go to Mexico.

Shelby's soldiers stopped along the banks of Chambers Creek, south of Chatfield. Right near here. They made their last bivouac as a Confederate unit — the last campfire, the last night in the field under a Confederate flag.

And the next morning, June 2, 1865, the troops lined up for assembly. What happened next has been called the last review of the Confederacy. By that morning, they were the last organized unit in any Confederate state.

Let that settle in. Every other command had dissolved or surrendered. These men were it — the final formation, the last roll of the drum.

Shelby reviewed his troops, then delivered his farewell. And when he asked his men to ride with him to Mexico, hundreds reportedly answered his call. The following week, while his men gathered supplies from nearby Corsicana, Shelby paid a visit to the Hodge Oaks Plantation of Captain Robert Hodge at Chatfield.

Then the column moved out, south toward the Rio Grande and beyond. In Mexico, Shelby and his men offered their military service to Emperor Maximilian. That offer was diplomatically rejected.

But they were offered land, and many of them — Shelby included — stayed. He didn't come back to Missouri until 1867. When he did, he farmed, and he served as U.S.

Marshal. His dedication is celebrated there, and in Texas. A defiant farewell on a creek bank in Navarro County, on a June morning in 1865 — the very last formation of the Confederacy.

Some stories end with a whimper. This one ended with a cavalry review, a speech, and a column of riders pointing south toward a country that didn't want them either. That's the kind of ending that sticks.

What the marker says

Last Review of the Confederacy General Joseph Orville "Jo" Shelby (1830-1897) led a cavalry force of Missourians known as the Iron Brigade and later, the Iron Division. From 1861-64, his troops rode with generals Thomas C. Hindman, John S. Marmaduke and Sterling Price in Missouri and Arkansas. During this time, Shelby earned praise for his command. Shelby and his men wintered in Texas in 1864-65. In the spring, when word of Confederate surrenders in the east reached him, he was ordered to lead his men to Shreveport, Louisiana, to surrender. Instead, they planned an attack on the city to prevent collapse of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy. Waylaid by severe weather, they decided to go to Mexico. Shelby's soldiers stopped along the banks of Chambers Creek, south of Chatfield. Near here, they made their last bivouac as a Confederate unit. The next morning, June 2, 1865, the troops lined up for assembly and held what has been called "the last review of the Confederacy." By that time, they were the last organized unit in any Confederate state. Following the review of his troops, Shelby delivered his farewell, then asked his men to accompany him to Mexico. Hundreds reportedly answered his call. The next week, while his men gathered supplies from nearby Corsicana, Shelby visited the Hodge Oaks Plantation of Capt. Robert Hodge at Chatfield. Once prepared, the troops left for Mexico, where their offer of military service to Emperor Maximilian was diplomatically rejected. The men were offered land, though, and many, including Shelby, stayed. In 1867, Shelby returned to Missouri, where he farmed and served as U.S. Marshal. His dedication is celebrated there, as well as in Texas. (2002)