Confederate generals meet with Maximilian

Two Confederate generals sat down with Emperor Maximilian on Aug. 24, 1865 and presented their bold plan for keeping the Austrian puppet on the Mexican throne.

The battle-scarred cavalrymen of the famed Iron Brigade spent the last weeks of the Civil War guarding Little Rock against an attack that never came.  When confirmation of Lee’s surrender finally filtered through the lines, Gen. Jo Shelby fell back to Texas to await further orders.

The Army of Virginia may have given up, but the Rebs out west still had plenty of fight left in them.  The thinking at the time was that the scattered contingents would regroup for a last stand in the Southwest.  If victory was out of the question, then never-say-die resistance could delay the Yankee conquest for years if not forever.

This grim strategy was nipped in the bud on Jun. 2, 1865, when Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith boarded a U.S. steamer in Galveston Bay and signed the formal articles of capitulation for all Confederate forces west of the Mississippi.

For several days, despondent Jo Shelby toyed with the idea of surprising the federal troops massed at Shreveport, but his aides talked him out of the suicidal assault.  Setting a course for Mexico, the cavalrymen broke camp at Corsicana and began a meandering march for the border.

The Confederate collapse plunged Texas into anarchy in the summer of 1865.  Broke and hungry soldiers egged on by troublemakers grabbed everything that was not nailed down.  Law and order disintegrated as roving bands plundered warehouses, banks, quartermaster depots and commissary trains.

The Iron Brigade brought rampaging veterans and civilians to heel at Waco with a strong dose of martial law.  The same stern medicine was just what the doctor ordered for other looters encountered on the long trek across the chaotic state.

Heading south Shelby heard a well-stocked arsenal at Tyler was threatened by bushwhackers.  A hand-picked detail rode to the rescue and within hours ringed the besieged armory.

Responding to the demand from a howling mob to stand aside, one of Shelby’s officers coolly replied, “It is a long time since we tasted blood, and you are welcome to Tyler and all its contents if a man among you dare to march five paces forward.” No one moved a muscle, and the cowed crowd meekly dispersed.

The citizens of Waxahachie also appealed for assistance, and again Shelby sent his peacekeepers.  Drunken deserters from both sides foolishly stood their ground and provoked a clash that left many of them facedown in the street.

Reason won out at Houston, where another mob wisely chose not to defy the gray-clad horsemen.  Leaving the pacified town in responsible hands, Shelby’s men hurried to catch up with the main column on the outskirts of San Antonio.

For many downcast warriors returning to strife-torn Texas, the Shelby expedition was a life raft in the treacherous post-war sea.  The Missouri general welcomed those volunteers with combat credentials and departed the Alamo City with over a thousand soldiers under his command.

On the banks of the Rio Grande, Shelby shared his private thoughts with his trusted staff.  He outlined an ambitious proposal to arrange an alliance with Benito Juarez and help the deposed president take back his country from Emperor Maximilian and the French invaders.

A spokesman for the assembled officers nervously cleared his throat.  “General, if you order it, we will follow you into the Pacific Ocean,” he stammered.  “But we prefer service under Maximilian.”

Maintaining his composure, Shelby asked, “Is this your answer, men?”  When all nodded in the affirmative, he stated with conviction, “Then it is mine, too.  Henceforth, we fight under Maximilian.”

The next day, which happened to be the Fourth of July, the last Rebels to fly the Stars and Bars solemnly lowered the banner into the Rio Grande.  Eyes blurred by tears watched the flag sink from sight, a sad symbol of the fate of the Confederacy.

Accompanied by Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, savior of Galveston, Shelby met with muddleheaded Maximilian.  He explained his plan for keeping the Austrian in power with 50,000 southern mercenaries.

Confident his fickle French friends would never desert him, the naive monarch turned down their generous offer.  Had he listened, Maximilian might have missed his appointment with a barefooted firing squad two years later.

Thousands of former Confederates opted for exile in Mexico and various South American countries rather than life under Yankee occupation.  For all but a small handful, the move was strictly temporary, and by 1875 very few resided south of the border.