John Salmon Ford

Who was John Salmon Ford?

John Salmon Ford, better known as "Rip" Ford, was a member of the Republic of Texas Congress and later of the State Senate, and mayor of Brownsville, Texas. He was also a Texas Ranger, a Confederate colonel, and a journalist. Ford commanded men during the Antelope Hills Expedition and he later commanded the Confederate forces in the last engagement of the American Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch on May 12 and 13 of 1865. It was a Confederate victory, but as it occurred more than a month after Robert E. Lee's surrender it had no effect on the outcome of the war.