Parole of E. Kirby Smith and Troops

Terms of a military convention entered into this 26th day of May, 1865, at New Orleans, La., between General E. Kirby Smith, C.S. Army, commanding the Department of Trans-Mississippi, and Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, U.S. Army, commanding the Army and Division of West Mississippi, for the surrender of the troops and public property under the control of the military and naval authorities of the Trans-Mississippi Department.

I. All acts of war and resistance against the United States on the part of the troops under General Smith shall cease from this date.

II. The officers and men to be paroled until duly exchanged or otherwise released from the obligation of their parole by the authority of the Government of the United States. Duplicate rolls of all officers and men paroled to be retained by such officers as may be designated by the parties hereto, officers giving their individual paroles and commanders of regiments, battalions, companies, or detachments signing a like parole for the men of their respective commands.

III. Artillery, small-arms, ammunition, and other property of the Confederate States Government, including gun-boats and transports, to be turned over to the officers appointed to receive the same on the part of the Government of the United States. Duplicate inventories of the property to be surrendered to be prepared, one copy to be retained by the officer delivering and the other by the officer receiving it, for the information of their respective commanders.

IV. The officers and men paroled under this agreement will be allowed to return to their homes, with the assurance that they will not be disturbed by the authorities of the United States as long as they continue to observe the conditions of their parole and the laws in force where they reside, except that persons resident in the Northern States, and not excepted in the amnesty proclamation of the President, may return to their homes on taking the oath of allegiance to the United States.

V. The surrender of property will not include the side-arms of private horses or baggage of officers.

VI. All horses which are in good faith the private property of enlisted men will not be taken form them. The men will be permitted to take such with them to their homes, to be used for private purposes only.

VII. The time, mode, and place of paroling and surrender of property will be fixed by the respective commanders, and it will be carried out by commissioners appointed by them.

VIII. The terms and conditions of this convention to extend to all officers and men of the Army and Navy of thte Confederate States, or any of them being in or belonging to the Trans-Mississippi Department.

IX. Transportation and subsistence to be furnished at public cost for the officers and men (after being paroled) to the nearest practicable point to their homes.


S.B. Buckner,
Lieutenant-General and Chief of Staff
(For General E. Kirby Smith.)

P. Jos. Osterhaus,
Major-General of Volunteers and Chief of Staff.
(For Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, commanding Military Division of West Mississippi.)

Approved:
Ed. R.S. Canby
Major-General, Comdg. Army and Division of West Mississippi.



(First indorsement.)
Galveston Harbor, June 2, 1865. Approved, understanding that by the provisions of this convention C.S. officers observing their paroles are permitted to make their homes either in or out of the United States.

E. Kirby Smith,
General.



(Second indorsement.)
This question was raised by General Smith's commissioners, but I declined to make any stipulation with regard to it, because I had no authority to determine the policy of the Government in any question of this kind.

Ed. R.S. Canby,
Major-General of Volunteers.



SUPPLEMENTAL ARTICLES

I. The troops and property to be surrendered within the limits fo the Division of the Missouri will be turned ofver to commissioners appointed by the commander of that division.

II. The men and material of the C.S. Navy will be surrendered to commissioners appointed by the commandes of the Mississippi and West Gulf Squadrons, respectively, according to the limits in which the said men and materials may be found.


III. If the U.S. troops designated for the garrisons of interior points should noreach their destination before the work of paroliing is compoleted, suitable guardswill be detailed for the protection of the public property. These guards, when relieved by U.S. troops, will surrender their arms and be paroled in accordance with the terms of this convention.


S.B. Buckner,
Lieutenant-General and Chief of Staff.
(For General E.K. Smith.)

P. Jos. Osterhaus,
Major-General of Volunteers and Chief of Staff.
(For Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby, comanding Military Division of West Mississippi.)


Approved:
Ed.R.S. Canby,
Major-General, Comdg. Army and Division of West Mississippi.)

Approved:
E. Kirby Smith,
General.