Juneteenth

Date:1865

Annotation: Many slaves in Texas did not formally hear about freedom until June 19, 1865, when General Gordon Granger and 1800 Union troops arrived in Galveston and issued a proclamation declaring all slaves in Texas to be free. This is why “Juneteenth” continues to be celebrated as emancipation day throughout the Southwest.

Document: The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the Connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer. The freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported idleness, either there or elsewhere.

Source: Houston Tri-weekly Telegraph, June 23, 1865