The Very First Juneteenth: June 19, 1865

What Really Happened When Texas Slaves Were Freed

Susan Merritt -Federal Writers’ Project slave narratives collections, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The biggest misconception about Juneteenth is that June 19, 1865, is when Texas discovered that enslaved people were free, based on the Emancipation Proclamation issued two and a half years earlier on January 1, 1863. Plantation owners and Texas legislators knew of the Emancipation Proclamation, many of them had forcibly brought their slaves West to Texas, fleeing other states where the Union Army could enforce it. Many, if not most, enslaved people knew about the Proclamation. They also knew it required them to reach a free state, a Union military base, or a contraband camp to have a hope of attaining freedom.

“ Oh, we knowed what was goin’ on in it all the time. We had papers in them days, just like now.” — former enslaved man Felix Underwood

So what happened when Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order #3 announcing slavery was over? It’s best to think of Granger’s role not as one of emancipation but of managing the transition. The most important part of his brief order was telling the freed men and women to return to their plantations.

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all…