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Celebration of Freedom
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of marking the ending of Slavery in the United States. Dating back to June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas spreading the news that the war had ended, and the enslaved Black Americans were free. This occurred nearly two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863. The first celebration of the freedom of the enslaved included the reading of the proclamation by General Gordon Grainger. Today, the Juneteenth holiday recognizes the intellectual and physical freedom of African
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GENERAL ORDER Number 3
Galveston Texas June 19th, 1865.
General Orders
No. 3.
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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 personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.
The freedmen are advised to remain quietly 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 in idleness either there or elsewhere