LET’S
CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH!
The celebration of JUNETEENTH began in Galveston, Texas
on June 19, 1865. JUNETEENTH is one of the oldest celebrations
of the end of slavery in the United States. On June
19, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major
General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the
slaves were free. This happened two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. When the Emancipation Proclamation took
effect on January 1, 1863, it had very little impact on the slaves in Texas
because Texas was a very powerful part of the Confederacy. The small number of Union troops in Texas
could not enforce the new Executive
Order. But with the surrender of the Confederacy in April 1865,
the Union army had business to take care of in Texas (more specifically with
the French in Mexico). Herein was the
problem: during the war between the American States, the French emperor
Napoleon III extended his European empire into Mexico, by setting up one of his
relatives, Maximilian I, as emperor of Mexico.
Taking advantage of the fact that the American government was busily
occupied with saving its own integrity and nation, Napoleon III had the
audacity to take over the Mexican government and establish his puppet empire
there. The presence of French troops
overwhelmed the Mexican people, as Maximilian I violated the previously U.S.
enforced Monroe Doctrine. Napoleon III
and his puppet, Maximilian I also had designs to invade and take over the
United States, since they believed that the U.S. had been too weakened by Civil
War. While the U.S. had been totally
involved in civil war, our nation had done very little or nothing to hinder
Maximilian’s progress. But with the end
of the Civil War, the U.S. sent several regiments of black soldiers to guard
the Texas/Mexico border.
Among
the black soldiers (known then as U.S. Colored Troops), I had several ancestors
who fought in the regiments that participated in the Civil War and were later
sent to face down the French in Mexico.
My great great grandfather, Pvt. John Henry Barton, who fought under the
alias of Pvt. John Henry Morgan, was a soldier in Co. F of the 127th
U.S. Colored Troops. Three of his brothers,
my great great uncles, Pvt. James R. Barton (Co. F), Pvt. Thomas E. Barton (Co.
C), and Pvt. George S. Barton, who fought under the alias of Pvt. Francis R. S.
Barton (Co. C) were also in the 127th regiment of the U.S. Colored
Troops. A fourth great great uncle, Sgt.
William A. Barton, who fought under the alias of Sgt. Joseph W. Wilson, was in
Co. G of the 43rd U.S. Colored Troops. Sgt. William A. Barton was a veteran of the
“Battle of the Crater” that was fought at Petersburg. My great great grandfather and his brothers
served under General Gordon Granger’s command and served faithfully until their
mission was accomplished in Texas and they were mustered out of the military
from Texas in September and October, 1865.
With
the arrival of General Gordon Granger
and 2000 troops from the U.S. Colored Troops regiments, the American soldiers were strong enough
to influence and overcome the resistance. Maximilian did not want to tangle with the
black men who were part of the siege of Petersburg and Richmond, and who had
been instrumental in convincing General Robert E. Lee to surrender at
Appomattox. It has been rumored that
General Lee sent a message to General Grant just before he surrendered. The message read as follows: “I’ll whip you
yet if you take those colored soldiers off the field?”
General Granger was given command of the
Department of Texas on June 10, 1865, by Gen. Phil Sheridan, commander of the
Military Division of the Southwest. On June 18, 1865, General Granger and 2,000 federal troops
arrived in Galveston to take possession of the state and enforce the
emancipation of its slaves. Upon his arrival in Galveston on June 19, Granger
officially declared that slavery was dead, setting off joyful displays by Texas
freedmen. Granger stood on the balcony of Galveston’s
now famous “Ashton Villa”, the three-story brick house that had been built by
slave labor and served as headquarters for the Confederate army in Texas. He then read the contents of “General Order
No. 3”:
“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.”
After hearing the reading of
“General Order No. 3”, the slaves broke out in jubilation. This celebration was the beginning of the
annual celebration known as Juneteenth. Beginning in 1866 and
continuing regularly to the present day, African-Americans treated June 19th
like the Fourth of July and the celebrations contained similar events. In earlier celebrations, Juneteenth included
a prayer service, speakers with inspirational messages, reading of the
emancipation proclamation, stories from former slaves, barbecues, red soda
water, games, rodeos and dances.
Granger
also voided the laws that were passed by the Confederate government. He declared that Confederate soldiers were pardoned
and that all persons having public property, including cotton, should turn it
in to the United States Army. He
declared that all privately owned cotton was to be turned in to the army for
compensation. Granger counseled blacks
against congregating around towns and military posts, remaining unemployed, or
expecting welfare. Instead, he advised
them to remain on the plantations and to sign labor agreements with their
former owners while awaiting further assistance from the newly formed, yet to
be implemented Freedman’s Bureau, which
was later established in the state of Texas.
Even though the news came over two
years after the Emancipation Proclamation was initiated, many blacks responded
with great jubilation at the news of freedom. Others were in a state of shock
and unbelief. After so many years of
having been degraded as slaves, many wondered what they would do with their
new-found freedom. While many stayed
around Galveston to learn of this new employer to employee relationship, quite
a few others left before these offers were completely off the lips of their
former “masters”. Even
with nowhere to go, they felt that leaving the plantation would be their
first grasp of freedom. To go “North” was the logical destination. For many freedmen “North” represented true
freedom. On the other hand the desire to connect with family members in
neighboring states drove some into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
The celebration of June 19th
was coined "Juneteenth" and grew with more participation from
descendants. Juneteenth is a time for
reassuring one other, for praying and giving thanks to God for freedom, as well
as for gathering with family members and friends. Juneteenth continues to be highly revered in
Texas even to the present day, with many descendants of slaves making the annual pilgrimage back to Galveston to
celebrate on this date. I hope you enjoyed this article. Have a great day...LeRoy Carter.
