On June 19, 1865, the Federal Army issued General Order No. 3, marking the official end of slavery in Texas and the United States. In the early 19th century, privateers and smugglers involved in the slave trade regularly used Galveston Island as an outpost for operations. This sandy barrier island in what is now Texas attracts a large number of smugglers because it is close to the slave trade island in the Caribbean Sea, has a natural port, and has a large number of streams and rivers that can be used as hiding places.
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By 1860, approximately one-third of Galveston’s population was living under the oppression of slavery. Even after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, changes in Galveston were slow during the American Civil War. Most enslaved people did not even know Lincoln’s executive order, and the practice of buying and selling blacks based on race continued in Galveston and other parts of Texas until 1865. As long as the Union Army still holds power in the area, there is no way to execute Lincoln’s orders.
In April 1865, the situation changed with the arrival of American Major General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops. On June 19, 1865, Granger issued General Order No. 3, and the Union Army passed through Galveston and read the order aloud in several places, including the Union Army Headquarters in the Osterman Building.
“The people of Texas were told that according to the announcement of the US executive branch, all slaves were free,” the order said. “This involves the absolute equality of personal rights and property rights between former masters and slaves, and the previous connection between them has become a connection between employers and employees.”
As news of the order spread, spontaneous celebrations broke out in African-American churches, homes, and other meeting places. Over time, picnics, barbecues, parades, and other celebrations to commemorate June 19 became more formal. The liberated black men and women bought land, which was later called “liberated land”. Held the annual Children’s Day celebration.
The Texas State Legislature officially recognized June Day as a state holiday in 1980. In the following decades, dozens of other states also began to recognize this holiday. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed and signed a law by the President declaring Children’s Day as a federal holiday. This holiday is sometimes called Liberation Day, Freedom Day, Celebration Day, June 18th Independence Day, and Black Independence Day.
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