On June 19, 1865 Union officer Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read aloud General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas. This date, which has become known as Juneteenth, informed Texas that all those enslaved in the state were free.
In 2020, archivists at the National Archives in Washington discovered the original, handwritten record of the Union Army order buried in a leather-bound book — its location largely unknown until then.
Read the piece by Michael Davis at the National Archive that spurred the search for this document here.
The document, as well as the Emancipation Proclamation, will be on display in the East Rotunda Gallery from June 18 – 20, 2024. For more information, head over to the National Archives website.
Want to know more about Juneteenth? Head over to the National Museum of African American History and Culture Website for a comprehensive overview of the history, recommended reading, and how Juneteenth is celebrated today.