General Order No. 3 read at Galveston (Juneteenth)

Background. Texas, the most remote Confederate state, saw an expansion of slavery because Union troop presence was low. Consequently, enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared freedom for enslaved people in rebellious states on January 1, 1863, had been slow and inconsistent prior to Granger's arrival. By June 1865, an estimated 250,000 enslaved people remained in Texas, awaiting formal notification of their freedom.

Arrival in Galveston. On the morning of June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston to take command of the more than 2,000 federal troops recently landed in the department of Texas. His mission included enforcing the emancipation of the enslaved population and overseeing Reconstruction by nullifying laws passed by Confederate lawmakers during the war. Granger had been given command of the District of Texas on June 10, 1865.

General Order No. 3. One of Granger's first orders of business in Galveston was to post General Order No. 3. The order informed all Texans that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all enslaved people were free. This announcement served as the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, marking the end of slavery in the state.