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Return to Freedmen Bureau Assorted Education documents
| Documents Associated with the History of the Freedmen's Bureau |
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands was created in response to the War of
Rebellion's emancipation of slaves by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Eventually there
would be some bureau operations in all states and the District of Columbia where slaves were emancipated
by the 13 Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Both the Department of War and the Treasury Department
dealt with issues regarding slaves and former slaves during the War. In the Department of War various field
commanders would made policy and create structures to deal with the "contraband" and later freedmen.
The Treasury department would use a series of special agents. At the beginning of the bureau the work of
these other agencies were gradually consolidated into the bureau which reported to (and was mainly staffed
by) the War Department. For the success that the Bureau had it depended on various institutions in the
north as the National Freedmen's Relief Association and the American Missionary Association (among
many, many others) that provided teachers, clothing, and other supplies. Despite its many problems and
failures it helped built the public school system and higher education system that still functions across the
southern states and provided immediate and critical support for the newly freed slaves and returning
refugees.
Timeline
November 7, 1861 - Port Royal, South Carolina captured by the United States Navy and Army.
January 15, 1862 - General T. W. Sherman sends letter requesting teachers for the ex-slaves.
Feb 4, 1862 - New England Freedmen's Aid Society formed.
Feb 20, 1862 - The National Freedman's Relief Association formed in New York.
May 30, 1862 - General Rufus Saxton appointed Military Governor of the Department of the South (South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida).
January 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation
March 3, 1865 - Freedmen's Bureau created (13 Stat. 507)
May 1865 - President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the
Bureau
July 1865 - Commissioner Howard instructs the Assistant Commissioners to designate one officer in each
state to serve as -Freedmen's Superintendents of Schools.
December 4, 1865 - 2nd Freedmen's Bureau Bill
December 6, 1865 - Ratification of the 13th Amendment
February 19, 1866 - President Andrew Johnson vetoes bill
February 20, 1866 - Congress fails to override veto.
April 9, 1866 - Civil Rights Act of 1866
July 3, 1866 - Andrew Johnson vetoes new Freedmen's Bureau bill
July 13, 1866 - Army Appropriations Act (14 Stat. 90) funds Bureau
July 16, 1866 - Freedmen Bureau renewed (14 Stat. 173)
July 6, 1868 - Freedmen Bureau renewed (15 Stat. 83)
July 28, 1868 - Ratification of the 14th Amendment.
February 3, 1870 - Ratification of the 15th Amendment
November 30, 1870 Rev Alvord resigns as head of Education Department.
June 10 1872 - Freedmen's Bureau terminated by an Act of Congress (17 Stat. 366)
June 30, 1872 - O. O. Howard position terminated.
National Officers of the Bureau
Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands - General O. O. Howard,
General Eliphalet Whittlesey (Acting Director, 1872)
General Superintendent of Schools - Rev. John Alvord (1866-1870)
Chief Quartermaster, Bureau of R.F. & A. L. - Henry M. Whittlesey (1869)
Claims Division - William P. Drew (1869)
Subsistence Distribution - Lieutenant Colonel George W. Balloch (1865)
Chief Disbursing Officer - Lieutenant Colonel George W. Balloch (1865 - 1869)
Chief Medical Officer - Dr. Caleb W. Horner (1865), L. A. Edwards (1868-1869), Robert Rayburn
(1869)
Inspector General - General W. E. Strongl
Division of Records - Col. J. S. Fullerton
Land Division - Major William Fowler
See Officers of the Freedmen's Bureau for a Listing by State
National
1st Confiscation Act
2nd Confiscation Act
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln's Amnesty Act of December 8, 1863
Statute Authorizing Freedmen's Bureau
Attorney General James Speed Opinion on Lands Purchased by the United States at Direct Tax Sales -
Jurisdiction of Freedmen's Bureau
Attorney General James Speed Opinion on Duty of Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau (Abandoned
Land)
13th Amendment to the United States Constitution
An Act to Continue in force and to amend "An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and
Refugees - July 16, 1866
President Andrew Johnson's Proclamations to End the War of the Rebellion
A Resolution in reference to the Collection and Payment of Bounties, March 29, 1867
Inspector's Report of Schools for the Freedmen's Bureau
General O. O. Howard's Circular No. 2
General O. O. Howard Circular 15 Abandoned Lands July 28, 1865
General O. O. Howard - Circular Letter - Lands Not to Be Divided - November 11, 1865
General O. O. Howard - Circular No. 20 - Care of People on Abandoned Lands - November 30, 1865
General O. O. Howard - Circular Letter - More info on the Bureau and Marriage - March 2, 1866
An Act for Repeal of President Johnson's Authority to Grant Amnesty, January 21, 1867
An Act Relating to the Freedmen's Bureau and Providing for Its Discontinuance - July 25, 1868
Robert Rayburn Chief Medical Officer Medical Report by O O Howard - Annual 1869
Appendix E - Abstract from Educational Report - June 30, 1869
South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
General Rufus Saxton's Circular No. 2 - August 16, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's Circular No. 3 - Abandoned Lands and Freedmen Farmers - May 22, 1865
General Rufus Saston's Circular No. 4 - October 12, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's General Order No. 5 - August 9, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's General Order No.7 - Staff Assignments - August 9, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's General Order No 8 - Marriage Rules - August 11, 1865
Transportation Billing - June 5, 1869
Florida
Circular No. 6 - Property Redemption - Col Thomas Osborn - September 9, 1865
Circular No. 2 - Rations and Labor Contracts - Col. Thomas Osborn - September 21, 1865
Circular No. 9 - Judges of Probate and Labor Contracts - Col Thomas Osborn - November 15, 1865
Report of Agent Ansel Kinne to Col. Thomas W. Osborn - October 15, 1866
Report of General John G. Foster Assistant Commissioner Florida to General O. O. Howard - Oct, 1866
Special Orders No. 5 Appointing Peter Benet Agent of the Freedmen's Bureau for Bradford County Florida
Amnesty Oath of David Rainy- October 18, 1865
Transportation Letter to General Hallack - February 20, 1867
Registers for Bounty and Arrears - 1868
Claim, Charles Williams 34th USCT Co A - August 16, 1869
Claim, Thomas Hernandez 33d USCT Co B - December 28, 1869
Fernandina
Ration Request Fernandina Florida Area - March 1866
Sub Assistant Commissioner Captain Thomas Laddy Monthly Report - March 1866
Jefferson County
Elbo Plantation Labor Contract - January 30, 1867
Maryland
Loyalty Oath Unknown Montgomery County - October 11, 1864
Missouri
Railroad Loyalty Oath of Jerry Nolan - March 1, 1862
Rebellion's emancipation of slaves by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Eventually there
would be some bureau operations in all states and the District of Columbia where slaves were emancipated
by the 13 Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Both the Department of War and the Treasury Department
dealt with issues regarding slaves and former slaves during the War. In the Department of War various field
commanders would made policy and create structures to deal with the "contraband" and later freedmen.
The Treasury department would use a series of special agents. At the beginning of the bureau the work of
these other agencies were gradually consolidated into the bureau which reported to (and was mainly staffed
by) the War Department. For the success that the Bureau had it depended on various institutions in the
north as the National Freedmen's Relief Association and the American Missionary Association (among
many, many others) that provided teachers, clothing, and other supplies. Despite its many problems and
failures it helped built the public school system and higher education system that still functions across the
southern states and provided immediate and critical support for the newly freed slaves and returning
refugees.
Timeline
November 7, 1861 - Port Royal, South Carolina captured by the United States Navy and Army.
January 15, 1862 - General T. W. Sherman sends letter requesting teachers for the ex-slaves.
Feb 4, 1862 - New England Freedmen's Aid Society formed.
Feb 20, 1862 - The National Freedman's Relief Association formed in New York.
May 30, 1862 - General Rufus Saxton appointed Military Governor of the Department of the South (South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida).
January 1, 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation
March 3, 1865 - Freedmen's Bureau created (13 Stat. 507)
May 1865 - President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the
Bureau
July 1865 - Commissioner Howard instructs the Assistant Commissioners to designate one officer in each
state to serve as -Freedmen's Superintendents of Schools.
December 4, 1865 - 2nd Freedmen's Bureau Bill
December 6, 1865 - Ratification of the 13th Amendment
February 19, 1866 - President Andrew Johnson vetoes bill
February 20, 1866 - Congress fails to override veto.
April 9, 1866 - Civil Rights Act of 1866
July 3, 1866 - Andrew Johnson vetoes new Freedmen's Bureau bill
July 13, 1866 - Army Appropriations Act (14 Stat. 90) funds Bureau
July 16, 1866 - Freedmen Bureau renewed (14 Stat. 173)
July 6, 1868 - Freedmen Bureau renewed (15 Stat. 83)
July 28, 1868 - Ratification of the 14th Amendment.
February 3, 1870 - Ratification of the 15th Amendment
November 30, 1870 Rev Alvord resigns as head of Education Department.
June 10 1872 - Freedmen's Bureau terminated by an Act of Congress (17 Stat. 366)
June 30, 1872 - O. O. Howard position terminated.
National Officers of the Bureau
Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands - General O. O. Howard,
General Eliphalet Whittlesey (Acting Director, 1872)
General Superintendent of Schools - Rev. John Alvord (1866-1870)
Chief Quartermaster, Bureau of R.F. & A. L. - Henry M. Whittlesey (1869)
Claims Division - William P. Drew (1869)
Subsistence Distribution - Lieutenant Colonel George W. Balloch (1865)
Chief Disbursing Officer - Lieutenant Colonel George W. Balloch (1865 - 1869)
Chief Medical Officer - Dr. Caleb W. Horner (1865), L. A. Edwards (1868-1869), Robert Rayburn
(1869)
Inspector General - General W. E. Strongl
Division of Records - Col. J. S. Fullerton
Land Division - Major William Fowler
See Officers of the Freedmen's Bureau for a Listing by State
National
1st Confiscation Act
2nd Confiscation Act
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln's Amnesty Act of December 8, 1863
Statute Authorizing Freedmen's Bureau
Attorney General James Speed Opinion on Lands Purchased by the United States at Direct Tax Sales -
Jurisdiction of Freedmen's Bureau
Attorney General James Speed Opinion on Duty of Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau (Abandoned
Land)
13th Amendment to the United States Constitution
An Act to Continue in force and to amend "An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and
Refugees - July 16, 1866
President Andrew Johnson's Proclamations to End the War of the Rebellion
A Resolution in reference to the Collection and Payment of Bounties, March 29, 1867
Inspector's Report of Schools for the Freedmen's Bureau
General O. O. Howard's Circular No. 2
General O. O. Howard Circular 15 Abandoned Lands July 28, 1865
General O. O. Howard - Circular Letter - Lands Not to Be Divided - November 11, 1865
General O. O. Howard - Circular No. 20 - Care of People on Abandoned Lands - November 30, 1865
General O. O. Howard - Circular Letter - More info on the Bureau and Marriage - March 2, 1866
An Act for Repeal of President Johnson's Authority to Grant Amnesty, January 21, 1867
An Act Relating to the Freedmen's Bureau and Providing for Its Discontinuance - July 25, 1868
Robert Rayburn Chief Medical Officer Medical Report by O O Howard - Annual 1869
Appendix E - Abstract from Educational Report - June 30, 1869
South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
General Rufus Saxton's Circular No. 2 - August 16, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's Circular No. 3 - Abandoned Lands and Freedmen Farmers - May 22, 1865
General Rufus Saston's Circular No. 4 - October 12, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's General Order No. 5 - August 9, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's General Order No.7 - Staff Assignments - August 9, 1865
General Rufus Saxton's General Order No 8 - Marriage Rules - August 11, 1865
Transportation Billing - June 5, 1869
Florida
Circular No. 6 - Property Redemption - Col Thomas Osborn - September 9, 1865
Circular No. 2 - Rations and Labor Contracts - Col. Thomas Osborn - September 21, 1865
Circular No. 9 - Judges of Probate and Labor Contracts - Col Thomas Osborn - November 15, 1865
Report of Agent Ansel Kinne to Col. Thomas W. Osborn - October 15, 1866
Report of General John G. Foster Assistant Commissioner Florida to General O. O. Howard - Oct, 1866
Special Orders No. 5 Appointing Peter Benet Agent of the Freedmen's Bureau for Bradford County Florida
Amnesty Oath of David Rainy- October 18, 1865
Transportation Letter to General Hallack - February 20, 1867
Registers for Bounty and Arrears - 1868
Claim, Charles Williams 34th USCT Co A - August 16, 1869
Claim, Thomas Hernandez 33d USCT Co B - December 28, 1869
Fernandina
Ration Request Fernandina Florida Area - March 1866
Sub Assistant Commissioner Captain Thomas Laddy Monthly Report - March 1866
Jefferson County
Elbo Plantation Labor Contract - January 30, 1867
Maryland
Loyalty Oath Unknown Montgomery County - October 11, 1864
Missouri
Railroad Loyalty Oath of Jerry Nolan - March 1, 1862
| General O. O. Howard Commissioner Freedmen's Bureau |
| General Rufus Saxton Assistant Commissioner South Carolina, Georgia, Florida |
| Col Thomas W. Osborn Assistant Commissioner Florida |
| Col John T. Sprague Assistant Commissioner Florida |
| General Clinton Fisk Assistant Commissioner Kentucky and Tennessee |
| General John W. Sprague Assistant Commissioner Arkansas |