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| General Rufus Saxton's A Happy New Year's Greeting to the Colored People in the Department of the South January 1, 1863 |
| General Rufus Saxton - A Happy New Year's Greeting to the Colored People in the Department of the South In accordance, as I believe, with the will of our Heavenly Father, and by direction of your great and good friend, whose name you are all familiar with, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy, on the first day of January, 1863, you will be declared "forever free." When in the course of human events there comes a day which is destined to be an everlasting beacon-light, marking a joyful era in the progress of a nation and the hopes of a people, it seems to be fitting the occasion that it should not pass unnoticed by those whose hopes it comes to brighten and to bless. Such a day to you is January 1st, 1863. I, therefore, call upon all the colored people in this Department to assemble on that day at the headquarters of the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers, there to hear the President's Proclamation read, and to indulge in such other manifestations of joy as may be called forth by the occasion. It is your duty to carry this good news to your brethren who are still in slavery. Let all your voices, like merry bells, join loud and clear in the grand chorus of liberty---"We are free," "We are free,"---until, listening, you shall hear its echoes coming back from every cabin in the land---"We are free," "We are free." Note: This document was sent into the AMA New York office from Rev. A. Root on December 9th 1864 |
| General Rufus Saxton Military Governor Dept of the South |
