On June 19th, 1865, General Order No. 3 was issued by U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, informing Texans that all enslaved people were now free. It came two year’s after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
An original copy of the order currently lives inside the Hall of State at Fair Park and is on display until Oct. 19 as part of The Dallas Historical Society’s exhibit, “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom.”
NTX Now’s Ron Corning spoke with Deah Berry Mitchell, food writer and historian, about the document and this moment in Texas history.
What do we know about this document?
“Those who could read would have read it,” Mitchell said. “Some troops would have been reading it as well and also using places where people were gathering, so places like churches, for example [to spread the word].”
What stands out?
The language of this order is something worth studying. Michell explains that this document wasn’t necessarily a proclamation of the end of slavery, but the beginning of a process to end slavery…