June19

On the 19th in 1865, General Gordon Granger and the 2000 troops under his command arrived at Galveston Island, Texas. Granger’s purpose in going to Texas was to seize the state and enforce the emancipation of the slaves being held in Texas. Granger must have been a very busy guy. He was about two and a half years late. Granted, for much of that time, there had been a war going on but, still, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on September 22, 1962 and went into effect January 1, 1863. Juneteenth is a widely observed (in Texas anyway) holiday commemorating the freeing of the slaves.