On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the war was over and the slaves were now free. General Granger read to the gathered crowd General Order Number 3: “…in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves…” Soon June 19th was celebrated as the day when fr