June 19, 1865 — Juneteenth: General Order No. 3, by Major-General Gordon Granger

"On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger landed at the port of Galveston to extend Union military and civil authority over Texas. The most controversial and far-reaching of his civil edicts, General Order No. 3, enforced the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation and liberated more than 200,000 Black slaves. That event is commemorated today as Juneteenth."