[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1903.]
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self–sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their families or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.
The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents, or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts.
The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. He prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction, based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers. He also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non–Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, letters were often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner. In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.
An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.
For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.
Constrained by limited resources, Southern opposition, and the politics of Reconstruction, the Bureau faced an enormous challenge in its efforts to assist the freedmen and refugees. Its relief efforts, without question, saved thousands of southerners from starvation. Its attempts to assist freedmen to become self–sufficient, to provide public education, administer justice, and, to a lesser degree, to provide land, all worked with varying degrees of success to lessen the difficulties during the transition from slavery to freedom. One of the Bureau's greatest legacies is the body of records it created and received during the course of its operations. These records are arguably some of the most important documents available for the study of the Federal Government's policies, efforts to reconstruct the South, and Southern social history and genealogy.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN GEORGIA
Bvt. Maj. Gen. Rufus Saxton, who had directed the "Port Royal Experiment," was appointed Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Saxton established his headquarters at Beaufort, SC, in June 1865, and assigned Gen. Edward A. Wild the responsibility for Bureau affairs in part of Georgia. In September 1865, after Wild was relieved from duty, the office of Assistant Commissioner for Georgia was established, and Brig. Gen. Davis Tillson was appointed as Acting Assistant Commissioner, with exclusive control of all matters concerning the Bureau in Georgia. Tillson reported to General Saxton in South Carolina until December 1865, when he was ordered to report thereafter directly to Commissioner Howard at Washington. Generally, the records pertaining to Georgia and Florida that were created during this early period are included among those of the Assistant Commissioner of South Carolina.
The organization of the Bureau in Georgia was similar to that of the Bureau headquarters in Washington. The Assistant Commissioner's staff included an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a chief quartermaster and disbursing officer, and a superintendent of education. Three officers served as Assistant Commissioner in Georgia between 1865 and 1869 and located the Bureau offices in four different cities during that period. General Tillson first established his headquarters at Augusta in September 1865, but moved it to Savannah in October 1866. Col. Caleb C. Sibley succeeded Tillson as Assistant Commissioner in January 1867, and 2 months later he moved the headquarters from Savannah to Macon. It remained there until July 1867, when the office was transferred to Atlanta. In October 1868, Maj. John R. Lewis replaced Sibley as Assistant Commissioner. Lewis served until the office was discontinued in May 1869. From January to May 1869, Major Lewis combined the duties of Assistant Commissioner, with those of superintendent of education. After the office of the Assistant Commissioner was discontinued, Lewis continued to serve as superintendent of education until May 1870.
The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau in Georgia, for example, included those with headquarters at Albany, Americus, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. Under the direct supervision of the subassistant commissioners were the civilian and military agents. Occasionally, the Bureau retained military officers in a civilian capacity after the termination of their military service. For a list of selected Georgia subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.
The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations and provided medical relief to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, and worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools.
When General Davis Tillson took over as Assistant Commissioner for the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in September 1865, many of the major cities and towns in the state were troubled with overcrowding, disease, and poverty. In the cities of Macon, Atlanta, Augusta, and Savannah, freedmen and refugees were living in some of the most crowded and deplorable conditions, and many were in dire need of food and clothing, shelter, and medical attention.1 Convinced, however, that Federal Government relief should be temporary and solely for the needy, General Tillson issued an order on October 3, 1865, prohibiting the distribution of rations to freedmen and refugees who were able–bodied but refused work. To discourage idleness and dependency, Tillson further ordered that only those persons who were able to provide for themselves would be allowed to remain in the towns and cities. Those who desired to stay, said Tillson, "must be compelled, if necessary, to go to the country and accept places of labor found by themselves, or for them, by officers or agents of the Bureau."2
Tillson's orders were strictly enforced. One month after his pronouncement, rations issued in Savannah had been reduced from 120,000 to 60,000 per month. For the month of June of 1866, the number of rations issued for the entire State of Georgia totaled less than 20,000. However, in spite of the Bureau's "Self–Help" policy, limited resources, and the belief that local governments should play a greater role in providing relief for the destitute, the Georgia Bureau issued some 847,669 rations from June 1865 to September 1866. Although the Bureau's actions prevented wholesale starvation and untold suffering, the agency's rations–relief efforts were far less extensive than what Bureau officials had done during the same period in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Tillson's successors, Assistant Commissioners Caleb C. Sibley (January 1867–October 1868) and John R. Lewis (October 1868–May 1869) continued to follow the policy of providing limited rations relief. During their tenures, rations were issued only in emergencies and for the most part to hospitals and asylums.3
The Georgia Bureau's policy of temporary relief for the needy also guided its approach in providing medical care and assistance for the destitute. Like its ration program, the Bureau viewed its responsibility as one of providing temporary medical relief, primarily in cases of extreme emergencies. The Bureau believed that the ultimate responsibility for providing medical care to those in need lay with Georgia civil authorities. J. W. Lawton, who served as surgeon–in–chief under General Tillson, saw the use of dispensaries as the best means of administering medical relief and the most effective approach to encourage civil officials to take on some of the cost for operating them. Lawton and his successor at various times maintained dispensaries at Albany, Americus, Brunswick, Columbus, Darien, Newton, St. Catherine's Island, St. Marys, and Stone Mountain. The Bureau's medical department also opened hospitals with the idea of eventually turning them over to state and local authorities. The Bureau maintained hospitals at Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. At the height of its medical operations (1866–67), however, the agency employed just 13 physicians. Nonetheless, with its limited and over burdened medical staff, the Bureau treated more than 5,000 freedmen for various aliments and vaccinated some 20,000 freedmen and refugees against smallpox from September 1, 1865, through September 20, 1866. By September 1867, the number of freedmen treated by the Bureau nearly tripled. At the end of June 1868, close to 17,000 freed men, women, and children received treatment. Despite the Bureau's efforts to treat the weak, sick, and infirm, the mortality rate among freedmen remained high. By late 1868, most of the Bureau's medical activities ceased, and care for the destitute was turned over to local authorities.4
In Georgia, as in other states under the Bureau's jurisdiction, the regulation of written labor contracts between planters and freedmen was of paramount concern. General Tillson's order of October 3, 1865 (Circular Number 2), which restricted the issuing of rations only to those in need, also instructed his subordinates to "Make Immediate and Vigorous Efforts" to secure work for unemployed freedmen "where fair compensation and kind treatment will be secured to them." Upon arrival at his post in early September 1865, Tillson found the labor system in Georgia in disarray. Able–bodied freedmen were being paid from $2 to $7 per month. Many were of the notion that the Federal Government was planning to distribute land to them at Christmas or New Year's, and thus large numbers of freedmen were refusing to sign labor contracts. Planters, on the other hand, were convinced that the Bureau was the "Champion" of the freedmen and totally insensitive to their concerns about freedmen and their unwillingness to labor, and were thus making little effort to prepare for the planting season.5
On December 22, 1865, in an effort to remove "False and Mistaken Impressions" held by the both planters and freedmen, Tillson issued wage guidelines that both parties were expected to follow. Under the new rules, freedmen had the right to choose their own employers, but those freedmen who refused to sign contracts after January 10, 1866, "where employers offer good wages and kind treatment," had to accept contracts that the Bureau made for them. In upper and middle Georgia, where the land was poor and unsuited for raising large quantities of crops, Tillson instructed his officers to secure contracts paying men $12 – $13 per month, and $8 – $10 dollars per month for women. Freedmen were to provide for their own clothing and medicines. In other parts of the state and along the coast and southwestern Georgia, where "Good Crops" could be raised, men were to be paid $15 per month, including board and lodging, and women $10 per month. In areas where planters preferred to pay a share of the crop, the order required payment of "from one–third the gross to one half the net proceeds."6
Realizing that not all planters would comply with his new wage guidelines, Tillson instructed his subordinates to call on the military to enforce his orders whenever necessary. He was aware in spite of his orders, many of the contracts being signed, even some approved by his own agents, were substandard and not in compliance with his wage schedule. He made clear to both his agents and the planters that such contracts would not be recognized. To emphasize the importance of his commitment to fair contracts and compensation for freedmen, Tillson offered transportation to freedmen to such areas as southwest Georgia and the Mississippi Valley where wages were higher. In a November 1866 report to Commissioner Howard, Tillson indicated that he had issued 381 orders for transportation for some 2,947 men and 1,013 children.7
Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen was a major area of concern for the Freedmen's Bureau. Following the Civil War, several Southern states enacted a series of laws commonly known as "Black Codes," which restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard in state courts. In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard on May 30, 1865 (Circular Number 5), Assistant Commissioners were directed to "adjudicate, either themselves or through officers of their appointment, all difficulties arising between negroes themselves, or between negroes and whites or Indians." In response to Howard's circular, General Tillson issued an order on November 15, 1865 (Circular Number 4), instructing his officers to hear and make determinations in cases involving freedmen in which the disputed sum did not exceed $50, or the punishment did not exceed $50 or 30 days' imprisonment. Agents were also told that they could "try offences committed by or against freedmen, provided the sentence imposed does not exceed one hundred and fifty dollars or imprisonment for hard labor for sixty days." Tillson further ordered that "It is preferred that all cases of any importance . . . whenever under the laws there of [the State of Georgia], or by agreement of the parties . . . [where] the testimony of Freedmen can be admitted . . . the Agent will turn them over to the civil authorities for trial." To carry out Tillson's orders, agents were to establish three member tribunals (known as freedmen's courts) consisting of a Bureau official and two citizens, one chosen by each party involved in the case.8
However, when the Georgia State Legislature passed an act conferring civil rights on "Persons of Color," approved March 17, 1866, Tillson advised his officers on April 6 (Circular Number 4) that they were no longer required to comply with Commissioner Howard's orders of May 30, 1865. While Tillson told his agents that they were to continue to follow instructions issued by him on November 6, 1865 (Circular Number 4), "all cases exceeding their jurisdiction, unless otherwise specially directed by the Department Commander, [were to] be turned over to the civil authorities of the State for adjudication." Despite the Bureau's efforts to secure justice and civil rights for freedmen in Georgia, blacks continued to complain to the agency about some of the "Most Fiendish and Diabolical Outrages" suffered by them at the hands of gangs known as "Regulators," "Jayhawkers," and the "Black–Horse Cavalry." Perpetrators of crimes against freedmen were often not apprehended or prosecuted by civil authorities. At various times, because of increased hostilities toward freedmen and the failure of civil authorities to take action in their cases, Bureau officials in Georgia were compelled to reassert their authority.9
Bureau educational activity began in Georgia in October 1865, when G. L. Eberhart was appointed as superintendent of schools (later education). In August 1867, Edward A. Ware succeeded Eberhart. In January 1869, Assistant Commissioner Maj. John R. Lewis assumed the duties of superintendent of education. Lewis served in both capacities until May 1869, when the office of Assistant Commissioner was discontinued, and remained as superintendent education until May 1870. The records of the two offices were not combined. Ware, who had been acting as assistant superintendent, remained in Georgia as acting superintendent until August 1870, when all Bureau officers except the claims agents were withdrawn from the state.
Congress's failure to provide an appropriation for the Freedmen's Bureau during it first year of operation, impacted significantly on the agency's ability to provide adequate assistance for freedmen education. With limited financial resources, the Bureau provided help when it could, and worked vigorously to encourage freedmen and Northern benevolent societies to take on the primary responsibility for providing support for black schools. G. L. Eberhart and his successors were of the opinion that "colored people who are unwilling to help educate their children do not deserve to have schools." To encourage freedmen to participate in this self–support effort, Eberhart urged them to establish educational associations. With assistance from local Bureau agents, educational associations were established in the subdistricts of Thomasville, Bainbridge, Albany, Georgetown, Cuthbert, and Americus. In early 1866, the "Pay Your Own Way" policy led to the founding of the Georgia Educational Association (initially organized as the Georgia Equal Rights Association). The Educational Association worked closely with the Bureau and Northern aid societies and became the model "to encourage the people [freedmen] to organized effort in supporting their own schools & managing their own affairs." By the end of 1866, freedmen owned 57 schoolhouses and provided support for 96 of the 127 schools in the state. By the spring of 1867, freedmen contributions sustained some 104 schools and teachers and more than 3,000 students. During the same period, the Bureau maintained some 44 schools and 50 teachers and close to 3,100 pupils. Northern aid societies provided support for 84 schools, 78 teachers, and over 7,000 students. Freedmen also defrayed the expenses for 45 schools under the control of the Bureau and the aid societies.10
With the passage of the Army Appropriations Act on July 13, 1866 (14 Stat. 90), the Bureau received its first appropriation and was able to provide greater assistance in its effort to support freedmen education. In addition to providing some $21,000 for state superintendents' salaries, the Act made available $500,000 more for the rent and repair of school buildings. In the same month, Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto and extended the life of the Bureau for 2 years. In this new legislation (14 Stat. 173), the Bureau was allowed to "Seize, Hold, Use, Lease, or Sell" Confederate property for the purpose of educating freedmen. The act also required the Bureau to work closely with benevolent groups and to lease buildings to those associations that supplied teachers. By early July 1869, the Bureau had expended nearly $105,000 for the construction and repair of school buildings that provided accommodations for 4,690 students. The Bureau spent an additional $10,471 for the repair of buildings that provided part–time space for more than 3,500 pupils. By the time the Bureau withdrew from Georgia in 1870, the agency had contributed funds for the building of some 50 schools in the state.11
1 Mildred Thompson, "The Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in 1865–66: An Instrument of Reconstruction," The Georgia Historical Quarterly V, No. 1 (March 1921): 42 – 43.
2 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., Serial Vol. 1256, p. 58.
3 House Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 57; Thompson, "The Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in 1865–66: An Instrument of Reconstruction," pp. 42 – 43. For a detailed discussion of the Georgia Freedmen's Bureau's efforts in regards to relief, see Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870 (Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1997), especially pp. 80 – 98.
4 Paul Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870, pp. 98 – 104; See also Todd L. Savitt, "Politics in Medicine: The Georgia Freedmen's Bureau and the Organization of Health Care, 1865–1866," Civil War History XXVIII, No. 1 (March 1982): pp. 45 – 64.
5 "Statement in brief, of the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia, since September last, the date of his assignment to duty," Davis Tillson, Bvt. Maj. Gen., Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, GA, August 7, 1866, Records of the Office of the Commissioner, 1866–69, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
6 Paul A. Cimbala, "The Talisman Power:" Davis Tillson, The Freedmen's Bureau, and Free Labor in Reconstruction Georgia, 1865–68," Civil War History XXVIII, No. 2 (June 1982): 160.
7 Ibid, 160 – 164.
8 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. Serial Vol. 1256, pp. 61 – 62.
9 Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, pp. 54 – 56.
10 Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870, pp. 105 – 110.
11 Ibid., pp. 116 – 118.