Juneteenth
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration honoring the end of slavery. Also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth got its name by combining the month and date (the 19th) when 250,000 enslaved people in Texas were finally informed of their freedom. Texas was the first state to adopt Juneteenth as a State holiday in 1980.
So imagine if you will that you are a Slave living in Texas. It’s June 19th, 1865 and US General Gordon Granger has issued General Order No. 3 informing the people of Texas that all slaves are free. This news comes to you two months after General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House and two and a half years after President Lincoln has issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing enslaved people in the seceding states. You find yourself suddenly free. A moment for joy and celebration and also great uncertainty as to what lies ahead.
Why did this news take so long to arrive? Texas is the furthest state to the West in the confederacy. General Granger arrived in Galveston with 2,000 Union Army soldiers, and between 5,000-10,000 US Colored Troops. This included men from the 28th Indiana, 29th Illinois, and the combined 26th and 31st Regiments New York
There is a local connection to Juneteenth, for among the 72 soldiers credited to service from Northfield Township (as we were then known) are three men assigned to U.S. Colored Troops. Two were black men who enlisted as substitutes to serve with the Illinois 29th U.S. Colored Troops. The other confirmed person was a local resident assigned as a clerk for the first brigade US Colored Troops. Substitute Daniel York of the Illinois 29th USCT was with General Granger in Galveston.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln said, "Without the military help of the black freedmen, the war against the south could not have been won." There is a memorial in Washington, D.C. honoring these men. Included in the list of names on the memorial are the men who served from here.
Juneteenth is now celebrated annually on June 19 throughout the United States, with increasing official recognition. Illinois passed legislation making it a state holiday, and is awaiting Govenor Pritker’s signature.
This is a holiday of celebration, rather than one of solemnity. This is truly independence day and a moment we can all aspire to “with Liberty and Justice for All”
Great thanks to Judy Hughes and the Northbrook Historical Society for her, as always, impeccable and compelling research.
I invite you to visit the RAIN Facebook page for “action items” and activities that you can learn more about the history presented here, including visiting the graves of 28 Civil War Soldiers buried in Northbrook Cemeteries.