On Friday, March 3, 1865 the Thirty-eighth Congress of the United States held a marathon, final session which adjourned about 8 a.m. on March 4. A flurry of last minute bills passed, including an act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees. The so-named Freedmen’s Bureau would have “control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States.” Providing temporary subsistence, clothing, and fuel, the Bureau’s primary function would be to assign land to those in need. Other acts established a Freedmen’s Saving and Trust Company and provided freedom for the families of all Negro soldiers who had aided the Union. Lincoln quickly signed these acts into law, reaffirming his party’s long standing commitment to the future of the black race in America.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.