End of Special Field Order # 15

Summary

The script narrates a significant post-Civil War event where President Johnson orders Confederate lands, previously seized by Union troops, to be returned to their former owners. This decision deeply betrays the freedmen who believed the land was rightfully theirs. General O.O. Howard, sympathizing with the freedmen, tries to resist the order but is forced to enforce it. The freedmen, feeling violated, refuse to comply, expressing their outrage in petitions and protests. Ultimately, despite efforts to maintain independence, the black settlement at St. Catherine's Island is dismantled, symbolizing the larger struggle for African-American autonomy.

Takeaways

• ⚖️ The president ordered that lands confiscated from Confederate landowners during the war be returned to them, including lands under General Sherman's Field Order 15.
• 🚫 In Georgia, the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau refused to comply, and was fired by President Johnson, who replaced him with someone more compliant.
• 🤝 General O.O. Howard, head of the Freedmen's Bureau, sympathized with freedmen and resisted the order for as long as possible.
• 📜 In October, Howard traveled to Edisto Island to try to negotiate an agreement between freedmen and former landowners, under President Johnson's directive.
• 💔 The freedmen felt deeply betrayed, as they believed the federal government had promised them the land, and now it was being returned to the former owners.
• 📢 Freedmen were outraged and resisted the idea of signing labor contracts to remain on the land they thought was theirs.
• 🙏 During a heated meeting, a woman began singing spirituals, expressing the deep emotional pain of the community.
• ✍️ Some freedmen wrote letters to Howard, refusing to forgive the former landowners who had mistreated them, and rejecting the terms of staying on the land.
• 💪 Despite some freedmen militias attempting to defend the land, they did not want to fight African-American soldiers sent to restore the land to former owners.
• 🏞️ The experiment in independence on St. Catherine's Island ended when land was returned to former owners, and Tunis Campbell, a leader of the freedmen, moved to the Georgia mainland.

Q & A

What action did the president order regarding Confederate lands?

The president ordered that Confederate lands seized by Union troops during the war be returned to the planters, including land confiscated under General Sherman's Field Order 15.

Why was the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia fired?

The assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia was fired because he refused to give the planters back their land as ordered by President Johnson.

How did General O.O. Howard feel about the president's order to return land to former owners?

General O.O. Howard sympathized with the freedmen and resisted the president's decree to return the land to former owners for as long as he could.

What was General Howard instructed to do when he visited the black settlement at Edisto Island?

General Howard was instructed to effect an agreement that would be mutually satisfactory to both the freedmen and the landowners, but the underlying message was that freedmen would have to return the land to the former owners.

How did the freedmen react when General Howard explained the president’s wishes?

The freedmen reacted with anger and disbelief, shouting 'No!' and expressing that they believed they had a right to the land, viewing the situation as a deep betrayal of the promises made to them by the government.

What symbolic song did a woman start singing during the confrontation, and what did it represent?

A woman began singing 'Nobody knows the trouble I feel, Nobody knows but Jesus,' symbolizing the deep emotional pain and sense of betrayal felt by the freedmen.

What did some freedmen choose to do instead of immediately accepting the president’s order?

Some freedmen chose to wait and see what Congress had to say, while others petitioned General Howard in writing, expressing their grievances.

What did one freedman write to General Howard about forgiving the landowners?

One freedman wrote that he could not forgive the landowner who had beaten him, flogged his mother and sister, and would not let him stay in an empty hut unless he worked for the landowner's price.

What role did African-American soldiers play in the conflict over land at St. Catherine’s?

In January 1866, a large contingent of African-American soldiers arrived at St. Catherine's with orders to restore the land to Jacob Waldburg, effectively ending the freedmen's independent control of the land.

What was Tunis Campbell’s response to the end of the independence experiment at St. Catherine’s?

Tunis Campbell, determined and undeterred, headed for the Georgia mainland after the experiment in independence at St. Catherine's was over.