Forty Acres and a Mule. Special Field Orders No.15, word for word, section 1.

Bonny Blue Flag

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This order has six sections, some of them lengthy. Therefore, each section will be a seperate thread. ***threads merged 11/25/1017: Lnwlf***

In the field, Savannah, Georgia, January 16, 1865

Special Field Orders, No. 15

1. The islands from Charleston, south, the abandonded rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns River, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of the negros now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States.

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Source:
pbs.org
American Experience
Reconstruction / The Second Civil War

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Section 2 will follow as a new thread.

--BBF
 
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Interesting start, BBF. But this is a thread; added information will be in additonal posts in this thread.

Will look forward to the rest of it, but will observe that Sherman had no authority to issue that order.

Ole
 
Good thread, Bonnie. I didn't know that Sherman was the originator of the '40 acres and a mule'. He seems to start off with it while he was in Savannah. I also did not know that he did this without authorization from Lincoln. Is that the case?


Lee
 
BR, you are too much!

Congress did not like the idea of "forty acres and a mule", and President Johnson vetoed it.

I am having difficulty on the web finding if Lincoln approved of it or not.

--BBF
 
"Forty acres and a mule" was, in my peculiar understanding, attributable to the Freedman's Bureau. A good idea whose time hadn't come.

One man couldn't farm more than 40 acres and he did need a mule to help him with it.

Ever wonder why farmers tended to chuff out kids? Some of them might be sons to help with it. With four or five strapping sons, the farmer could add acres and have some sons or sons-in-law who would take care of him when he and gramma got too fragile to do it themselves. Social security when there were no retirement homes. And he could leave something for his kids to build on.

Ole
 
Sherman did indeed start the idea, there is question if Lincoln ever got wind of it prior to his death. Frankly, it was a good idea and might have solved some of the post war issues. Certainly couldn't have made the former CS hate the US any less.
 
Ever wonder why farmers tended to chuff out kids?
Because 30% of them on average were going to die off? Well, and also what you said.

Sherman had a habit of exceeding his authority. See also the surrender of Johnston's army. Although I think you can credit Breckinridge for that one.
 
Last night I typed up Section 2 of Sherman's Order No. 15 as a second thread -- it is lengthy, pressed "preview" and lost the whole thing...instead a screen came up saying I needed to log in.

Has anyone else have this happen?

Will try again tonight.

--BBF
 
Forty Acres and a Mule/Section 2/Special Order No. 15

At Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, Fernandina, St. Augustine and Jacksonville, the blacks may remain in their chosen or accustomed vocations -- but on the islands, and in the settlements hereafter to be established, no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers, detained for duty, will be perminted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves, subject only to the United States military authority and the acts of Congress.

By the laws of war, and orders of the President of the United States, the negro is free and must be dealt with as such. He cannot be subjected to conscription or forced military service, save by the written orders of the highest military authority of the Department, under such regulations as the President or Congress may prescribe.

Domestic servents, blacksmiths, carpenters and other mechanics, will be free to select their own work and residence, but the young and able-bodied negroes must be encouraged to enlist as soldeirs in the service of the United States, to contribute their share towards maintaining their own freedom, and securing their rights as citizens of the United States.

Negroes so enlisted will be organized into companies, battalions and regiments, under the orders of the United States military authorities, and will be paid, fed and clothed according to law. The bounties paid on enlistment may, with the consent of the recruit, go to assist his family and settlement in procuring agricultural implements, seed, tools, boots, clothing, and other articles necessary for their livelihood.

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To follow, Section 3.

--BBF
 
Section 3

Whenever three respectable negroes, heads of families, shall desire to settle on land, and shall have selected for that purpose an island or a locality clearly defined, within the limits above designated, the Inspector of Settlements and Plantations will himself, or by such subordinate officer as he may appoint, give them a license to settle such island or district, and afford them such assistance as he can, to enable to establish a peaceable agricultural settlement.

The three parties named will subdivide the land, under the supervision of the Inspector, among themselves and such others as may choose to settle near them, so that each family shall have a plot of no more than (40) forty acres of tillable ground, when it borders on some water channel, with not more than 800 feet water front, in the possession of which land the military authorities will afford them protection, until such time as they can protect themselves, or until Congress shall regulate their title.

The Quartermaster may, upon a requisition of the Inspector of Settlements and Plantations, place at the disposal of the Inspector, one or more of the captured steamers, to ply between the settlements and one or more of the commercial points heretofor named in orders, to afford the settlers the opportunity to supply their necessary wants, and to sell the products of their land and labor.
 
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Section 4:

Whenever a negro has enlisted in the military service of the United States, he may locate his family in any one of the settlements at pleasure, and acquire a homestead, and all other rights and privileges of a settler, as though present in person. In like manner, negroes may settle their families and engage on board the gunboats, or in fishing, or in the navigation of the inland waters, without losing any claim to land or other advantages derived from this system. But no one, unless an actual settler as above defined, or unless absent on Government service, will be entitled to claim any right to land or property in any settllement by virtue of these orders.

Section 5:

In order to carry out this system of settlement, a general officer will be detailed as Inspector of Settlements and Plantations, whose duty it shall be to visit the settlements, to regulate their police and general management, and who will furnish personally to each head of a family, subject to the approval of the President of the United States, a possessory title in writing, giving as near as possible the description of boundaries, and who shall adjust all claims or conflicts that may arise under the same, subject to the like approval, treating such titles altogether as possessory.

The same general officer will also be charged with the enlistment and organization of the negro recruits, and protecting their interests while absent from their ssettlements, and will be governed by the rules and regulations prescribed by the War Department for such purposes.

Section 6:

Brigadier General R. Saxton is hereby appointed Inspector of Settlements and Plantations, and will at once enter on the performance of his duties. No change is intended or desired in the settlement now on Beaufort (Port Royal) Island, nor will any rights to property heretofore acquired be affected thereby.

By Order of Major General W. . Sherman

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Gen. Sherman wrote this order without President Lincoln's knowledge. To date, I can find no statement from Lincoln showing his like or dislike of this order.

Congress strongly disapproved of it and President Andrew Johnson vetoed it.

--BBF
 
The story behind this order is complex. Did Stanton influence it? The order was clearly beyond the authority of a military decision. It might well have fallen under the Confiscation Acts, but those acts, so far as my understanding goes, don't exactly extend to a permanent deprivation of real estate. The chattel might be irretrievable, but the real property might not be.

It seems that some of the order did actually stick. Much of it didn't.

Thanks for the introduction of a highly interesting topic, BBF. Looking forward to learning some of the more intricate details.

Ole
 
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