Special Field Orders No. 15 (40 Acres and a Mule)

General Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15 are among the most important documents of the Civil War. Let’s take a look at how they came about and the affect that they had.

Special Field Orders No. 15

The Basics

When

General William Tecumseh Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15 on January 16, 1865 after completing his March to the Sea. Between November 15, 1864 and December 21, 1864, he led Union soldiers on a march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. He wreaked havoc long the way and, ultimately, caused the south to give up fighting the American Civil War.

Who

Overall, there were about 60,000 soldiers on that march with General Sherman. Additionally, there were also tens of thousands of black refugees traveling with the Union forces as they moved east. Essentially, they were in need fo both food and protection from Confederate soldiers and southern whites.

What

Simply put, General Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15 called for the confiscation of 400,000 acres of land along the Atlantic the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Next, the land would be divided into parcels of not more than 40 acres. Once done, they would settle approximately 18,000 former slaves and other free black families already living in the area. Ultimately, the area became known as Sherman’s Reservation.

Why

Some say that this was the reasoning behind Sherman’s order. They claim that his goal was to deal with the refugees that his units had collected along the way. Many historians propose that his primary intent was to “assure the harmony of action in the area of operations”.

Issuing the Orders

In the process of developing, and before issuing, his military orders, Sherman did seek counsel. However, no amount of foresight would have allowed him to avoid criticism. Going further, there was an even larger task awaiting them, the implementation.

Criticism of Sherman’s Order

One of the main criticisms of the orders that Sherman issued was in regards to how long they would remain in effect. Ultimately, they contended that his orders were temporary in nature. The purpose, according to them, was simply to avoid riots and vagrancy. By putting the negroes to work on some abandoned rice fields, they could keep them occupied. And, the fact that they were working for themselves would keep them in good spirits.

In my opinion, that logic is faulty. For one, the word “settlement of the negroes” implies a permanent situation. The fact that whites were excluded from living in the area supports this thinking. In reality, Sherman was no fan of black people but this wasn’t about friendship. It was more about a peaceful coexistence.

Meeting of the Minds

Before issuing this order, General Sherman met with black leaders. The black leadership at the meeting was comprised of 20 local black ministers and lay leaders. Simply put, they met with Sherman to discuss the end of slavery, black land ownership, and black men having the ability to profit from their own labor.

 Garrison Frazier was an African-American Baptist minister. He acted as spokesman for the twenty black leaders that were present. Their names were as follows;

1. William J. Campbell, 51
2. John Cox, 58
3. Ulysses L. Houston, 41
4. William Bentley, 72
5. Charles Bradwell, 40
6. William Gaines, 41
7. James Hill, 52
8. Glasgon Taylor, 72
9. Garrison Frazier, 67
10. James Mills, 56
11. Abraham Burke, 48
12. Arthur Wardell, 44
13. Alexander Harris, 47
14. Andrew Neal, 61
15. James Porter, 39
16. Adolphus Delmotte, 28
17. Jacob Godfrey, 57
18. John Johnson, 51
19. Robert N. Taylor
20. James Lynch, 26

The General also met with Secretary of war Edwin M. Stanton. Their meeting occurred in Savannah, Georgia. Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician. As such, he served as Secretary of War under Lincoln for most of the Civil War. His management had been key in organizing the extensive military resources of the North which helped Sherman lead his troops to victory.

Sherman issued special field orders no. 15 four days later.

Implementation of Special Field Orders No. 15

General Sherman left the implementation of these special field orders to Brig. Gen. Rufus Saxton. Saxton fully supported the rights of freed people in the South. Further, he believed in the right to equality with white citizens along with land ownership. He was a West Point graduate and had a distinguished military career.

As a testament to his beliefs, Saxton was an active abolitionist. Unlike many others, he believed in integration. As a result, he famously organized the recruitment of black soldiers for the Union Army. Most likely, Sherman put him in charge of implementing the orders due to his history of positive interaction with blacks.

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Special Field Orders No. 15 Transcript

Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi,
In the Field, Savannah, Ga., January 16, 1865.

I.

I. The islands from Charleston south, the abandoned rice-fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the Saint Johns River, Fla., are reserved and set apart for the settlement of the BLACKS now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States.

II.

II. At Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, Fernandina, Saint 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 detailed for duty, will be permitted 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 servants, 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 soldiers in the service of the United States, to contribute their share toward 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, boats, clothing, and other articles necessary for their livelihood.

III.

III. 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 sub-ordinate 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 them 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 not more than forty acres of tillable ground, and 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, on the 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, heretofore named in orders, to afford the settlers the opportunity to supply their necessary wants and to sell the products of their land and labor.

IV.

IV. 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 settlement by virtue of these orders.

V.

V. 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 settlements, and will be governed by the rules and regulations prescribed by the War Department for such purpose.

VI.

VI. Brig. Gen. 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 Island, nor will any rights to property heretofore acquired be affected thereby.

By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman:

L. N. DAYTON, Assistant Adjutant-General.

— William T. Sherman, Military Division of the Mississippi; 1865 series – Special Field Order 15, January 16, 1865.

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President Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the United States after the assassination of President Lincoln. That was a devastating blow to the black people of this country. Basically, Johnson made it his business to unravel any of the good that could have come from Sherman’s order . This is one of the reasons that Americans often list him as one of the worst presidents in American history. Three acts, in my opinion, prove the accuracy of giving President Johnson that title. For one, he vetoed the Reconstruction Acts. Secondly, he granted amnesty to former Confederates. And, third, he permitted those Confederate officials to serve in office. Orders like Special Field Orders No. 15 were contrary to his thinking for the future of America.

Vetoing the Reconstruction Acts

Officials put forth the Reconstruction Acts between 1867 and 1868. They were important pieces of legislation. At their core, they laid out the terms and conditions of the Confederate states to regain admittance into the Union after the American Civil War had ended. Many claim that Radical Republicans wrote the bills. However, the overarching purpose of the bills was to bring those Southern states into alignment with the rest of the country. By vetoing the legislation, Johnson demonstrated a certain loyalty to powers within the South.

Granting Amnesty

Essentially, participating in war against the United States is essentially treason. Basically, the leaders of the Southern States committed treason because they went to war against the North. Granted, these were troubling and confusing times, however, the fact remains. In reality, it required a huge display of grace to forgive that act. In the end, granting amnesty may have been an acceptable decision but to do so without penalties is a different story. The President failed to bar those politicians from political activity. That was a mistake.

Ex-Confederate Officials

When we see what happened with many of the ex-Confederate officials, we can see why complete amnesty was a reckless thing. These officials may have been over the spat with their white brothers but that was not the case with the Black man. These were many of the main architects behind black codes and other tools used to suppress blacks. Their descendants authored the Jim Crow laws that held African Americans down for decades.