Cold Open

It’s a warm fall day in 1864 on a sheep farm in Mexia, Texas.

Nine-year-old enslaved shepherd William Moore taps a wooden stick on a fence as he steers a dozen sheep into a pen.

After securing the gate, William slowly heads back toward the farmhouse, swishing the stick as though it’s an imaginary sword.

But his playful mood is broken by an agonizing scream from the far side of the building. William knows the voice instantly. It’s his mother.

William sprints around the house to find his mother bound to a tree, a bloody stripe across her bare back. Standing over her is the farmer Tom Waller, whip in hand.

He raises the whip high into the air, ready to strike again. But without thinking of the consequences, William picks up a rock and flings it at him.

Waller crumples to the ground, bleeding from where the rock struck him.

William then rushes to his mother. He tries to untie the rope that’s bound her to the tree. But the knots are stuck fast.

Then he hears footsteps behind him. William turns to see Mary Waller, his enslaver’s daughter, hustling down from the farmhouse porch. If Mary saw William throw the stone, he’s as good as dead. But to William’s surprise, Mary ignores her bleeding father and helps him loosen the knots that tie his mother.

Once William’s mother is free, Mary eases her to her feet and pulls her clothes back on. Then, she hurries the mother and son away from the farmhouse—and into a new life as fugitives.

More than a year after the Emancipation Proclamation officially ended slavery in the United States, many Black workers like William Moore and his mother are still trapped in servitude. But the American Civil War will soon be over, and as the last Confederate resistance melts away, the enslaved people of Texas will finally be told that they are free on June 19th, 1865.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is June 19th, 1865: Juneteenth.

Act One: A New Land

It’s summer 1863 in Mexia, Texas, a year before William Moore saves his mother from their enslaver’s whip.

Eight-year-old William wearily climbs down from the covered wagon where he’s spent most of the last two weeks. He shields his eyes from the bright sun, and as his vision adjusts, William sees a large farmhouse before him. His enslaver, Tom Waller, ushers his wife and daughters toward their new home and out of the scorching heat. But William knows he’ll never see the inside of this grand house.

When the Waller family are out of sight, a white overseer roughly pushes William away from the farmhouse. The overseer leads William and Tom Waller’s other enslaved workers to a line of log cabins in a distant corner of the farm. William’s nose wrinkles from the damp smell when he sticks his head inside. There’s no furniture, just piles of straw to sleep on. With a sigh, he slumps down into a corner and daydreams about the handmade toys that he was forced to leave behind, back in their old home in Alabama. But his mother soon rouses him and pushes him out the door. None of them have any time to rest—like everyone else, young William will be expected to work.

Just as William didn’t want to leave the familiarity of his old home, Tom Waller didn’t want to relocate from Alabama either. But recent developments in the American Civil War made staying there impossible. Six months ago, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This executive order officially freed more than 3.5 million enslaved people living in the secessionist Confederate states. This Proclamation could only be enforced in states occupied by Union soldiers, but after decisive defeats for the Confederacy in Mississippi and Georgia, Tom Waller realized that time was not on his side. He needed to get out of Alabama before Union soldiers arrived and confiscated his enslaved workers. So, Tom fixed his sights on Texas as a refuge. He packed up everything he could, purchased a new farm 500 miles away in Mexia, and set out in a wagon train for a fresh start.

In the days that follow their arrival in Texas, William Moore and Tom Waller’s other enslaved workers discover that life in their new home is little different than the one they left behind in Alabama. Just as before, Tom Waller runs his farm with an iron fist. A few weeks after settling down in Mexia, Tom punishes a man by flogging him with a whip, then pouring salt into the wounds. And despite his injuries, the man is put straight back to work in the fields, and for the next week, William sees the young man’s shirt sticking to his back as the lacerations reopen and bleed.

So, William and his family try to avoid Tom Waller’s anger at all cost, they keep their heads down and get on with their work. But after almost a year in Texas, Tom’s temper snaps after eating a meal that William’s mother had prepared. He declares that the food isn’t good enough and drags William’s mother from the house. He ties her to a tree and begins a brutal whipping.

When William intervenes to save his mother, he knocks out Tom with a rock. But William instantly realizes that his actions have endangered his life. If Tom Waller gets his hands on William now, he’ll probably kill him and his mother, too. They have no choice but to run—and with the surprising help of Tom’s daughter Mary, William and his mother flee into the nearby woods.

Over the next few days, William and his mother hide out among the trees. They watch as the furious Tom Waller searches the farm for them, a shotgun in hand. William and his mother consider running to the North—but that’s hundreds of miles away and, with no idea in which direction to head, they decide it’s less risky to just hide in the woods. So every night, when darkness falls, they slip back to the slave quarters on the farm for food and shelter. But by the time dawn breaks, William and his mother are back in the woods, among the safety of the trees.

There, mother and son will remain, living the secretive lives of runaways—until news breaks that changes not just William’s life, but the life of every single enslaved worker on Tom Waller’s farm.

Act Two: Undeniable

It’s the afternoon of April 9th, 1865, in Baldwin County, in the south of Alabama, a year after William Moore and his mother became fugitives.

44-year-old Union Major General Gordon Granger ducks as he makes his way through a web of trenches. In the distance, a shell explodes—although General Granger has no idea whether it’s from one of his guns or from the Confederates.

A week ago, Union forces approached Fort Blakely, a Confederate fort at the entrance to Mobile Bay. It’s the last defense stopping the Union army from capturing this important port. But the Confederate defenders weren’t prepared to give up without a fight. The Union army laid siege to the fort, ringing it with earthworks. But the Confederates responded by digging trenches in front of the fort’s walls. Now, the two sides are within 1,000 yards of each other—but the Union soldiers can’t get any closer without coming under fire from the cannons on the fort’s walls.

As General Granger reaches a lookout point, he slowly lifts his head above the trench. There’s nothing between him and the Confederate lines but open ground. Any attempt to cross it is bound to take heavy casualties. But that’s exactly what General Granger has been ordered to do.

So, after one last examination of the enemy defenses, General Granger gives the order to attack. His Union soldiers climb out of their trenches and head towards the Confederate line—but they’re sitting ducks. The cannons on Fort Blakley open fire. Landmines laid by the Confederates explode when unwary Union soldiers step on them. And the few soldiers that manage to make it to the Confederate lines are soon picked off by rifle fire. But despite the bloodshed, General Granger's orders are still clear—they must take the fort at any cost. So, as Granger watches the attack falter, he orders reinforcements to join the assault.

The Union soldiers outnumber the Confederates by ten to one, and gradually their superior numbers begin to make a difference. Union men reach the Confederate line and gain a foothold in the enemy trenches. And for 30 minutes, brutal hand-to-hand combat rages as the two sides battle for control of the earthworks. Eventually, the Confederate soldiers lay down their weapons, opening the way for the Union Army to take control of Fort Blakely, the port of Mobile, and the entire state of Alabama.

A few hours later, news reaches General Granger of another Confederate surrender that’s been secured on the same day. Several hundred miles to the northeast, Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee has been defeated at the Battle of Appomattox.

So, that evening, the surviving Union soldiers under General Granger's command enjoy a double celebration: their own victory at the Battle of Blakely and the surrender of the Confederacy’s most-feared general at Appomattox. But even though the end of the Civil War is almost at hand, Granger knows that his time in uniform will likely continue. Union soldiers will be needed to keep the peace in the rebel states.

And sure enough, within two months of the Battle of Blakely, every Confederate general has followed Lee’s example and surrendered. With the war over, General Granger is appointed to a new command. He’s given control of Union forces in the District of Texas—and it’s a tough assignment. During the war, Texas was seen as a safe haven for Southern farmers and plantation owners who wanted to escape the fighting in neighboring states. And until now, they’ve ignored Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, keeping it secret from their enslaved workers. It will be up to Granger to reveal the truth and enforce the President’s authority.

So, General Granger sets up his headquarters in the Texas City of Galveston on the coast. His first priority is to impose Union control on a hostile population, who were mostly staunch supporters of the Confederacy. But General Granger knows exactly how to get the point across that the Union has won.

On June 19th, 1865, General Granger issues a military decree. His General Order Number 3 is short and to the point. It declares that the enslaved population of the United States is now free, and that formerly enslaved workers in Texas should now be paid a fair wage for the work that they do.

General Granger’s order will be printed in dozens of Texas newspapers, and Union soldiers will paste it on hundreds of posters all around the state. No longer will the enslaved people of Texas be kept in the dark about the Emancipation Proclamation. And at last, the final stronghold of slavery in the United States will fall.

Act Three: Absolute Equality

It’s the evening of June 19th, 1865, in Mexia, Texas, only hours after General Order Number 3 was published.

10-year-old William Moore sits high among the branches in the woods at the back of Tom Waller’s farm. From here, he can see the tree where his mother was whipped almost a year ago.

Ever since that fateful day, William and his mother have lived in the woods, never straying more than a few miles from their old home. Although both were tempted to strike north in search of true freedom, neither wanted to leave behind the rest of their family. So, they stayed hidden in the woods, and when night fell each day, they crept back to the farm. Tom Waller was never the wiser.

But as William enjoys the cooling breeze high in the tree tops, he spots his sister running from the farm, and toward the woods, she’s shouting his name. William hurries down from the tree and dashes toward her, telling her to keep her voice down. But his sister is grinning. She tells William not to worry—she has spectacular news.

Earlier today, the Union General Gordon Granger issued a decree declaring that all enslaved workers in Texas are now free. Word has spread quickly throughout the state, and a few moments ago, a newspaper carrying the order reached the Wallers’ farm.

This news upends a way of life that enslavers and their workers have known for generations. But William and his mother continue to hide out until they’re sure that Tom Waller no longer has any rights to them. And a few days later, they learn that Tom has reluctantly agreed to pay wages to the workers on his farm. But William and his mother refuse to take Tom’s money, believing he’ll soon return to his old ways. So they leave the Waller farm. And never return.

William and his mother were right to be suspicious. Many enslaved workers will remain in bondage for a long time to come. Some plantation owners will continue to conceal the Emancipation Proclamation from their workers and will only free them when Union soldiers force them to. Others will pay the bare minimum in wages and threaten their former slaves with retribution if they seek better pay and conditions elsewhere.

But despite the slow pace of change, General Order Number 3 will mark an important moment in the history of the United States. The day will come to be known as “Juneteenth” and will be celebrated every year on the anniversary of General Granger’s decree, when the enslaved population of the last holdout state learned of their freedom on June 19th, 1865.

Outro

Next on History Daily. June 20th, 1975. Steven Spielberg's Jaws is released in theaters and becomes the highest-grossing movie in history.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Supervising Sound Designer Matthew Filler.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nicholls.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.