Refereeing Rights: The Freedmen's Bureau, 1865

Visitors are invited to join park staff and volunteers to step back to the end of the Civil War to discover the role of the military run Freedmen’s Bureau at the park’s Provost Marshal’s Office. 

In contrast to Juneteenth--June 19th, 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned of their freedom--Harpers Ferry and the Freedmen’s Bureau had been for months refereeing the civil rights of freedom seekers. Visitors are invited to learn how the Freedmen’s Bureau military office settled the disputed rights of the former enslaved. 

The bureau used military authority to establish schools or churches, open an employment office, legitimize marriages, pay bounties due to black soldiers for serving their country, and assisted to reunite families broken up by enslavement.  Bureau offices were established to referee the rights of newly freed slaves in states with southern sympathies, conflicting loyalties, and racial tensions. 

Fees

Free with paid park entry fee.

Location

Provost Marshal Office, located in historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry.

Schedule

Ongoing program--pop in at any time between 11:00 and 4:00 to participate.

Event Type

• Living History