At the height of the Civil War, both the north and the South were essentially fighting to a draw. Neither side seemed on the verge of victory. President Lincoln felt pressured to adopt more aggressive tactics to subdue the rebellion. For at least six months in 1862, he had dithered and contemplated a major action that would greatly affect the Confederacy. He had been considering emancipating enslaved Africans to incite and provoke rebellion in the ranks of the enslaved. This would weaken the fighting ability of the Confederacy. Finally, on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln took effect. It freed all people held as slaves in only the Confederate States that had rebelled against the Union. It did not free all the enslaved; those in Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland. The Proclamation led almost 4 million formerly enslaved to troop to Union lines, causing much confusion in the south. It led to a huge growth in Union ranks. It also sent the message that the war was not just a war to maintain the union, but also a war that was being fought to uphold humanity. Not all the enslaved got the message, however. In Texas, for instance, it was not until June 19, 1865 that the people of Galveston, Texas, first heard that they had indeed been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation two years earlier! Union Major Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 that proclaimed freedom from slavery for Black people in Texas. There was a major celebration, now popularly called Juneteenth.
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