Historical Event
Reading of General Order No. 3 (June 19, 1865)
On June 19, 1865, Union troops carrying news of General Order No. 3 marched through Galveston, reading the order at several points across the city, with Reedy Chapel, then known simply as the "Negro Church" on Broadway, serving as the final stop on their route. Freed people gathered and marched from the county courthouse to the church that day to celebrate their emancipation together, beginning a tradition of a Juneteenth procession to the church that has continued in various forms ever since.
Why This Matters
This reading matters because it placed a Black church, rather than a government building alone, at the symbolic center of the community's first free celebration, reflecting how central the church was to Black communal life even in the very first hours of freedom. That the procession tradition continues today makes Reedy Chapel a living, continuously observed site of Juneteenth memory rather than only a historical marker.
Related People
No People Connected
This event has not yet been connected to historical figures.
Related Heritage Sites
Related Lessons
The Herero and Nama Genocide: A Rehearsal Historians Still Trace Forward
Unit 4
Fedon's Rebellion: Grenada's Attempt to Become 'Another Haiti'
Unit 4
South Africa: Apartheid as Formal Law, and the Decades-Long Fight to End It
Unit 7
The Long Road to the Presidency
Unit 7
Lines That Split Nations and Forced Rivals Together
Unit 2
Related Journeys
No Journeys Connected
This event has not yet been connected to discovery journeys.