HDQRS. MIL. DIV. OF THE
MISSISSIPPI,
In the Field,
Savannah, Ga.,
January 16, 1865.
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 John's River, Fla., are reserved and set apart for
the settlement of the negroes now made free by the acts of war and the
proclamation of the President of the United States.
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. 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 subordinate
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. 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 gun-boats, 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. 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
shalt 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. 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. M. DAYTON,
Assistant
Adjutant-General.
SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
47, Part 2 (Serial No. 99), p. 60-2
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