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Records of the Assistant Commissioner and Subordinate Field Offices for the State of Florida, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872.
Amount:
15 microfilm reels
Medium Included:
Microfilm.
Organization/Arrangement:
By record type, then chronological.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). Congress assigned to the bureau responsibilities previously shared by military commanders and by agents of the Treasury Department. They included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees and freedmen and the custody of all abandoned or confiscated lands and property. The act also provided that the bureau be headed by a commissioner, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The bureau's operations were confined principally to the former Confederate States, the Border States, and the District of Columbia. The 1865 act authorized the appointment of assistant commissioners to aid the commissioner in supervising the work of the bureau in the states.
During the years of its greatest activity, the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau resembled, in many ways, the work of later federal social agencies. In addition to supervising the disposition of abandoned or confiscated lands and property, bureau officers issued rations, clothing, and medicine to destitute refugees and freedmen. They established hospitals and dispensaries and supervised tenements and camps for the homeless. Bureau officers and members of benevolent organizations cooperated in establishing schools, operating employment offices, and dispensing relief. In March 1866, the bureau assumed the function of helping black soldiers and sailors to file and collect claims for bounties, pensions, and pay arrearages.
Summary:
Microfilm copies of the records for the Assistant Commissioner and Subordinate Field Offices for the State of Florida, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872, consist of volumes of letters, endorsements, registers of letters received, letters received, reports, orders and circulars, and station books and rosters.
Finding Aids:
Microfilm listing and container listing available. The container listing may also be found in the National Archives Microfilm Publication "Black Studies." 0
Additional Physical Form:
The Smithsonian Institute provides digital copies on the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives: https://sova.si.edu/details/NMAAHC.FB.M1869
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Originals held by the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D. C.
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) Freedmen United States
for detailed listing.