12/29/2025
General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15, issued January 16, 1865, confiscated 400,000 acres of Confederate land along the South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida coasts for settlement by newly freed Black families, promising plots of up to 40 acres and the loan of army mules, famously becoming the "40 acres and a mule" idea; however, after President Lincoln's death, President Andrew Johnson rescinded the order, returning most land to former owners and hindering Black economic independence.
Key Details of the Order:
Date & Issuance: January 16, 1865, by General William T. Sherman.
Land Confiscated: Roughly 400,000 acres from Charleston, SC, to the St. Johns River, FL, including Georgia's Sea Islands.
Purpose: To provide land and resources for formerly enslaved people to establish self-sufficiency.
Distribution: Land divided into plots of up to 40 acres per family.
Mules: Sherman later authorized the loan of army mules to these settlers.
Impact & Aftermath:
Success: The order allowed about 18,000 families to settle and become productive, forming their own institutions.
Rescission: After President Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson revoked the order in late 1865, returning the land to former owners.
Legacy: The failure to uphold the order is seen as a tragic missed opportunity, forcing many freed people into sharecropping and limiting their economic prospects.
