On June 19, 1865, Union general Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3, a proclamation stating that slaves in Texas were now free. The order was posted at several locations throughout the city of Galveston, where the proclamation was issued, and was published in newspapers throughout Texas. The order was issued in an effort on the part of Union forces occupying the state to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.