The Victory Already Won

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and read aloud General Orders No. 3: all enslaved people were free. The crowds that gathered could hardly believe what they heard. Some wept. Some shouted. Some stood absolutely still, unable to process the words. But here is the remarkable thing — the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two and a half years earlier.…