The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865. The duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees, freedmen, and the custody of abandoned lands and property. These documents come from the Records of the Field Offices for the District of Columbia, Series 3.4: Subordinate Field Offices, Freedmen’s Village.
Please help us transcribe these records to learn more about the experiences of formerly enslaved men and women in the Washington, D.C. area during the Reconstruction Era.
Freedmen's Village was located across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, on the estate formerly owned by Robert E. Lee. It originated in 1863 as a "Model Community" for the freedmen in the Washington area and was continued by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands largely as a place for destitute freedmen.
The single volume of letters sent by the superintendent, July 1867–November 1868 (111), is arranged chronologically. Most of the letters are addressed to the Assistant Commissioner and his staff, and they relate to the general operations of the Freedmen's Village. The volume was originally listed as a Virginia record.