United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Commissioner, 1865-1872

What is in This Collection?

The collection consists of images of the records of the Commissioner (Oliver O. Howard) of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often called the Freedmen’s Bureau).The following link will provide a description of the record types found in this and other Freedmen’s Bureau collections.Freedmen's Bureau Record Types

This collection includes name and subject indexes, letters and endorsements sent, circulars and special orders that were issued by Oliver O. Howard Commissioner of the Bureau from NARA microfilm publication: M742, and indexes and registers and letters received by the Commissioner from NARA microfilm publication M752.

• Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands,1865-1872 M742
• Registers and Letters Received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872. M752

Additional records of the Washington Headquarters located in the National Archives include the following:

• Records of the Commissioner: Some of the records relate to offices and civilians who worked for the bureau
• Records of the Chief Disbursing Officer: Some of the records relate to the payment of claims for veterans
• Records of the Land Division: Some collections will identify the property owner of abandoned and confiscated lands
• Records of the Chief Medical Officer: Managed the hospitals and dispensaries and the treatment of patients
• Records of the Claims Division: Helped veterans with claims for bounties, pensions and back pay
• Education Division: Worked with societies in establishing and maintaining local schools. Some records identify teachers
• Records of the Chief Quartermaster: Provided transportation to refugees, freedmen and teachers
• Records of the Assistant Inspector General: Distributed supplies to freedmen and refugees in need
• Records of the Archives Division

Related National Archives Collections

• Contracts of Employees With the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1866–1870 RG 94

Related Article

• J. W. Alvord. Letters from the South, Relating to the Condition of Freedmen Addressed to Major General O.O. Howard. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1870

General Information about Freedmen's Bureau Records

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was established in the War Department in March of 1865. It was commonly called the Freedman’s Bureau and was responsible for the management and supervision of matters relating to refuges, freedmen, and abandoned lands. The Bureau assisted disenfranchised Americans, primarily African Americans, with temporal, legal and financial matters, with the intent of helping people to become self-sufficient. Matters handled included the distributing of food and clothing; operating temporary medical facilities; acquiring back pay, bounty payments, and pensions; facilitating the creation of schools, including the founding of Howard University; reuniting family members; handling marriages; and providing banking services. Banking services were provided by the establishment of the Freedman’s Saving and Trust Company, or Freedman’s Bank.

The Bureau functioned as an agency of the War Department from approximately June 1865 until December 1868. In 1872, the functions of the Bureau were transferred to the Freedmen’s Branch of the Adjutant General’s Office. The Bureau assisted over one million African Americans, including many of the nearly four million emancipated slaves, which was over 25% of the population of former slaves in America.

The records identify those who sought help from the Bureau at the end of the Civil War. Most supplicants were freed slaves, some of which were military veterans. In addition, a few veterans who were not African Americans also sought help from the Bureau. Freedmen’s Bureau records are usually reliable, because the records were supplied through first-person correspondence or the recording of a marriage. For additional information about the Freedman's Bureau and the microfilm publications included in this collection visit the African American Records: Freedmen's Bureau page of the NARA African American Heritage Collection.

National Museum of African American History & Culture

The museum is working with the Smithsonian Transcription Center and volunteers to transcribe the records of the Bureau.

• Freedmen's Bureau Transcription Project.
• About The Freedmen's Bureau Database Records
• FREEDMEN'S BUREAU ABBREVIATIONS, STAFF ROSTERS, AND STYLE SHEETS
• Freedmen's Bureau - Browse Projects

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

To Browse This Collection

You can browse through images in this collection using the waypoints on the Collection Browse Page for United States, Freedmen's Bureau, Records of the Commissioner, 1865-1872.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

The Bureau was created in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War to supervise relief efforts including:

These records include:

The information varies by record. You may find any of the following:

Collection Content

Sample Images

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  1865 Cover Letter

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  1865 Denial of Claim

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  1865 Endorsement

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  1865 Register of Letters

Inventory

For a list of all the titles included in this Historical Records publication see Freedmen's Bureau, Washington Headquarters, Records of the Commissioner, Inventory Additional details.

• Freedmen's Branch Office,1872-1879
• Records of the Assistant Adjutant General
• Records of the Chief Disbursing Officer