March 3, 1865---The Freedmen's Bureau

MARCH 3, 1865:   

    

Congress creates the United States Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, otherwise known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, to assist the newly-emancipated slaves with the transition to freedom.

Congress amends the Currency Act, establishing new monetary denominations.

Congress also creates the Civil War Pension Bureau, granting pensions to all servicemen under Union arms during the Civil War as well as their widows and children. As of 2015, one child of a Civil War veteran is still receiving such pension payments.

President Lincoln issues an Executive Order regarding the terms of the eventual surrender of the Confederacy. General Grant is given plenary powers to set practical terms for the disbandment of the Confederate armies in the field. Lincoln reserves all political decisions to the Executive.