Juneteenth Researchers Incorrect about Slaves in Texas: They Knew Before June 19, 1865

Juneteenth proponents claim that slaves in Texas first heard of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after it became effective. United States Navy vessels monitored the coast of Texas and slaves of owners in Texas ran away under the Emancipation Proclamation and enlisted in the Union Navy as early as January 1863. Confederate military records detailed that some of them were captured January 21, 1863, after a fight between Union and Confederate vessels off Sab...