Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, holds a particularly significant place in United States history and African American culture. This date marks the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the state, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863.