On January 16, 1865, Union general William T. Sherman, shortly after capturing Savannah, issued Special Field Order 15, setting aside land on the Sea Islands and along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia for black settlement.

Intended to provide temporary refuge for the large number of former slaves following his army, Sherman's order nonetheless had the effect of raising blacks' expectations that the land would belong to them permanently. Later, under President Andrew Johnson, the land was restored to its prewar owners.