In January 1865, in Savannah, William T. Sherman issued Special Field Orders, No. 15, authorizing federal authorities to confiscate abandoned plantation lands in the Sea Islands, whose owners had fled with the advance of his army, and redistribute them to former slaves.
On January 1865, during his campaign in Savannah, William T. Sherman authorized federal troops to take over and redistribute abandoned plantation lands on the Sea Islands to former slaves following the departure of their owners as Sherman's forces advanced.