Soon after the Civil War began, several societies were formed to aid in the care and education of the Freedmen. With the progress of the war the operations of the societies were constantly changing to meet new demands. They began at Fortress Monroe and Hilton Head in 1861, and took up work in other places, as one by one they were opened, and necessity appeared for the service they might render. As the field widened, supplies in larger quantity were required; more money had to be raised and a greater number of agents and teachers sent down to the several centers of activity. The teachers at the beginning were mostly men, as was befitting the rough duties undertaken; but it was not long before conditions were such as to invite the ministries of women and the force was largely made up of them. The work of looking after the refugees yielded in time to efforts of many kinds in behalf of the communities. Attention was turned to the young people and children, and schools were opened and maintained particularly for their benefit. Preaching and Sunday school work were also made very prominent. Thus a certain stability and promise of continuance began to be seen. While the war lasted, these movements were carried on and maintained by voluntary organizations in the North, though uniformly with the approval and cooperation of the military forces. But on March 3, 1865, about a month before the surrender of General Lee, the United States Congress passed an act establishing the Freedmen’s Bureau in the War Department: “A bureau of refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands, to which should be committed the supervision and management of all abandoned lands and the control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen.” This brought the Government into formal participation in these endeavors, with the certainty of adequate financial resources. The bureau was organized with a general superintendent, a general inspector, and a superintendent of schools in each district. “In entering on the work a few schools were found in charge of tax commissioners, a few maintained by the Negroes themselves; but by far the greater number were under the care of the Northern societies. General supervision was at once instituted over all schools; reports were made at stated intervals; unused Government buildings were thrown open for schools houses, and transportation and subsistence for a time were furnished to the teachers.” This cooperation was definitely approved by Congress in the following year, July 16, 1866, and provision for maintenance extended to two years from that date. Half a million dollars was set aside for school expenses. Then grading and systematizing followed, and the societies were stimulated to greater endeavor. The efficiency of the bureau continued to 1870, when the last congressional appropriations for this object were expended and its influence became little more than nominal.