the freedmen's bureau was headed by oliver howard, who had lost his right arm in june of 1862. howard is known amongst many, certainly in the black community, for working with others to organize a university that carries his name in washington dc, for which he was the president of that university from 1869 through 1874. in different districts throughout the south, agents generally form our -- former our army officers and serve assistant superintendents. despite the memory of white southerners bill just mentioned a few minutes ago, there were few to no federal troops during the period of reconstruction. that is a problem if you're looking for help from the freedmen's bureau. and the laws as they are being applied to the now defeated former confederate states. the recently freed people became politically motivated, even in the midst of other crises facing them. virginia needed a new constitution as parameters of the government's reconstruction plan. the end of may 1867, he wrote to his superior about the condition of the freedmen for the counties of smith, carol, grayson, countie