<P> In his autobiography, General Howard expressed great frustration about Congress having closed down the bureau . He said, "the legislative action, however, was just what I desired, except that I would have preferred to close out my own Bureau and not have another do it for me in an unfriendly manner in my absence ." All documents and matters pertaining to the Freedmen's Bureau were transferred from the office of General Howard to the War Department of the United States Congress . </P> <P> The Bureau began distributing rations in the summer of 1865 . Drought conditions resulted in so much need that the state established its own Office of the Commissioner of the Destitute to provide additional relief . The two agencies coordinated their efforts starting in 1866 . The Bureau established depots in eight major cities . Counties were allocated aid in kind each month based on the number of poor reported . The counties were required to provide transportation from the depots for the supplies . The ration was larger in winter and spring, and reduced in seasons when locally grown food was available . </P> <P> In 1866, the depot at Huntsville provided five thousand rations a day . The food was distributed without regard to race . Corruption and abuse was so great that in October 1866, President Johnson ended in - kind aid in that state . One hundred twenty thousand dollars was given to the state to provide relief to the end of January 1867 . Aid was ended in the state . Records show that by the end of the program, four times as many White people received aid than did Black people . </P> <P> The Florida Bureau was assessed to be working effectively . Thomas Ward Osborne, the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for Florida, was an astute politician who collaborated with the leadership of both parties in the state . He was warmly praised by observers on all sides . </P>

How did freedmen's bureau agents work to create schools