When did Lincoln disallow it?
Sherman’s limited and temporary settlement of freedmen on the GA coast was overridden late in ‘65 by Johnson. Not by Lincoln.
Which didn’t make much difference anyway, as a military or even executive branch decision had no power to permanently change title to land.
To be sure, the Emancipation Proclamation “confiscated” billions of dollars of capital goods, but that was on the theory that these goods were a military asset to the CSA. Pretty tough to maintain, after the war ended at least, that land title was a military asset subject to confiscation.
The Second Confiscation Act of 1862 addressed these issues. Confiscation of assets such as land was applied to individuals, not entire classes, and was limited to those directly participating in the rebellion, which to be fair was just about all white people of the South. I believe it could include confiscation of land, but required due process and judicial proceedings.
However, Lincoln (that monster of constitutional depravity) was concerned about the idea of the Act being an act of attainder and corruption of blood, both unconstitutional.
So before he would sign the bill he insisted that both Houses pass a resolution affirming that the provisions of the Act could not apply beyond the life of the offender. Even Congress could not give clear title to the lands Sherman temporarily settled freedmen on. Assuming it was legally confiscated under the terms of the Act, title would still revert to the heirs of the original owner on his death.
Mr Logan has corrected it, FRiend. It was Johnson, much to Stanton’s disgust.