Confederacy, 1863, 10¢ milky blue. Four nice margins, tied by blue dateless "Charlotte, N.C." postmark on small cover addressed to "Commodore Barron, C.S. Navy, Savannah, Georgia", the cover was then forwarded to Charleston, S.C. with "Savannah, Ga." cds & straight line "Forwarded" handstamp & red "10" rate handstamp, Extremely Fine. Scott No. 11a  Estimate $500 - 750. Samuel Barron was born 28 November 1809 in Hampton, Virginia. His father, who died in 1810, was a commodore in the US navy stationed there. As a tribute to his father Barron was appointed a midshipman on 1 January 1812. He was only two at the time. He entered active service with the navy in 1820. By 1855 he was a captain. By 1860 he was chief of the Bureau of Detail and one of the most powerful men in the navy. After Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861 there is evidence that Barron was actively attempting to take control of the Navy Department. Once Virginia left the Union he tendered his resignation. Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the Navy, refused to accept the resignation and instead dismissed Barron on 22 April 1861. Offering his services to his native state, Barron was named a captain and head of the Office of Naval Detail and Equipment. When Virginia's navy became part of the Confederate navy he was given a commission as commander dated 10 June 1861 and appointed head of the Office of Orders and Details. He held this position only until 20 July 1861 when he convinced the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen R. Mallory, to give him command of the coastal defenses of Virginia and North Carolina. Barron chose to administer his duties from Fort Hatteras, North Carolina. He arrived at the fort 28 August 1861; the day after a Union fleet began a bombardment and was forced to surrender the following day. He was held as a prisoner of war until exchanged 11 months later. In November 1862, Barron was briefly reassigned command of naval forces in Virginia before he was sent to Great Britain to take command of the two ironclad rams, CSS North Carolina and CSS Mississippi (also known as the 'Laird Rams'), that were being built under the direction of Commander James D. Bulloch for the Confederacy. After the ships were seized by British authorities the following year, Barron traveled to France, remaining in Paris as "Flag Officer" commanding Confederate States Naval Forces in Europe acting as a contact for Confederate naval officers as well as blockade runners and privateers until February 25, 1865 when he resigned his commission returning to the United States shortly before the Confederacy's surrender a month later. Retiring to his home in Essex County, Virginia, Barron took up farm life until his death on February 26, 1888. $0 (Image)