CIVIL WAR POSTAL HISTORY continued...

Black NORTH BRIDGEWATER MS. JAN 5 CDS.
Cover reduced at right.
Docketing on back, "Received Jan. 18th"

Address excerpt From Address by Lt. Samuel F. Edwards at the Reunion of the 52nd Regiment in Greenfield, 1920:

"The river from Ohio to Vicksburg had already been opened by Commander FarragutÆs gunboats, and from New Orleans to the sea. Forts Jackson and Phillip had been taken and the Mississippi opened to New Orleans; and General Grant was instructed to open the river from Vicksburg down.
Therefore, an army of 20,000 men under the command of Major General Banks was recruited in the summer and fall of 1862 to co-operate with Gen. Grant.

This expedition started in December and reached its destination, Baton Rouge, about the first of January, 1863. There they were instructed in regiment, company and brigade drills until about the middle of March, when GrantÆs advance on Vicksburg made it a military necessity to create a diversion in his favor by a reconnaissance on Port Hudson, defended by a garrison of about 20,000 men, for the purpose of keeping them from reinforcing Pemberton, the rebel commander at Vicksburg. And at the same time Commander Farragut and his fleet of gunboats under cover of the land attack on the Rebel fortifications, would try to pass his fleet or part of it, past the fortifications, and thus gain control of the Red River, which emptied into the Mississippi about forty miles from Port Hudson, which would effectually shut off both garrisons from their principal source of food supply. (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5)

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Exhibition Page:

"A Possible Prisoner's Menu.
This otherwise ordinary cover may in fact be addressed to a sergeant responsible in some way for Confederate prisoners or perhaps civilian internees.
On the reverse of the envelope there is a nine day menu which has been written in pencil. From the fare, one might deduce that it is not the normal diet for the troops of company a of the 47 Massachusetts Regiment, to which Sgt. Henry Nason belonged. It sounds much more like the diet which enemy prisoners received, even in the well supplied occupation areas of the South.

Sunday, Beef Soup
Monday, Baked Beans
Tuesday, Roast Beef
Wednesday, Pea Soup
Thursday, Rice overwritten S... Beef
Friday, Baked Beans
Saturday, Beef Soup
Sunday, Beef Soup
Monday, Pea Soup

Prisoners in New Orleans were housed from December 1863 to July 1865 in the New Orleans customs house above the post office. In addition, two homes in the city were used to house officer Prisoners. In all there are records that state 235 confederate prisoners died whilst in the hands of the men of General Banks Division in the city.
The period of the cover is righ and it may just be that in the scribble notes on the back we have an insight into why so many of the captured men wer in such a deplorable condition."

PROVENANCE

Mason Correspondence (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5) (image6) (image7) (image8)

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Patriotic Cover sent from Williamsport, Maryland to Lieut. Joesph Logan, a Prisioner of War at Camp Douglas, Chicago, IL.

The adressee was a parlored "Union Prisoner" sent from the Congederacy, confined at the Parole Camp at Camp Douglas, waiting to be exchanged.

The 12th Illinois was located on the Upper Potomac in 1861-1862.

Similar to Bischel 2792, Mounted Officer, this cover is in color not b/w. (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5) (image6) (image7) (image8)

"T" written in blue crayon, initial of Prisoner Tickle.

The C.S.A. stamp was torn off at Old Point Comfort. The town marking reads Gibville, N.C. in short for Gibsonville, N.C. The prison clerk cut the envelope down to a front, applied the sender's details in red ink and applied the blue crayon to show the initial of the prisoner's surname for filing purposes.

The Flag of Truce ruling for mail sent from the Confederate States was to enclose an envelope with a U.S. stamp on it, or with a coin enclosed to purchase a stamp; addressed to the prison, inside another envelope with a C.S.A. stamp applied addressed to Old Point Comfort. As the war continued this rule was not followed and both stamps were applied to one envelope. Paper being very scarce in the South. (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5) (image6) (image7) (image8) (image9) (image10) (image11) (image12)

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"G" written in blue crayon, initial of Prisoner Benjamin Goode.

Posted on April 12, 1865 from Alexandria, VA three days after the surrender at Appomattox, C.H. on April 9, 1865. The original enclosed letter had been written by ôCousin HattieöMail received at Point Lookout Prison was cut down to an envelope front on which pertinent facts were added in red ink and blue crayon.


Approximately 2000 of these POW letter fronts were saved after hostilities were ended. (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5) (image6) (image7)

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1864 Type 1 cirucular date stamp of Point Lookout Prison, Md. On a very clean Patriotic Envelope addressed to Centre Bridge, P.A.

CENSUS, LITERATURE AND EXHIBITION REFERENCES

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"If any one attempts to haul down the
American Flag, shoot him on the spot."
"JOHN A DIX"
Like Bischel 5430 (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5)

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Superb strike of Fort Jefferson, FLA postmark with fancy cancel concentric rings on Scott #65.
This post office was established on October 28, 1861. The fort became a permanent prison for federal deserters, military prisoners, traitors and political offenders, but never for Confederate prisoners of war.
After the war, three of the accused Lincoln assassination conspirators, including Dr, Mudd, were confined here. (Image) (image2) (image3) (image4) (image5) (image6)

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