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VERY FINE. ONE OF THREE RECORDED WELLS, FARGO & CO. BLUE FRANKED STAR DIE ENTIRES USED FROM MEXICO--ENTERED MAILS AT SAN FRANCISCO AS A SHIP LETTER WITH 2¢ DUE.
Ex Clifford (Image)
VERY FINE. THE SECOND OF THREE KNOWN WELLS, FARGO & CO. BLUE FRANKED STAR DIE ENTIRES FROM MEXICO--ENTERED MAILS AT SAN FRANCISCO AS AN UNPAID SHIP LETTER.
(Image)
VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN IMPORTANT COVER IN CONFEDERATE AND ARIZONA POSTAL HISTORY, POSTMARKED ON NOVEMBER 3, 1861--THE FIRST CONFEDERATE CONTRACT MAIL OUT OF MESILLA AFTER IT BECAME THE ONLY CONFEDERATE POST OFFICE IN ARIZONA.
On July 1, 1861, Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor occupied Fort Bliss, near El Paso. On July 25 Baylor and his regiment of Texas mounted riflemen were welcomed by the residents of Mesilla, who had Southern sympathies and were desperate for protection against marauding Indians. After hearing of the Confederates in Mesilla, U.S. Army Major Isaac Lynde advanced with 380 regulars from Fort Fillmore to engage the enemy, but after a relatively minor battle—the First Battle of Mesilla—Lynde abruptly ordered a retreat back to the fort. On July 26 Lynde and his troops abandoned Fort Fillmore and made their way toward Fort Stanton, but the Confederates cut them off at San Augustine Pass. Without firing a shot, Lynde surrendered his command on July 27, a humiliating defeat for the Union army in the Southwest and an encouraging victory for the Confederates.
Following his success, Baylor issued a proclamation on August 1, 1861, establishing the Confederate Territory of Arizona, with Mesilla as its capital and himself as military governor. The territory was defined as all of the land south of the 34th parallel, from the Texas border to the Yuma Crossing in California. On January 13, 1862, the Confederate Congress passed the Act to Organize the Territory of Arizona,” subject to a provision that required a Confederate presidential proclamation for it to be in full force and effect. After signing the bill on January 18, President Jefferson Davis issued his formal proclamation on February 14, 1862, which effectively created the Confederate Territory of Arizona.
On September 25, 1861, when Arizona was a Confederate territory under Lieutenant Colonel Baylor’s military governorship, the C.S.A. Postmaster General appointed William D. Skillman as postmaster at Mesilla, the westernmost and only Arizona post office in the Confederacy. Postmaster Skillman used the existing Mesilla N.M.” datestamp with the old New Mexico designation. Mail was carried between Mesilla and San Antonio on a portion of the old Overland Mail route, which was operated by Skillman and his brother, Henry, under the familiar San Antonio & San Diego Mail Co. name. Advertisements for the mail line predate Skillman’s September 25, 1861, appointment (see below). On August 28, 1861, George H. Giddings (with the Skillmans) received a contract from the C.S.A. Post Office Department to carry mail between Mesilla and Texas, commencing November 1, 1861. Mail on the first C.S.A. contract trip from Mesilla was postmarked on Sunday, November 3, 1861.
The Battle of Glorietta Pass on March 26-28, 1862, decisively turned the tide against the Confederate hold on Arizona. Mesilla was occupied by Union forces in July 1862, following the Second Battle of Mesilla, and the U.S. post office was reestablished. (Image)
VERY FINE. A RARE AND SIGNIFICANT CONFEDERATE MILITARY EXPRESS COVER FROM ARIZONA AFTER INVASION BY SIBLEY’S ARMY OF NEW MEXICO.
In late 1861 Gen. Sibley ordered Col. James Reily—a prominent Texas attorney, diplomat, military officer and former U.S. Minister to Russia (1841-44)—to proceed south on a diplomatic mission to obtain the cooperation of Mexican authorities in Chihuahua to supply the Confederate army. Col. Reily departed Camp Cottonwood on December 25. Camp Willow Bar was in existence for only one week in late December—the regiment marched to Mesilla under Reily’s appointed successor, Maj. Henry Raguet, on December 27. The official military express covers offered in this and the following lot were intended for the commanding officer of the 4th Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers. However, because Gen. Sibley’s adjutant, Maj. Alexander Jackson, did not know who would replace Col. Reily after he left for Chihuahua, this cover is addressed simply to the Commanding Officer.” The cover in the following lot is addressed to Major Raguet. They date from late December 1861 and followed the regiment from Camp Cottonwood to Camp Willow Bar. Maj. Raguet was commander for only about one week, making these covers very rare.
This official military express cover was addressed to the Commanding Officer” of the 4th Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers, because Major Jackson did not know who would replace Col. Reily after he left for Chihuahua. It dates from late December 1861 and followed the regiment from Camp Cottonwood to Camp Willow Bar. (Image)
VERY FINE. AN IMPORTANT AND VERY RARE CONFEDERATE MILITARY EXPRESS COVER TO MAJOR RAGUET AS COMMANDER OF THE 4TH REGIMENT, TEXAS MOUNTED VOLUNTEERS.
In late 1861 Gen. Sibley ordered Col. James Reily—a prominent Texas attorney, diplomat, military officer and former U.S. Minister to Russia (1841-44)—to proceed south on a diplomatic mission to obtain the cooperation of Mexican authorities in Chihuahua to supply the Confederate army. Col. Reily departed Camp Cottonwood on December 25. Camp Willow Bar was in existence for only one week in late December—the regiment marched to Mesilla under Reily’s appointed successor, Maj. Henry Raguet, on December 27. The official military express covers offered in this and the previous lot were intended for the commanding officer of the 4th Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers. However, because Gen. Sibley’s adjutant, Maj. Alexander Jackson, did not know who would replace Col. Reily after he left for Chihuahua, the cover in the previous lot is addressed simply to the Commanding Officer.” The cover in this lot is addressed to Major Raguet. They date from late December 1861 and followed the regiment from Camp Cottonwood to Camp Willow Bar. Maj. Raguet was commander for only about one week, making these covers very rare.
This official military express cover is addressed to Major Henry W. Raguet as commander of the 4th Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers after Col. Reily left for Chihuahua. It chronologically follows the cover offered in lot 1084 and shows that Gen. Sibley had been notified of the name of the new commanding officer. This reached Major Raguet at Camp Willow Bar.
Ex Camina” and Walske (Image)
I have just returned from the battle field of Mesilla, although it can scarcely be termed a battle as we whipped them so easily only firing 32 shots. They retreated 600 of them and we took them all prisoners the next day with our company of 85 men... Arizona is one of the finest countries I have ever beheld. We have cleared it of all troops and now have it under our protection. The people are happy, contented and free again... Col. Baylor speaks of going and if he does Company A will be sure to follow him... not one of us have been wounded at the battle of Mesilla the balls went between our heads as we stood behind the wall a ball glanced the wall within 6 inches of my nose, grazed my hat and went 30 feet farther & through a panelled door 5 in. thick. The enemy has fatal minie rifle. We have them in our possession now....I was one night so close to the walls of Fillmore that I could see the sentinel...” (Image)