A Portion of the George J. Kramer Grand Prix Collection of United States Domestic Mails 1776-1869 continued...

EXTREMELY FINE. A SUPERB STRIKE OF THE RARE ADAMS EXPRESS "FREE FOR THE REGIMENT" MARKING, APPLIED TO MAIL CARRIED TO AND FROM SOLDIERS DEFENDING THE NATION'S CAPITAL IN APRIL-MAY 1861.

The Adams Express "Free for the Regiment" markings were used briefly in April-May 1861 on mail carried free of charge between New York and regiments guarding the capital after Lincoln's call for volunteers to suppress the Southern rebellion. Only seven examples of the "For the Regiment" version are recorded, this being one of the choicest strikes. This example is unusual because it is one of the few showing the use of a 3c stamped envelope, a requirement according to the published notices and postal laws, but apparently ignored. A comprehensive article on this marking will be found in the Chronicle 244, Nov. 2014, pp. 323-339.

Ex Knapp, Kimmell, Jarrett and Walske. With 1992 P.F. certificate (Image)

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VERY FINE. A REMARKABLE AND RARE MIXED-ISSUE PATRIOTIC COVER WITH ONE-CENT STRIPS FROM THE 1857 AND 1861 ISSUES -- THE FORMER NOT RECOGNIZED AFTER DEMONETIZATION AND THE LATTER AFFIXED AFTER THE COVER WAS HELD FOR POSTAGE.

The late 1861 Federal demonetization of all United States stamps issued before the new 1861 series resulted in the rejection of 1857 Issue stamps as prepayment -- most famously represented by the "Old Stamps Not Recognized" handstamps. Other markings used to reject prepayment were applied in manuscript, or letters were simply marked postage due or held for postage. In the case of the cover offered here, the 1857 Issue stamps were not accepted and the letter was held for postage until the new 1861 Issue strip was applied. This is further confirmed by the presence of 1c Plate 12 stamps underneath the 1861 Issue strip. Stamps from Plate 12 were not issued until January 1861, so this October use must be no earlier than 1861 -- well after the new stamps were available.

Signed Ashbrook (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE AND FRESH "SOUTHERN LETTER UNPAID" COVER FROM CONFEDERATE GEORGIA TO KEENE, KENTUCKY.

By Postmaster General Blair's order of May 27, mail service to disloyal Southern states was discontinued. On or about June 8, mail exchange between Louisville and Nashville was also banned. In early and mid-June, however, a large quantity of mail from the South reached Louisville for delivery to correspondents in the North. However, Federal government postage stamps affixed in the South were regarded as contraband and were refused as prepayment.

On June 24 Dr. J. J. Speed, the postmaster at Louisville was advised to forward letters from the South to the loyal states after removing postage. With approximately 5,000 such letters accumulating at Louisville by this date, Postmaster Speed employed a more practical means of invalidating postage by creating the "Southern Letter Unpaid" handstamp.

Immediately after receiving instructions from Washington to forward mail, the Louisville post office began marking letters. Some of these have circular datestamps (Jun. 27, 28 and 29 being the most common dates). This cover was marked and forwarded to Keene, about 70 miles east of Louisville.

Ex Weatherly, Wiseman and Walske. Illustrated in Shenfield (p. 10) (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF THE FINEST KNOWN FIRST DAY COVERS OF THE CONFEDERACY, OF WHICH VERY FEW EXIST FROM FLORIDA.

Ex Birkinbine and Walske (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF EIGHT RECORDED COVERS SHOWING CONJUNCTIVE USE OF CONFEDERATE POSTMASTERS' PROVISIONALS AND THE GENERAL ISSUE. ONLY FOUR OF THESE COVERS HAVE ADHESIVE PROVISIONALS, AND ONLY TWO ARE KNOWN WITH THE PETERSBURG STAMP. IN MANY RESPECTS, WE CONSIDER THIS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING CONFEDERATE COVERS EXTANT.

We record a total of nine covers with combinations of Confederate provisionals (either adhesive, press printed or handstamped) and General Issue stamps to prepay postage -- we have excluded from this count a few covers on which the provisional served no postal duty. In our opinion, these combination frankings are significant and quite undervalued -- imagine what price would be paid for a Baltimore provisional handstamped entire with a U.S. 5c 1847 stamp, or a St. Louis "Bear" and 1847 combination.

The following is a list of the nine mixed-franking covers: 1) Columbia S.C. (18XU1) and 5c Green (1), Jan. 4, 1862, Siegel Sale 810, lot 1862; 2) Columbia S.C. (18XU1) and 5c Green (1), Jan. 1, 1862, Crown book, p. 80, ex Brandon, Siegel Sale 1073, lot 223; 3)Columbia S.C. (18XU1) and 5c Blue, Local (7), Sep. 1, 1862, Siegel Sale 810, lot 1861; 4) Charleston S.C. (16X1, repaired) and 5c Blue, London (6), Aug. 5, 1862; 5) Lexington Miss. 5c Black entire (50XU1) and 5c Light Blue, London (6), Oct. 1862, ex Brandon, Siegel Sale 1073, lot 277; 6) Memphis Tenn. 5c Red entire (56XU2) and 5c Green (1), Nov. 20, 1861, ex Brandon, Siegel Sale 1073, lot 299; 7) New Orleans La. 5c Brown on Blue (62X4) and 5c Green (1), Jan. 11, 1862, Siegel 1983 Rarities sale, ex Skinner, Siegel Sale 958, lot 794; 8) Petersburg Va. 5c Red (65X1) and 5c Green (1), Jan. 5, 1862, ex Muzzy; and 9) Petersburg Va. 5c Red (65X1) and 5c Green (1), Feb. 7, 1862, ex Brown, Brooks, Weatherly and Kilbourne, the cover offered here.

Illustrated in Stamp Specialist (Emerald Book, 1946, p. 39). Signed Ashbrook. Ex Brown, Brooks, Weatherly and Kilbourne. With 1999 P.F. certificate (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF THE FINEST OF THE APPROXIMATELY TWENTY KNOWN COVERS BEARING THE SPARTANBURG POSTMASTER'S PROVISIONAL.

John A. Lee was a prominent merchant who served as postmaster of Spartanburg from 1850 through the end of the war. Residents of Spartanburg remembered him as the "Wartime Postmaster" (John B. O. Landrum, History of Spartanburg County, available at Google Books -- thanks to Vince King for this citation).

Postmaster Lee created his provisional stamps by applying the "5" numeral rate marking inside the "Spartanburg S.C." double-circle datestamp on a sheet of paper. The stamps are known cut square and cut to shape. As one might imagine, the stamps come on a variety of papers. Two types of "5" markings were used, and one example is known with the denomination omitted. Most of the paper and numeral varieties are listed separately in the C.S.A. and Scott catalogues.

Spartanburg S.C. takes its name from the "Spartan Rifles," a group of militia soldiers during the Revolutionary War. The name was adopted by Confederate soldiers from Spartanburg during the Civil War.

Corporal Edward J. Dean and the Dean correspondence were the subjects of an article by the late Daniel M. Gilbert, published in the Confederate Philatelist.

Joseph Walker was enrolled as captain of the Spartan Rifles on April 13, 1861. Micah Jenkins, a resident of Yorkville, South Carolina, was mustered into service as colonel of the 5th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment in June 1861. He was elected colonel of the Palmetto Sharpshooters Regiment, South Carolina Volunteers, on April 13, 1862, and promoted to brigadier general in July 1862.

Ex Caspary and Kilbourne (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. A SUPERB STAMP ON AN IMMACULATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT COVER, ADDRESSED BY CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS.

Although Executive Department envelopes were addressed by a variety of individuals, the distinctive hand of President Davis is evident in the words "David", "Athens" and "Georgia" in this address. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. AMONG THE TWO OR THREE FINEST COVERS WITH THE 20-CENT ENGRAVED STAMP USED TO PAY THE 40-CENT TRANS-MISSISSIPPI EXPRESS RATE. PHENOMENAL QUALITY FOR THIS TYPE OF USE.

The Mississippi River and inland waterway routes were essential lifelines within the Confederacy. Early in the war, Federal naval strategy focused on control of the Mississippi, and, by the spring of 1862, key port cities were captured by Federal forces, giving them control of the river. With the Southern states divided between East and West, the Confederate government was forced to devise special measures to maintain transportation and communication along the trans-Mississippi routes. Surreptitious traffic across the river was carried on by private and government couriers, and the post office was authorized to appoint agents to ensure that the mail lines remained open. In April 1863 the Confederate Congress authorized a "preferred mail" across the Mississippi River and established a 50c rate per half-ounce. The act was revised to create an "express mail" without a fixed rate of postage, but instead limited to no more than a dollar per half ounce. By October 1863, Postmaster General Reagan secured a contract to have mail carried across the Mississippi at the rate of 40c per half ounce. Meridian and Brandon, Mississippi, were chosen as the eastern terminal points. Shreveport and Alexandria, Louisiana, were chosen as the western terminal points.

No more than 20 covers with a pair of the 20c Green paying the 40c Trans-Mississippi Express rate are known (see The Trans-Mississippi Mails After the Fall of Vicksburg, Richard Krieger). Of these, only five or six are in reasonably clean and sound condition, and most are heavily stained and damaged. This cover is indisputedly one of the two or three finest of its kind.

Listed in Krieger as E59 (page 56). Ex Dr. Green. (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE. ONE OF TWO RECORDED COVERS MAILED FROM A POST OFFICE WITHIN THE CONFEDERATE MILITARY DEPARTMENT OF INDIAN TERRITORY -- THIS IS THE ONLY REPORTED COVER BEARING A POSTMARK WITH THE TOWN NAME. ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT POSTAL ARTIFACTS SURVIVING FROM THE AMERICAN INDIANS' ROLE IN THE CIVIL WAR.

Luk Fah Tah (Lukfata) lies in what is now eastern Oklahoma (McCurtain County). During the Civil War, it was part of Indian Territory and was located on the Confederate mail route 409, which included Para Clifta and Ultima Thule (in Arkansas), and Eagletown, Wheelock and Doaksville (in Indian Territory).

Colonel Peter P. Pitchlynn was the Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation and a prominent representative of the Five Civilized Tribes located in Indian Territory. When the Civil War broke out, Col. Pitchlynn was in Washington D.C. attending a meeting with President Lincoln. Although pro-Union, Col. Pitchlynn honored the wishes of his people to join the Confederate cause. He commanded the Choctaw forces with headquarters at Fort Towson in Doakesville. Col. Pitchlynn and his contemporary, Stand Watie -- the only American Indian to attain the rank of General in the Confederate Army -- are reported to have been the last Confederates to surrender to Federal forces, on June 19, 1865. (Reference: reprint of Judge Harry J. Lemley Confederate Philatelist articles, John W. Kaufmann auction sale, Oct. 22, 1977).

A thorough search of auctions and other sources located only one other example of mail sent from within Confederate Indian Territory, but it is not postmarked with the town name. Only this Luk Fah Tah cover survives as an example of the Confederate post office's presence in the slave-owning Indian Nations. As such, it is a truly remarkable artifact of postal history.

Ex Birkinbine and Walske. (Image)

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