The Steven C. Walske Collection of Special Mail Routes of the American Civil War continued...

VERY FINE APPEARANCE AND RARE. THIS OUTSTANDING COVER IS THE EARLIEST KNOWN SOUTHBOUND FLAG-OF-TRUCE COVER VIA THE FORTRESS MONROE-NORFOLK ROUTE.

Informal flag-of-truce exchanges of mail between Fortress Monroe and Norfolk began in September 1861 and continued until U.S. forces occupied Norfolk on May 9, 1862, which forced a change in route on the Confederate side.

James Reid enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 27, 1861, and joined Company B of the 79th New York State Infantry. He was captured at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) on July 21, 1861, and was sent to Richmond as a prisoner of war. General Hospital No. 1, also known as the Alms House Hospital, held and treated large numbers of Federal prisoners from Bull Run. In 1864 the building became the temporary location of the Virginia Military Institute (Harrison, p. 88).

Illustrated in Special Routes (p. 65). Described in the Confederate Philatelist (No. 188, p. 46) (Image)

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VERY FINE AND RARE INCOMING COVER TO TAYLOR'S TOBACCO WAREHOUSE PRISON IN RICHMOND, SENT VIA THE OLD POINT COMFORT-NORFOLK FLAG-OF-TRUCE ROUTE.

George Gustavus Adams Noyes enlisted in Company D, Massachusetts 15th Infantry Regiment on July 12, 1861, and served alongside his brother Francis H. Noyes (who died at Antietam in September 1862). On October 21, 1861, George was taken prisoner at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, in Leesburg Va. After exchange in late February 1862, he was mustered out on disability in April 1863. He died in 1905.

Taylor's Tobacco warehouse opened as a prison following the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 28, 1861. Regimental histories report that all the men from the 15th Massachusetts were confined at Taylor's following the battle. Residents of Massachusetts were the first to form a relief effort for their imprisoned soldiers and raised several hundred dollars to purchase necessities to send to the men (Harrison, p. 101). Only three covers are recorded to or from Taylor's Tobacco Warehouse -- including two from the Sgt. Noyes correspondence.

Illustrated in Harrison (p. 102) (Image)

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