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

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FRESH AND VERY FINE MIXED-FRANKING PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER SENT VIA THE OLD POINT COMFORT AND RICHMOND FLAG-OF-TRUCE ROUTE.

Camp Chase was first used from July 1861 to September 1862. It was reopened for prisoners in 1863 and remained in use until the end of the war. The prison population reached a peak of 9,000 in January 1865. Southbound mail entered the U.S. mails at nearby Columbus, and the C.S.A. mails at Norfolk, Petersburg or Richmond. One type of examined handstamp was used during the via Richmond period, with three sub-types. Lieutenant Colonel Poten assumed examination duty in November 1863 and initially used manuscript endorsements. The volume of mail, however, led to the creation of a handstamp in January 1864. When Poten was replaced in March 1864, the handstamp was modified by the removal of "Poten" from the device. It was further modified in August 1864 by the removal of additional letters, as in this example

Signed Dietz (Image)

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VERY FINE MIXED-FRANKING PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER FROM CAMP CHASE, SENT VIA THE OLD POINT COMFORT AND RICHMOND FLAG-OF-TRUCE ROUTE.

Ex Simon (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE. AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER FROM THE U.S. GENERAL HOSPITAL AT CHESTER (NEAR GETTYSBURG) WITH A COMBINATION OF MANUSCRIPT AND HANDSTAMP CENSOR MARKINGS.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, as many as 2,000 wounded Confederate soldiers were taken to Chester Pa. for treatment. When well enough to leave, enlisted men were sent to Fortress Monroe for exchange, while officers were sent to Johnson's Island for confinement (Harrison p. 195). Fewer than ten covers are known to or from this hospital, while approximately three of the Swift handstamps are known. This cover with the combination of the handstamp and manuscript censor markings is a great rarity of Civil War postal history.

Illustrated in Special Routes (p. 235) (Image)

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VERY FINE MIXED-FRANKING FLAG-OF-TRUCE COVER FROM DAVID'S ISLAND PRISON IN NEW YORK. A RARE COVER, AS THE PRISON WAS OPEN FOR ONLY FOUR MONTHS TO HOLD CONFEDERATE PRISONERS CAPTURED IN THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

R. H. Bennett was captured on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. He writes to his wife in the enclosed letter, "I was wounded in the leg the 1st day of July at Gettysburg Penn. I reached this place the 25th. I am able to get about on crutches."

The May 8, 1862, New York Times contained a story about the new David's Island hospital: "A hospital for sick and wounded Union soldiers, will be established on David's Island, 25 miles up the East River. Suitable buildings are now in the course of erection under the superintendence of the United States Quartermaster's Department." From Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War by Lonnie Speer, "Until the Gettysburg battle, David's Island had served as a medical facility for only Union troops. Being a previously established and equipped facility surrounded by water, Union authorities saw it as an excellent place to hold extremely ill prisoners or those who were still suffering from battle wounds. Located in Long Island Sound just off the coast of what is today the New York suburb of New Rochelle, this eighty-acre site would eventually hold more than 2,500 Confederate prisoners at a time. The isle was a long, narrow stretch of land that contained twenty-two temporary structures extending nearly the entire length of the island. Each building was divided into four wards that contained up to twenty cots each. A doctor's office was located in the front of each building and a toilet was at the rear. Mess halls were located between every two buildings. Whenever the population increased to more than 1,800 prisoners, tents were used for the overflow."

Ex Antrim (illustrated in his book, p. 72) and Simon. (Image)

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VERY FINE APPEARANCE AND AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE MIXED-FRANKING PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER WITH THE 20-CENT GENERAL ISSUE. ONLY THREE PRISONER-OF-WAR COVERS ARE RECORDED WITH THE 20-CENT STAMP. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WALSKE FLAG-OF-TRUCE COLLECTION.

Fort Delaware was first used to hold Confederate prisoners from July 1861 to September 1862. It re-opened as a prison camp in 1863 and remained in use until the end of the war. More than 12,000 prisoners were confined in the barracks during the war. Conditions were notoriously poor, with a mortality rate that exceeded 12.5 percent in October 1863. Southbound mail entered the U.S. mails at Delaware City and the C.S.A. mails at Petersburg or Richmond. A number of manuscript examined markings were used on outgoing mail from mid-1863 until November 1864. A handstamp was used from April to October 1864, a period of only seven months. Beginning around November 1864, examiner markings were no longer used on mail from this prison (Harrison, P. 107).

Illustrated in Harrison (p. 111) and Special Routes (p.72). Ex Myerson. With 1983 C.S.A. certificate. (Image)

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FRESH AND EXTREMELY FINE. A SPECTACULAR PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER TO NEW BRUNSWICK, BRITISH NORTH AMERICA -- ONE OF ONLY THREE RECORDED.

Thomas J. Pritchett was commissioned as an officer in Company B, Georgia 64th Infantry Regiment, on April 8, 1863. His letter is addressed to R. R. Bearden, who was employed by the British firm of S. Isaac Campbell & Co., which supplied vast amounts of materials to the C.S.A. during the war. They also operated some of the most enterprising blockade-runners during the war, delivering loads of supplies to the C.S.A. and returning to Europe with cotton. Only a handful of prisoners' covers are known addressed beyond the United States -- this is certainly among the most spectacular.

Ex Shenfield, Antrim and Simon. Illustrated in Antrim (p. 53) and Shenfield (p. 36) (Image)

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EXTREMELY FINE APPEARANCE. A RARE AND SPECTACULAR PRISONER-OF-WAR COVER FRANKED WITH A PAIR OF 2-CENT BLACK JACK STAMPS.

Prisoner-of-war covers with U.S. stamps nearly always bear a 3c 1861 stamp. Further, as prisoners' letters were limited to one sheet, overweight covers requiring multiples or creative combinations of different denominations to make up the rate are virtually unknown. There are several prisoner's covers known with a single 2c 1863 Black Jack used to pay drop postage or in combination with a 1c 1861 or 1c entire to pay the 3c rate. There are also a few covers known with a strip of three 1c 1861's. The use of a pair of 2c Black Jacks, overpaying the postage by 1c is very unusual and most striking.

Ex Simon. With 1964 P.F. certificate (Image)

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