CSA 1, 5¢ green (stamp a bit reduced on right side along with cover) tied RICHMOND Va. DEC 2 (1861) CDS on all-over green Spotswood Hotel cover addressed to Mrs. Geo T. Whittington, Rector Town M.G. R. R., Va. Care of T. M. Lake, Esq. Edge tears and stains, but a scarce and showy cover. Many accompanying articles on and photos of the hotel. $900.

The Spotswood Hotel opened in 1860 and was the center of high society such as Robert E. Lee and President and Mrs. Jefferson Davis who made it their home when they came up from Montgomery in 1861. After the capture of Richmond, Union generals made it their headquarters and when Davis was captured, he was put in the same room he had occupied as President of the Confederacy. The hotel burned down Christmas Eve 1870 with a loss of eight lives.