CSA 1, 5¢ green (small faults) tied TUDOR HALL / Va. // DEC / 22 [1861] cds on pink illuminated advertising cover of John T. Ellis, Merchant, Amherst Court House, Va., to Charles Ellis Esq., Care Thos. & Chls. Ellis, Richmond. Light soiling a tiny bit of edge wear. $500.

John Thomas Ellis was born March 16, 1827, in Amherst County, Virginia. He was a graduate of V.M.I., Class of 1848. After working as a teacher, Ellis became a merchant, married and had four children. He was Commissioner of Revenue in 1860. Ellis helped organize and was elected Captain of the Southern Rights Guard in Amherst County, Company H, 19th Virginia Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. His company was noted for their discipline and splendid drill; so much that rumors went around camp that they were going to become General Lee's bodyguard. That never happened, but Ellis was elected Major of the regiment on April 26, 1862. The brigade later became known as the "Gamecock Brigade" for its fierce fighting and extreme bravery. Ellis was present with the regiment during the Peninsula Campaign and was shot in the thigh at the Battle of Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1862. He was absent wounded till after the Maryland Campaign and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel that fall. He commanded the regiment for much of the winter of 1862-63, and during the Siege of Washington in March, 1863. At Gettysburg, Ellis was lying on the ground during the artillery cannonade preceding Pickett's Charge when someone shouted, with a cannonball bouncing down the line. Ellis lifted his face up and was struck in the face by the ball, killing him. He was 36 years old. His body was buried on the battlefield, then taken to Hollywood Cemetery in 1872, where he rests with the hundreds of Virginians killed at Gettysburg. Source: https://19thvirginiainfantry.weebly.com/biographies.html