CSA 7-R-v3, 5¢ blue enormous top left corner sheet margin single, variety with Filled-in Frames on top and left, close but clear at bottom, tied by RICHMOND VA. FEB. 8 (1863) circular datestamp on overpaid drop-rate cover to Hon. R.W. Johnson, Senate Chamber Richmond Va., back flap removed. Pencil docketing at left indicating W.D. Scoggin & N.T. Shear, possibly senders or subject of the letter (not enclosed). An extraordinary stamp and a scarce use. $750. 

Robert Ward Johnson (1814-1879) was an Arkansas political leader who represented the state in both chambers of the US Congress and as a congressman and senator in the Confederate Congress. He belonged to a powerful political family. Two of his uncles represented Kentucky in the US House of Representatives and another uncle rose to Vice President of the United States (Richard Mentor Johnson). He earned his law degree from Yale in 1833. Johnson became county prosecuting attorney in 1840. Two years later, he became state attorney general and later a member of the US Congress. He helped escort Arkansas out of the Union to join the Confederacy. He was one of the richest men in the Confederate Congress and a strong supporter of President Jefferson Davis. As with many, the South’s defeat bankrupted him.