CSA 8a, 2¢ pale red, uncanceled on fresh commercially made cover addressed to Hon. Wms. C. Wickham, Member Confederate Congress, Richmond, Va. Top back flap unsealed with embossed “C” on tip. Ex Burton. $400.

Williams Carter Wickham (1820–1888) was a lawyer, judge, politician, and an important Confederate cavalry general who fought in the Virginia campaigns despite being a Unionist, and voting against the articles of secession. After the war, he held various political posts and was president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company. His grandfather was one of the signatories of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and a governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War. The family had many more important historical ties too numerous to mention.