Items for Sale - Independent State & CSA Use of US Postage - Section One

New material may be listed in any section, not just in the last section of a category.

7015 7015

SHREVEPORT LA. JAN 1861 double-circle datestamp without day slug tying U.S.12¢ black #36 on buff legal-size courthouse cover to Rusk Tex., docketed with Jan. 27, 1861 receipt date (received after secession but probably mailed from Louisiana before it seceded), reduced at left (also folded to reduce width for display purposes), some wear at bottom, otherwise Fine, scarce use of single 12¢ 1857. Louisiana was only an Independent State for 9 days, Ex Gunter. 

$800
7017 7017

"West Fork P.O. Jany 28 /61" blue ms. postmark on folded letter to London, England, sender's notation "Paid" sufficed without any indication of rate, red "19" credit handstamp and no other markings, slight edge wear, Very Fine, rare transatlantic use during brief Louisiana Independent State period, Ex Gunter.

$850
6962 6962

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire, size 3, knife 2, tied indistinct 1861 cancel that is either independent state or CSA Use of U.S. rate on cover addressed to “Honr Howell Cobb, Montgomery, Ala”. Howell Cobb served as president of the Confederate Provisional Congress (1861-62) and thus this cover is a use while in that position in Montgomery before June 1, 1861. He was also a distinguished major general of the Confederate army. His personal history is well-known and illustrious.

$200
6972 6972

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire used with grid cancel and SAVANNAH  Ga ( prior owner says JAN but I really can’t so ascertain the month)  21, 1861. More likely U.S. used in the Confederacy. Addressed to “S. F. Dickinson Esq, Macon, Ga.” Georgia seceded from the Union on 19 JAN 1861, and joined the Confederacy on 4 FEB 1861, thus the period of independent use was only 16 days. Minor back flap opening tear otherwise Very Fine. 

$250
6980 6980

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire with weak partial strike of MACON / Ga cancel. Addressed to “Master Andrew J. Cobb, Care of Mrs. Howell Cobb, Athens Georgia”; part of back flap missing and tiny edge faults. Howell Cobb served as president of the Confederate Provisional Congress (1861-62) and a major general of the Confederate army. His personal history is well-known and illustrious. $140.

$140
8630 8630

London E.C. MY 4 61 clear strike of circular datestamp and "19 Cents" debit handstamp on May 4 folded letter to James Thomas in Richmond Va., sender's ship designation in bright magenta manuscript "p. Europa via Queenstown", carried on the Cunarder Europa, departing Liverpool on May 4 and arriving in Boston on May 15, "Br. Packet Boston 15 May 24" 24-cent due datestamp, pencil "/" believed to indicate carrier fee for delivery in Richmond. Very fine. An important cover that passed from the United States to the Confederate States along the Washington-Richmond corridor just before this mail route was suspended by Federal order on May 23. On April 27, 1861, the regular water route to Richmond was suspended by the United States government, leaving only the Orange & Alexandria Railroad open for mail via Richmond. The last route through Virginia was suspended on the evening of May 23. This is the latest recorded example of mail that successfully crossed the U.S.-C.S.A. border via Richmond, probably on May 17, 1861. It is uncertain how the 24¢ postage due to the U.S. government was collected in Richmond.The letter itself, written by James Cameron of the British firm of John K. Gilliat & Co., discusses current events in the U.S., including references to "collision and bloodshed in Baltimore and at Harper's Ferry" and reflections on the state of Civil War and its impact on the commercial markets. The addressee, James Thomas, was a prominent tobacco merchant in Richmond during the antebellum and Civil War period. Ex Birkinbine and Walske.  $3,000.

$3000
8452 8452

US 3¢ Star-die U27 entire tied blue CASSVILLE / Ga. / / MAR / 27 [1861] to Col. J.A.R. Hanks, Dalton, Geo., top back flap faults otherwise Very Fine CSA use of US postage  The Hanks correspondence is well known. Col. Hanks was Asst. Quartermaster in the 22nd Georgia Infantry Regiment.  $180.

$180
8454 8454

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire tied SAVANNAH Ga. // APR / 2 / 1861 cds to Macon, Very Fine CSA Use of US postage.   $200.

$200
8455 8455

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire tied SAVANNAH Ga. // MAR / 18 / 1861 cds to New York, Very Fine CSA use of US postage.   $200.

$200
8457 8457

US U26, 3¢ star-die entire tied neat TALMAGE / GA / / MAR / 7 [1861] cds, addressed to “Mrs. J. P. Welch, Calamutcha, Miss”, tear at top and flap faults otherwise very nice CSA Use of US postage, Ex Agre. $170.

$170
8459 8459

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire tied WARRENTON / GEO. // FEB / 21 [1861] to Ellerton, Ga., flap faults otherwise Fine CSA Use of US postage. $175.

$175
8449 8449

US 26, 3¢ dull red tied SAVANNAH Ga. // MAR / 8 / 1861 cds and grid on folded letter to A E Gowdy Esq, Scitua, Conn. from E. J. Gowdy, a couple of “bites” out of letter, most evident at upper right. Letter mostly business from one brother to another complaining about the high cost of shipping gin from Georgia to New York. The last line is rather telling of what is about to come, “there is not much doing in cotton, they are waiting to see what Mr. Lincoln is going to do.” Full transcription included. $170.

$170
8461 8461

US 30A, 5¢ brown Type II vertical strip of three tied NEW ORLEANS / LA 1861 cds on blue folded letter in lovely French script headed Nouvelle Orleans 20 Mars, 1861 and addressed to Gironde, France, various colorful transit markings front and back, some hinge reinforced file folds but Very Fine and scarce Confederate trans-Atlantic use, ex Myers. $2,000.

$2000
8472 8472

US 26, 3¢ dull red top sheet margin copy tied blue NORFOLK / Va. // MAY / ? / 1861 cds on cover to Miss Bell Johnston, Tuskegee, Ala, reduced at left. Cancel day date difficult to determine; it is either Independent State (only 20 days) or CSA Use (25 days) – either way a very short period of time and thus scarce. $200.

$200
11113 11113

US 30A, 5¢ brown type II tied NEW ORLEANS / LA. // ? MAR / [1861] CDS on light blue folded business letter written in Spanish to Barcelona, Spain with red NEW YORK / BR. PKT. APR. 2 [1861] datestamp, bold "8.Rs." due handstamp; backstamped with London Apr. 16, 1861 transit and Spanish receiving datestamps; some cover wear and central file fold, Fine and attractive cover with the U.S. stamp paying the British Open Mail rate to Spain from Confederate Louisiana. $1,500.

$1500
11114 11114

US 30A, 5¢ brown, type II tied NEW ORLEANS / LA. // 21 / MAR / [1861] vertical strip of three, scissors-separated perfs leaving portions of stamps at top and bottom but cut into at sides, on blue 1861 folded letter in French  to Gironde, France, red New York Paid 3 Apr. 6 [1861] credit datestamp, various transits, faint horizontal file fold well clear of stamps,blue double-oval advertising handstamp of commission merchants and importers F'do de Fuentes, Scarce use from Confederate New Orleans, ex George E. Hargest and Blake Myers. $1,800.

$1800
11117 11117

NEW ORLEANS / LA. // 15 / MAY [1861] CDS and"30" rate handstamp on cover to Monsieur Hypolite Picquet, Caen, France with New York 6 May 22 debit datestamp, red French transit datestamp and "16" decimes due handstamp, Very Fine, scarce transatlantic use from Confederate New Orleans, with 2002 CSA certificate #04185. $1,900.

$1900
11622 11622

US U26, 3¢ star-die entire used during the Independent States period, tied RICHMOND/ VA. //  APR /22 / 1861 cds, addressed to Dr. Charles C. Cocke, Bremo Bluff, Fluvanna Cty, Va.; Virginia only independent for 20 days. Small neat envelope, Ex Thayer, signed Brian Green. $330.

$330
11670 11670

US 26, 3¢ dull red tied neat grid with matching CAMDEN / S.C. // MAR / 9 double circle cancel on neat narrow cover to L. M. Blackford, Staunton, Virginia with contents docketing “Jno Johnson”. CSA use of US postage. Ex John Hill.  $200.

Lancelot Minor Blackford enlisted in the Virginia Rockbridge 1st Light Artillery on 9-2-61 and was later promoted to 24th VA Infantry Field & Staff as adjutant. He was a graduate of UVA and post-war was principal for the Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va.

$200
12339 12339

US U26, 3¢ star-die entire used with blue grid and PETERSBURG Va. // 3 cts // MAY / 26 [1861] U.S. rated cds, addressed to Mr. Samuel Ford, Hicksford, Greenville, Va.; flap restoration / sealed tears extending slightly over top, Virginia joined the Confederacy on May 7 so had less than a month for scarce CSA Use of U.S. Postage. CCV $250.  $170.

$170
12786 12786

US 26, 3¢ dull red vertical strip of 3 tied by multiple grids on refolded and rebacked legal cover with matching CLINTON / LA // FEB / 27 / 1861 cds addressed to the Clerk 6th Dist Court East Baton Rouge La. with contents docketing at left “Deposition of Franklin Hardesty & G. W., Munday” as well as “Filed Jun 10, 1862. H. Skipwith Week (19). Confederate Use of US Postage. Scarce triple rate.  $400.

$400
13134 13134

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire tied with grid and matching neat CHARLOTTE C.H. / Va. // MAY / 14 [1861] cds which some may declare as brown but I believe is black ink that has disintegrated to brown appearance, addressed to H. G. Jeffress, Esq., Red Oak Grove, Charlotte, Va.; Very Fine CSA Use of US Postage.  $300.

$300
13236 13236

US 26a, type IIa, 3¢ red (frame-line ends at bottom and can’t tell at top as perfs cut design – could be #26 as well, if bottom row) tied bold RICHMOND / Va.  // MAY / 17 / 1861 cds on cover to “Lieut George M. Morgan, Emmet Guards Louisiana Volunteers, Norfolk, Va.” Emmet Guards was the name of Company D of the 1st Louisiana Infantry, which was organized in New Orleans on 28 April 1861. They saw action in the Seven Day’s Battle, Battle of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and other famous battles. A lovely Confederate Use of U.S. stamps. $300.

$300
13816 13816

US 38, 30¢ orange tied by NEW ORLEANS / LA. // 16 / MAR [1861] cds on cover to “Monsieur Jules Riean a Viella Gers. France” red "Boston Paid 24 Mar. 23" credit datestamp, "Et. Unis Serv. Br. A.C. 6 Avril 61" transit datestamp, boxed "P.D." handstamp, transit and receiving backstamps, some wear and slight soiling, long pencil guarantee, description and signature of Stanley B. Ashbrook, Very Fine Confederate New Orleans use of the US 30¢ stamp on a double-rate cover to France. SCV and CCV $5,000. $4,000.

$4000
13817 13817

US 30A, 5¢ brown type II strip of 3 (parts of adjacent stamps at bottom) tied by NEW ORLEANS / LA. // 26 / MAR [1861] cds on COVER TO FRANCE to “Monsieur ?? (partially covered by stamps) Jean Larade Proprietair Estampures, Canton de Cruies, Department Des Hautes-Pyrenees, France“; red "New York Paid 12 Apr. 2" credit datestamp, boxed "P.D." handstamp, transit and receiving backstamps, slight overall soiling and small perf faults; SCV and CCV $1,000 for use of single on cover; strip of 3 not cataloged. Rare and desirable Confederate New Orleans use to France.  $2,000. 

$2000
13882 13882

US 26, 3¢ dull red, two singles tied grids with matching postmark of CHARLESTON / S.C. // JAN / 2 / 1861 on pristine cover to Jacob Manle Esq, Colerain, Ohio. Very Fine INDEPENDENT STATE USE double rate with to ms.”1 mo.8.1860” to left of address. $475.

$475
13884 13884

US 26, 3¢ dull red tied CHARLESTON / S.C. // FEB / 2 / 1861 double circle datestamp on outer folded lettersheet to Tobias Hendricks Co., New York with red Mordecai & Co. Charleston company handstamp on back flap. Very Fine Independent State Use. Displays beautifully with flap open. $750.

$750
13886 13886

US 26, 3¢ dull red tied grid with matching dc postmark of CHARLESTON / S.C. // MAR / 1 / 1861 on cover to Mrs. Miriam F. Kennard, 6th between I & K Streets, South Boston, Mass. with Boston carrier backstamp dated March 5; left flap detached for display.Unusual and scarce Confederate States Use of US Postage. $325.

$325
13893 13893

US 26, 3¢ dull red tied CHARLESTON / S.C. // MAY / 18 / 1861 cds on neat small blue cover to J. Edwards Clark, Care Robt Rush & Clark No 215 Pearl Street, New York; part back flap missing, nice black monogram-stamped seal. Confederate States Use of US Postage. $350.

$350
13897 13897

US U26, 3¢ star-die entire tied grid with matching bold CHARLESTON / S.C. // APR / 10 / 1861 cds on cover to P H. Villipique, Camden, SC; file fold across top third through bottom of star-die and cds, CONFEDERATE STATES USE OF US POSTAGE. $120.

$120
13898 13898

CHARLESTON / S.C. // MAY / 31 / 1861 bold strike of circular datestamp with matching "FREE" straightline handstamp on cover addressed to the John Glymph, P.M. [Postmaster] Glymphville, S.C., sent by Charleston postmaster Alfred Huger; missing tiny part of top flap, Very Fine CONFEDERATE STATES USE ON THE DAY U.S. POST OFFICE OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTH WERE TERMINATED and the day before the Confederate postal system was inaugurated, this is the ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE of the Charleston handstamped "FREE" marking used in the Confederacy.  $1,700.

$1700
13902 13902

US 38, 30¢ Orange with vibrant color, tied by grid used with matching CHARLESTON / S.C. // JAN / 1 / 1861 dcds on tissue-thin cover to Mrs. Charles A. Pringle, Frau Professor Becmann, 14 Finks Strasse, Berlin, Prussia, red N. YORK AM. PKT / 7 PAID / JAN 5 credit datestamp, red framed AACHEN FRANCO datestamp, receiving backstamp, few flaws including stamp with piece out at left and cover wear with repaired tear, still Fine and rare INDEPENDENT STATE USE, reported to be ONE OF ONLY TWO EXAMPLES OF THE 30¢ STAMP USED FROM CHARLESTON IN 1861. The Pringle family was Southern slave-holding aristocracy.[GERMANY] SCV $5,000. $2,500.

$2500
11756 11756

FRANCE TO NEW ORLEANS, JAN. 1861. Folded letter from Paris to New Orleans with France 80c Napoleon tied by diamond of dots, "Paris 6e / 5 Janv. 61" double-circle datestamp, red "New York Paid 15 Jan. 3" (error date, should be Jan. 23) credit datestamp, red "PD" in frame and "12" handstamps, ultramarine "Am. Service" framed handstamp, Havre backstamp (Jan. 6), Fine, datestamped in New York on Jan. 23 and arrived in New Orleans (addressed to Monsieur Joseph Girod) after secession (probably Feb. 1.) The Joseph Girod Papers, (1816-1899) are in the Louisiana State University Libraries. Ex Howard Green, Rex Felton. $950.

$950
18683 001 18683

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire tied GREENVILLE C.H. / S.C. // MAR / 25 [1861] cds to Gen. Samuel M. McGowan, Abbeville C.H., So. Ca., at that time in the South Carolina State Militia and later a general officer in the Confederate Army. Slightly reduced at the bottom, fresh, Very Fine CSA Use of U.S. Postage. A short bio of McGowan accompanies. $250.

Samuel M. McGowan, a brigadier general in the Confederate army, commanded a brigade in A.P. Hill's famous "Light Division" and was wounded four times. More information on the linked page.

$250
19149 19149

US 26, 3¢ dull red used with pen cancel and tied by ornate receiving handstamp of Philadelphia, manuscript town postmark of Sutherland Springs [Texas] 14 April 61CONFEDERATE USE of US POSTAGE (listed with CSA catalog value $500) on small lady’s size cover to Dr. W. Irvin Wolfley, Philadelphia, Penn. Slightly reduced at right. Docketing at left “Recd May 12th 61.” Ex Camina. $350.

$350
19287 19287

U.S. 24¢ gray lilac #37, tied MOBILE / ALA // APR / 27 / 1861 double-circle datestamp on folded letter on printed bank letterhead to Liverpool, England with red “3” credit handstamp, red London May 17 transit datestamp and Liverpool receiving backstamp May 18, ms. directive “per first mail Steamer.” Rare Confederate use of U.S. postage on a trans-Atlantic cover, Ex Kilbourne. SCV $5,000. $1,800.

$1800
8371 8371

U.S. 3¢ Star-die #U27 entire tied gorgeous bold strike of BOYDTON / Va. // MAY / 7 [1861], First Day of Virginia in the Confederacy – a period of only 45 days. Addressed to Edward Keen, Esq., Christiansville (Mecklenburg County) Va. Slightly reduced at left, Extremely Fine. Ex-Thayer. $2,000.

Edward Keen mini-bio on linked page.

$2000
19564 19564

U26, 3¢ star-die entire tied by light blue PORTSMOUTH / Va. // MAY / 22 / 1861 circle datestamp to Mrs. E.G.B. Snead, Milledgeville, Georgia.  Confederate Use of U.S. Postage – this was possible for less than a month as Virginia joined the Confederacy quite late, May 7, 1861. $250.

Elizabeth Georgiana Beverly Washington Snead was the wife of Rev. Tillman Snead - much more info on Snead and Portsmouth on linked page.

$250
19719 19719

US 3¢ dull red #26 tied grid with matching postmark of CHARLESTON / S.C. // MAR / 10 / 1861 CDS on blind embossed Hayden & Whilden Charleston corner card to Rev. James P. Boyce, Greenville C.H., So.Ca., Confederate State Use of US Postage. Ex David Kohn and Doug Baker. $350.

James Petigru Boyce (1827-1888) was an intellectually gifted Southern Baptist pastor, theologian, author, and educator who was a chaplain for a Confederate regiment of volunteers from Greenville Hayden & Whilden were importers of British jewelry and silverware. Much more detail on the linked page. Listed in both Adevertising and Independent State Use, Section 1

$350
20110 20110

US 36B 12¢ black, plate 3, used with US 26, 3¢ dull red, canceled by red grids on folded cover to Monsieur H. J. Seguimeau de Lognac, Chateau de Portets por Cartres, Gironde, France; blue oval New Orleans company origination handstamp, carried outside of the U.S. mails to New York, probably by an express company -- red Kunkelmann & Strecker New York oval backstamp applied; "New York Paid 6 Jun. 15" (1861) credit datestamp, sender's endorsement "Per Steamer Borussia," Calais and red boxed "P.D." handstamps, receiving backstamp, (see back of cover) stamps faulty including perfs trimmed at top and 12¢ with tear at bottom right. Scarce use sent as postal relations were severed between North and South. $500.

$500
20246 20246

US 26, 3¢ dull red (small corner creases at lower left) tied by unusual manuscript cancel that seems to put Washington behind bars, matching Cumberland C.H. Va. April 19th (18)61 manuscript postmark on cover to Miss Mary A. Ralston Care of Peter Ralston Esq., Richmond, Va., on small envelope, Very Fine Independent State use (ISU); Virginia seceded April 17 and joined the Confederacy May 7 – a very short window for ISU; Peter Wyse Ralston (1811-1884) was one of the developers of the Navy Hill neighborhood of Richmond, an early “planned community.” He was Assistant Clerk for the Richmond City Auditor; illustrated in previous edition of Dietz Catalog, Ex Thayer. $375.

 

$375
20467 20467

U26, 3¢ star-die entire tied neat SAVANNAH GA APR 9 1861 circular datestamp to S F Dickinson Esq., Macon Ga., Very Fine. CSA USE OF U.S. POSTAGE, Ex Ralph Swap. $225.

$225
20468 20468

US 26, 3¢ dull red tied grid with matching CHARLESTON S.C. MAR 17 1861 on fresh laid paper envelope with Bank of Charleston printed ad on top back flap. CSA USE OF U.S. POSTAGE, Ex Ralph Swap. $200.

$200
16307

U.S. U10, 3¢ Nesbitt, tied AUGUSTA GA MAR 2 (1861) on fresh entire to Hon. Howell Cobb, Montgomery, Ala, Confederate Use of U.S. Postage, Plantation collection. $200.

$200
20325

US 26, 3¢ dull red just tied blue grid with matching beautifully struck blue PORTSMOUTH VA APR 17 1861 double circle cancel on pristine cover to E Wood Esquire, Edenton, N.C. This is the day Virginia seceded from the Union, thus a FIRST DAY Cover. It was independent a period of only 20 days. A lovely and rare use. Ex Birkinbine and Kaplan. $900.

Edward Wood (1820-1872) was an astute business with a large sawmill, an active fisheries business and 1,934 acres of land on which he used slave labor (in 1860, he owned 46 slaves). With the occupation of North Carolina by federal forces, his business routines were interrupted. The military government feared that fishermen would cross federal lines in the Albemarle Sound to trade with enemies of the United States and so forbade fishing. In February 1863, Wood complained to authorities about the regulation, arguing that the residents of Edenton needed food, and received permission to fish. But almost as soon as he began spring fishing on a limited scale, he was arrested for having "become obnoxious . . . by the free expression of his sentiments"—evidence suggests that a federal gunboat interfered with his fishermen—and held as a hostage pending the release of a prisoner taken by the Confederate forces. Fortunately, by the end of March Wood was released from his parole and obligations involved in the exchange of prisoners. His wealth steadily grew after the war so that he was managing about 5,000 acres as well as the fisheries, steamboats, and schooners.

$900
6962 6962

U.S. 3¢ star-die, size 3, knife 2, tied indistinct Independent State or CSA Use of U.S. postage. Identified by a prior owner as Little Rock Ark May 8 1861 (making it a scarce Independent State Use), which it may be but I can’t make out the blurry postmark and it is subject to interpretation. Addressed to Honr Howell Cobb, Montgomery, Ala. Howell Cobb served as president of the Confederate Provisional Congress (1861) in Montgomery and thus this cover is a use while in that position before June 1, 1861. He was later a major general of the Confederate army. His personal history is well-known and illustrious. $200.

$200
20790

US U10, 3¢ Nesbitt entire with USPOD watermarked paper, tied MOBILE ALA MAR 10 1861 double-circle datestamp to John Hersey Member of the Gospel Care of Armstrong & Berry Baltimore Maryland with docketing “A.H. Mitchell” (likely sender). CSA Cross-border use. $250.

Rev. John Hersey bio on linked page.

$250
20842

US U27, 3¢ star-die entire tied grid and matching blue LEXINGTON Va. MAY 11  (1861) CDS to Greenlee Davidson, Care Governor Letcher, Richmond, Va.; small piece of top flap missing, Very Fine. Confederate Use of U.S. Postage; this possible for less than a month as Virginia joined the Confederacy quite late, May 7, 1861. Ex John Vagnetti. $300.

Greenlee Davidson served in the Richmond Letcher Light Artillery and was Aide de Camp to Governor John Letcher. Brief bio on linked page.

$300