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. [VA] $3,000.