CSA 7, 5¢ blue pair (tiny faults) tied beautifully struck SOUTHERN EXPRESS CO. / KNOXVILLE, TENN. // AUG / 3 double-circle datestamp (CSA catalog type E, CCV $2,500) , on cover to “Mrs. E. A. Jordan, Davisboro, Washington Co, Geo” with pencil manuscript ”Paid R E”, faint diagonal cover crease affecting right stamp and cover slightly reduced at right, fresh, SCARCE USE. 2012 PF certificate. $1,300.

The Southern Express Company was the largest private express company operating in the Confederacy. It was established when offices of the Adams Express Company in the Southern states were purchased by Henry Bradley Plant, manager of the Southern Division of Adams Express, Alvin Adams, and several associates. Although it was established May 1, 1861, the company did not begin operating under the Southern Express Company name until early August 1861. Both Northerners, these men created the new company under the guise of it being a Southern company, as the CSA began confiscating all Northern-owned establishments in the South. The Southern Express Co., a railroad company, initially carried packages and letters between the North and South, until this practice was banned. Technically, the Act of April 1862 made it illegal for express companies to carry letters after May 31, 1862, but it did not completely stop the practice.