Spartanburg S.C., 5c Black #78X1 tied by PAID straightline with SPARTANBURG / S.C. double-circle datestamp and manuscript "June 22" [1861] date on cover to Rev. A. Nettles, Summerville S.C. Extremely fine. One of the finest of the approximately twenty recorded covers. Ex Ferrary, Hind, Hall and Gross. SCV $20,000. $13,000. Spartanburg S.C. takes its name from the "Spartan Rifles," a group of militia soldiers during the Revolutionary War. The name was adopted by Confederate soldiers from Spartanburg during the Civil War. John A. Lee was a prominent merchant who served as postmaster of Spartanburg from 1850 through the end of the war. Residents of Spartanburg remembered him as the "Wartime Postmaster." (John B. O. Landrum, History of Spartanburg County). Postmaster Lee created his provisional stamps by applying the "5" numeral rate marking inside the "Spartanburg S.C." double-circle datestamp on a sheet of paper, which were then either cut to shape or cut square.

Reverend Abraham Nettles (1808-1889) was a Methodist preacher born in Summerville and lived there all his life. He was married with four children. He died of typhoid fever.