RUSSELLVILLE TENN AUG 2 neat 37mm balloon postmark with matching PAID (no rate, type A, CCV $300) on cover to Mr. R.H. Armstrong, Knoxville, Tenn. $325.

Robert Houston Armstrong (1825-1896) and his wife, Louisa Franklin Armstrong, were newlyweds when they moved into Bleak House (named after the Dickens novel) in Knoxville, an Italianate-style mansion completed in 1858. During the Siege of Knoxville in 1863, the house was the headquarters of Gen. James Longstreet.