WINCHESTER Va. JUL 12 (1861) with matching PAID 5 (type B – only shown by black and white tracing) on clean cover addressed to Dr. W. H. Dennis, Big Lick, Roanoke Co(unty) Va. Note on back states cover was sent by Capt. R. F. Dennis of the 27th Virginia Infantry, which in October 1861 would become part of the famed Stonewall Brigade. Ex Emerson. $200.

Capt. Robert Flournoy Dennis (1823-1897) commanded the Greenbrier Rifles, Company E, the first Confederate volunteer infantry company from Greenbrier County. It was raised in Lewisburg, West Virginia (then part of Virginia). Dennis led the company during early campaigns, including the First Battle of Manassas and Kernstown. After the war, he returned to Lewisburg, where he practiced law and was instrumental in securing rights-of-way for the development of railroads in the area.