Sale 9053 — U.S. & Hawaii Postal History
Sale Date — Saturday, 9 May, 2026
Category — Civil War and Confederate States
1c Blue (63). Used with 3c Rose (65), tied together by "PAID" in lozenge and 3c by red "Boston Mass. Sep. 12" circular datestamp on cover to Keene N.H. with "Long May it Wave" red and blue Patriotic flag design, Very Fine, ex Clifford Cole, with 2025 P.F. certificate
3c Rose (65). Tied by target cancel with partly clear Washington D.C. duplex datestamp on yellow cover with red and blue 9th Corps badge, depicting Anchor and Cannon in Flag Patriotic design and "2nd Div 9th A.C." motto, Magee Philadelphia 1864 imprint at left, Very Fine, the 9th Corps was formed under General Ambrose E. Burnside in 1862 and fought in numerous major engagements through the war's end, this is a lovely cover depicting its badge
3c Deep Rose Red (65). Straight edge at top, intense color, tied by perfect strike of "Union" in Star fancy cancel, "West Hampton Mass. Feb. 10, 1863" circular datestamp on cover to Springfield Mass., stamp with slight toning, Extremely Fine strike of this attractive fancy cancel, ex "Artemis", 1983 P.F. certificate specifically identifying this as the Deep Rose Red sub-shade no longer accompanies
3c Rose (65). Three huge margins with natural straight edge at right, tied by "Port Royal S.C. Aug. 8 '64" double-circle datestamp with target duplex on "Flag Ship South Atlantic Blockading Squadron Rear Admiral" corner card cover to Washington D.C., signed by Admiral John A. Dahlgren, stamp with light scoring line at bottom, still Extremely Fine, Admiral Dahlgren founded the Navy's Ordnance Department and designed several different guns and cannons that gave the Union a tactical advantage, during the Civil War he was Commander of the Navy Yard at Washington and from 1863 Commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, his flag ship was the U.S.S. Philadelphia, a nearly identical cover to this, also signed by Dahlgren but with a slightly different corner card realized $2,800 hammer in our 2017 sale of a portion of the Walske collection of Blockade-Run Mail
Charleston S.C. Jul. 17, 1861. Circular datestamp struck partly off of mourning cover to military address at Sullivan's Island in Charleston harbor, neat "Paid 2" in circle handstamp, trivial wear, Very Fine, scarce drop-rate use on a mourning cover, ex Calhoun
10c Blue, Die B (12). Large to huge margins all around, tied by "Charleston S.C. Feb. 16" (1865) double-circle datestamp on cover to Timmonsville S.C., light cover toning not affecting the stamp, Very Fine appearance, mailed on the last day of the Confederate Charleston post office, Confederate forces evacuated the city on Feb. 17 and the city was surrendered to Union forces on Feb. 18
Fort Pulaski, Ga., "Immortal 600". Two covers, first Aug. 8, 1864 mixed-franking cover with 3c Rose (65) and 10c Blue, Die A (11), from Lt. David E. Gordon at Fort Delaware Prison to Mrs. Gordon in Gordiers Depot S.C., "Prisoner's Letter/Examined/Fort Delaware" oval censor handstamp, Very Fine, second buff inner cover from same prisoner, "By Flag of Truce", 10c Blue, Die A (11), cut in at left and tied by "Savannah Ga. Paid Nov. 5" circular datestamp, unsealed for censoring, routed via Port Royal and then back to Savannah to enter C.S.A. mails, Very Fine combination of covers tracing Lt. Gordon's location as a prisoner before and after his time on Morris Island as one of the "Immortal 600", in late October 1864 the Immortal 600 prisoners from Morris Island, who had been exposed to mortar fire from their own Confederate batteries, were moved to Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the Savannah River, conditions were not much better there as they were forced to subsist on a near starvation diet
(Image Magnifier)Libby Prison. Manuscript "Prisoner's Letter Libby Prison" at top of cover to Mrs. A.M. Paulding, "Care Rear Admiral (Hiram) Paulding" at the Navy Yard, New York, "Old Point Comfort Va. Mar. 9" circular datestamp with matching "Due 3" handstamp, Very Fine use from Admiral Paulding's son Tattnall Paulding, who was an officer in the 3rd and then 6th U.S. Cavalry and a prisoner for nine months at Libby, also a desirable naval association, signed Brian Green, for good background information see https://regularcavalryincivilwar.com/tag/libby-prison/
Confederate States Cover Balance from Fredericksburg Va. 17, including pair of No. 7 used from Fredericksburg Va., No. 1 on mourning cover, No. 1 with clipped transfer, No. 1 on lady's embossed cover, No. 2 to Richmond, U.S. 3c Star Die entire used May 31, 1861 (last day of postal relations), stampless Cannon and Flag design with "Due 10" handstamp to Ala., turned use, some faults, overall appear Fine-Very Fine