Collecting Civil War Postal Stamps

By Jeff Hayward · Originally published June 2016 · p. 33

From the Civil War’s first Battle of Fort Sumter to General E. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, collectors of Civil War stamps keep tiny works of postal art issued to commemorate the many battles events and historical figures from the war. The impact and significance of the Civil War in U.S. history is shown by the high number of postage stamps that have been issued to commemorate the American Civil War. (Figure 1) The largest issuer of Civil War postage stamps is the United States Postal Service with more than 275 stamps issued showing different subjects of the war. Starting in 1961, the United State Postal Service began a five-year series of stamps for the centenary of five famous battles: Fort Sumter 1861, Shiloh 1862, Gettysburg 1863, the Wilderness 1864 and Appomattox in 1865. The United States Postal Service recently commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War with Sheets of stamps issued from 2011-2015 starting with the battle at Fort Sumter and ending with the Battle of collectors might collect only stamps issued by the Confederacy as it did not recognize postage stamps used by the Union. The Confederacy created its own post office department and began issuing its own stamps in late 1861. (Figure 4) Why collect Civil War stamps? There is always something new or interesting to discover about the pictures on postage stamps. Collecting stamps is a great way to learn about historical people and events, and it can be done from home, the Internet, at stamp club meetings and stamp shows. Your collection can take as little or as much space as you wish. It is fun to share and learn through stamp collecting. Your collection can be shared with family and friends no matter what their age. If you would like to learn more about topical collecting, please visit the American Topical Association at http://www.americantopicalassn.org/ or www.stamps.org if you are interested in stamp collecting in general. You might also consider visiting New York City May 28th – June 4th and attend the World Stamp ShowNY 2016. This eight-day stamp show will have stamp dealers that can help you with your stamp collection, a beginner’s area, seminars and rare stamps on exhibit. Admission to the show is free. For more information about the show, please visit http://ny2016.org/. Jeffrey Hayward is a longtime stamp collector and American Topical Association member. He loves helping people learn about the hobby of stamp collecting and can be reached at [email protected] Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Commemoration_of_the_American_Civil_War_on_postage_stamps http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2011/pb22306/html/info_009. html Dodson, Larry (2006). A Philatelic Tour of the American Civil War (also known as the War Between the States). American Topical Association Handbook pg. 155.

Appomattox in 1865. (Figure 2) Some collectors choose to collect stamps by a theme or topic rather than collecting stamps the traditional way of acquiring one of each stamp issued by a particular country. Collectors of these stamps sometimes collect more than just specific battles and events of the war and might also collect stamps related to other subjects from the war such as uniforms, flags, weapons or technology developed during the war. One of those technological advances was the telegraph invented by Samuel Morse and used by General Grant to communicate with his other officers during the war. (Figure 3) Other Civil War stamp

Figure 3. Samuel Morse 2¢ stamp.

Figure 4. Confederate States Of America 5 cents stamp.