FL261

Stampless PAID cover with Magnolia, FLA CDS and handstamp PAID 5 28 JULY (1861). Orange paper cover addressed to Col A. C. Spain, Sumpter CH SC. Period receiving docketing at the left confirms 1861 use as does the original enclosure written on blue lined notebook paper datelined "Magnolia July 23 1861." Clean appearing cover with opening edge faults at the top. Included with the cover is a 3c Red USA Star Die Cut Square with the same Magnolia, FLA, CDS dated 24 MAR (1861) USA Used in CSA Florida. Magnolia Mills, Florida, (Duval County) was located on the St Johns River 27 Miles south of Jacksonville and the site of a steam mill for processing lumber. The site was settled in 1790 under Spanish rule when a plantation named Hibernia was first established by George Fleming (1760-1821), an Irish immigrant under a Spanish land grant. After Florida Statehood, a US Post Office was established in 1853 with a name change from Hibernia to Magnolia Mills. The postmark on this cover is known from Magnolia Mills ("Mills" is omitted in the postmark) in the pre-war period with 10-20 covers estimated with the 3c USA rate during the pre-war years. Magnolia Mills is a US post office listed in the 1862 list of USA post offices. The pre-war US postmaster was Nathaniel D. Benedict (appointment dated 11/10/1853) who continued on as the CSA postmaster with his Confederate appointment dated 7/25/1861. The Confederate Magnolia Mills post office was short lived and was discontinued 11/8/1861 when the name was changed to Green Cove Springs and a new CSA postmaster was appointed. No Confederate covers are known with Green Cove Springs postal markings. After the war, the USPOD re-established the US post office 5/31/1866 and officially renamed it Green Cove Springs. Florida Postal Historians consider this Magnolia postmark on the presented cover to be a "Hotel Postmark" as the postmaster had his office in the Magnolia Hotel. Magnolia Mills is unlisted in the CSA Catalog. The cover here presented is a very important new find as until now there have been no recorded covers from the Magnolia Mills short time as a Confederate post office. This cover is now the only recorded cover from the Magnolia Mills, Florida, Confederate post office dated 3 days after PM Benedict's appointment as the Confederate postmaster. The cut square Star Die is the only known use from this post office in the USA used in the CSA period for Florida. There are no known uses from this post office during the Florida Independent State period. (Historial information courtesy of Deane Briggs MD, Florida Postal Historian.) Col Albertus Chambers Spain (1821-1881), an attorney and politician in Sumter SC, was a vereran of the Mexican War and served after the Mexican War in the SC state legislature. He was a delegate to the Convention of 1860 and a signer of the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession. After the Civil War, he lived in Darlington SC where he is buried. The title of "Col" was honorary. John P. Sylvester (1828-1912), the sender of the cover, entered service as a private in Co C 1st Fla Battn Cav 10/17/1861 and transferred to Co C 1st Fla Cav 1/1/1862. He was commissioned 2nd Lieut 8/4/1862. After the war, he lived in Kissimme, Fla, where he is buried. On the Federal Census of 1860, he is listed as a Lumber Merchant in Welaka.

$1,000.00 Two Items SOLD

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