This article is from the Jul-Aug 1998 issue of the Confederate Philatelist.
An unusual Texas cover came my way recently - one which started me wondering about what are the latest known Confederate postal usages. I will begin by describing the item that started all this, will then discuss the history of the War Between the States after Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, and will finally summarize postal uses during this final period.
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The cover in question is a stampless cover from the postmaster at Troup, Texas, to the Confederate Auditor of the Treasury, Trans-Mississippi Department at Houston. The cover (Figure 1) is franked "Free" and "Official Business / J. H. Brown / P.M. Troup TX / May 19th." The 1863 Directory of Post Offices lists this town in Smith County, Texas. Troup is still in existence and is located near present-day Tyler in northeastern Texas. The contents of the cover (Figure 2) is an official Confederate States Post Office form requesting payment ($131) to the mail contractor for his services on Mail Route No. 132 for the first quarter of 1865. The document is dated May 15, 1865, and bears the same signature of the postmaster as the cover.
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Surrender dates vary for the different Confederate forces. Lee surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox April 9, 1865. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to General Sherman on April 26. Richard Taylor surrendered to Canby on May 4. This last event ended all resistance east of the Mississippi. Forces in the western portion of the Confederacy, however, continued hostilities. The battle at Palniito (or Palmetto) Ranch in Texas, on May 13, is generally considered to be the last action. E. Kirby Smith surrendered the Trans-Mississippi Department to Canby's forces on May 26.
The writer possesses a broadside of Governor Pendleton Murrah, the upper portion of which is shown in Figure 3. It eloquently expresses the sentiments of many.
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Certainly, the latest postal usages of the Confederacy can come only from Texas, because this was the last portion of the Confederate States that was not under Federal control in May 1865. Ter Braake described a cover from Crockett, Texas, postmarked April 30, 1865, with letter enclosed. He also illustrated a cover to James H. Starr as Agent of the Post Office Department, Marshall, Texas. This latter cover bears a bisected 20c green tied with the Crockett postmark in which the May 12 date was altered in pen to May 22. I do not know whether this cover has any contents proving the year of use, and I also wonder if the postmark date was altered after usage. If this cover was actually sent on May 22, then its is three days later than the cover illustrated in this article.
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Figure 4 illustrates an interesting cover sold at a Shreves auction (July 6, 1997). It bears both a 10c Keatinge & Ball issue and a U.S. 3c 1861, with both stamps tied by a Marshall, Texas, postmark, dated June 7. Although the auction description touts the cover as possibly the "latest known Confederate stamp usage west of the Mississippi," the Confederate stamp did no postal service. This cover is of purely Union usage. There was no Confederate postal service at that time. A latest known usage must show only Confederate postage being paid for transmission of the letter.
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In Figure 5 is a cover, containing a letter from Richmond, dated June 19, 1865. This is one of the covers from the Bowers correspondence, which was previously discussed by the writer in this journal. The postmark is clearly struck, but the stamp is unfortunately not cancelled. Yet the cover and enclosed letter were within the correspondences, so it seems to have arrived at its destination. This cover was examined by the Confederate Stamp Alliance Authentication Comniittee (Certificate No. 699) who declared it to be genuine Federal postwar postal usage -- not Confederate. I would concur with this opinion. Although the stamp was accepted in payment of postage, it was not Confederate postage.
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What has to be the latest use of a Confederate stamp to properly pay postage is shown in Figure 6. It is a 2c "Red Jack" illegally paying the two-cent U. S. revenue charge on a check in 1866. It certainly was accepted by the parties involved in the transaction, and bears the proper manuscript initials, "F.W.A. Ap 16/66," the same as those of F. W. Adams, who signed the check at Athens, Georgia, on April 16, 1866.
I would very much like to hear from readers who have late usages and include updates in a follow-up to this article.
References:
1. Milgram, J. W., M.D. "The Marcus Bowers Letters." The Confederate Philatelist 22:87-92, 1977.
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