This article is from the January - March 2011 issue of the Confederate Philatelist. Posted under a prior agreement with the then journal editors in effect since the early days of this website.
The above cover, addressed to Captain J. Ernest Meiere at Mobile, Alabama, is an excellent example of a CSMC cover. It has a 10 cent blue Scott #11 stamp with a Richmond, Virginia, July 24 (1864) cancellation. The address contains the wording, "C. S. Marine Corps." Of the nine known covers, only two have such wording with the remaining seven citing either, "C.S.M.C" or no reference to the CSMC at all. The covers that do not reference the CSMC were documented as CSMC covers by researching the name of the addressee. Captain Julius Ernest Meiere was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) on April 15, 1855. In May 1861, he attempted to resign from the USMC in order to serve the Confederate States of America, but his resignation was refused and he was dismissed. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed a First Lieutenant in the CSMC. In December 1861, he was promoted to Captain. He had a variety of assignments including serving on board the CSS Virginia when she was abandoned and destroyed on May 11, 1862. He was captured at the surrender of Fort Gaines, Alabama, on August 8, 1864 and was imprisoned at New Orleans, Louisiana, but managed to escape on October 13, 1864. He continued to serve in the CSMC but finally surrendered at Mobile, Alabama, on May 4, 1865. After the war, Captain Meiere went north to attend the Medical College of the University of New York where he graduated in 1869. He died at Cripple Creek, Colorado in 1905 at the age of72. Keep a sharp lookout for a CSMC cover. It would be a real nice addition to your collection. |
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