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The cover in Figure 1 is a very ordinary manuscript paid cover, somewhat less than desirable by many standards. What it lacks in appearance, however, it more than makes up in the challenge it presents the postal historian.
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The cover bears the manuscript postmark "McGuire Store Ga" dated "17th Dec." The rate is a penciled "Paid 5." Based on the month and the rate, the year of use is 1861. The cover is addressed to James Hagood, Pickens C.H., South Carolina. This article will focus on the originating post office -- McGuires Store.
A post office, located in Floyd County, was established as McGuire's Store in 1852 with the appointment of Terrace McGuire as postmaster. In 1857 James S. Pinson was appointed postmaster. At the same time the appointment records list the name of the town as MacGuire's Store. Apparently this was a clerical error because other documents continue to spell the name "McGuire's Store."
Under the Confederate administration things get a little confusing. On November 7, 1861, J. J. Pinson was appointed to succeed James S. Pinson, who apparently resigned or left the office to join the army. At the same time the name of the office was changed to "Nannie." Then February 1862 the Confederate Post Office Department announced that the status of the office was changed to that of a "special office" retroactive to 1 June 1861.
What does all of this mean? Why the continued use of the old name of the office five weeks after the name was changed? This duration was more than adequate time to notify the postmaster of the change. So why wasn't the change made promptly? This is a question that will probably never be answered with certainty. However, a map in the Official Military Atlas of the Civil War gives us a clue to a possible reason.
Plate LVIII shows a section of north Georgia during Sherman's campaign north of Atlanta. About 10 miles northeast of Rome is a road intersection, which is labeled "Nannie PO or McGuire" (Figure 2). This shows continued confusion over the name of the little town even as late as the summer of 1864. It is interesting that in the same vicinity there is also a "Pinson's Store" and a "Pinson."
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Secondly, why was the postmark written "McGuire Store" instead of the official name "McGuire's Store"? This discrepancy can be attributed to local preference or use. My theory is supported by the name being listed as "McGuire" instead of "McGuire's" on the map in Figure 2.
The final curiosity is that the office was designated as a "special office" in February 1862 with an effective date of 1 June 1861. Neither the U.S. Post Office Laws and Regulations nor the available Confederate records specifically defines a special office. However, by putting together bits and pieces from various U.S. and Confederate documents we can come with the following definition: A special office was an office for which the cost of mail conveyance, both to and from the office, could be no more than the net proceeds of the office or a fixed amount not to exceed the net proceeds. Such an office was apparently an extension of the regular mail route to serve a local community at no cost to the Post Office Department.
In summary we learn that a rather drab cover can lead the postal historian down some interesting paths. In particular we learn that this cover with a manuscript postmark of "McGuire Store" is actually from a town whose name was changed to "Nannie" five weeks earlier. However, there is a local confusion about the name of the town, and as late as 1864 it is listed on a map of the area as "Nannie" or "McGuire." We also learn that the post office was designated a "special office." Although this term is not specifically defined we learn from various documents that it meant an office on an extension of the regular mail route which was operated at no cost to the Post Office Department. Such are the lessons of a drab little cover.
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