The current Dietz catalog(1) lists three different Confederate Naval Commandant's Office imprinted envelopes from the following Naval Station locations:

• Charleston, South Carolina
• Marion Court House, South Carolina
• Wilmington, North Carolina

I recently acquired an unlisted Commandant's Office, Naval Station, Savannah, Georgia, imprinted envelope (illustrated below) which is believed to be unique. The cover has a May 7 (1863), postmark. The postage was paid with a bottom sheet margin pair of the 5c Archer & Daly typographs (Scott #7).

Figure 1 -- C. S. Naval Station Savannah, Ga.

The cover is addressed in the hand of Captain Richard L. Page, Confederate States Navy, when he was in command of the Savannah River Naval Forces. The addressee is Commander Catesby ap R. Jones, Confederate States Navy, when he was in command of the Naval Ordnance Works, Charlotte, North Carolina. On the back of the cover, Commander Jones wrote "Capt Page." It was his habit to write on the back of each envelope the name of the person who sent the correspondence to him.

Captain Page was a rather unusual Confederate Navy Officer in that on March 1, 1864, he was promoted to Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army to command the outer defenses of Mobile Bay, Alabama. At the fall of Fort Morgan on August 23, 1864, he was taken prisoner and remained a captive until September 1865. Figure 2 is a period print of Captain Page.

Commander Jones was a prominent Confederate Naval Officer who was most famous for taking command of the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) in her fight with the USS Monitor on March 9, 1862 when Rear Admiral (then Captain) Franklin Buchanan was severely wounded early in the engagement. Because this battle made wooden ships obsolete, it is considered one of most historic Naval engagements in the history of the world. For more information on Commander Jones, please refer to the November - December 2002issue of The Confederate Philatelist(2).

Figure 2 -- Commander Richard L. Page CSN also Brigadier General CSA.

References:
(I) Skinner H. C., E. R. Gunter and W. H. Sanders. The New Dietz Confederate States Catalog and Handbook. Miami, FL: Bogg & Laurence Publishing Co. 1986.
(2)Monroe, Capt. James L. D. and S. T. Jaronski, "Navy Office of Provisions and Clothing Imprint Appears". The Confederate Philatelist 47: 205-207 (Nov. - Dec. 2002).

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