USPS 150th Anniversary (1865-2015) of the American Civil War

USPS  on 9 April 2015 issued the final installment in their five-year series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Featured here is the Confederate Surrender at Appomattox stamp, postmarked with a first day cover cancellation from Appomattox, Virginia.  The cachet here depicts General Lee riding off from the courthouse where he surrendered.

Lee’s Surrender at Appomattox
On the morning of 9 April, as Federal troops blocked his path south and west, Lee attempted to reach the railroad at Appomattox Station to receive supplies sent there from Lynchburg. When Confederate General John B. Gordon sent word that his attack on Union cavalry blocking the stage road had failed, Lee replied, "There is nothing left for me to do but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand deaths."

Grant and Lee met later that day at Appomattox Court House at the home of Wilmer McLean. Grant’s terms for surrender reflected President Lincoln’s views on avoiding vindictive conditions. He paroled the surrendered Confederates and allowed them to return to their homes, rather than face internment or the threat of trials for treason. At Lee’s request, Grant let men keep their horses “to put in a crop to carry themselves and their families through the next winter.” Lee believed this would “do much toward conciliating our people.”

Although other Confederate armies remained in the field, the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia—the force that had famously routed the Union’s Army of the Potomac at Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville — signaled an end to the war.

 

Source: USPS

USPS 150th Anniversary (1863-2013) of the American Civil War

USPS  on 1 July 2013 issued the third of a five-year series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Featured here is the Battle of Gettysburg stamp on a maxim card, postmarked with a first day cover cancellation from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The first day cover of the Battle of Vicksburg is postmarked Vicksburg, Mississippi.

 

 Designed by art director Phil Jordan, the 2013 Civil War stamps feature the same format as previous issues, including traditional artwork.  The Gettysburg stamp pictures an 1887 chromolithograph by Thure de Thustrup while the Vicksburg image was taken from an 1863 Currier and Ives lithograph.  The selvage on the front of the pane pictures a Matthew Brady photo of Confederate prisoners at Gettysburg.  There are also quotes from battlefield nurse Clara Barton, President Abraham Lincoln, Rufus Dawes, and William Tunnard (solders from each of the honored battles).  The back of the pane tells the story of the two battles.

The Battle of Gettysburg, 1 - 3 July 1863
In June 1863, Confederate general Robert E. Lee began to carry out his bold plan to invade Pennsylvania and perhaps deal a decisive blow to the Union. By the end of the month, troops from his Army of Northern Virginia had moved out of Fredericksburg, VA, and crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, on their way toward Pennsylvania. There, on 1 July, near the small town of Gettysburg, Lee’s forces would meet those of Major General George Gordon Meade, the newly appointed Union commander of the Army of the Potomac.

The ensuing three-day Battle of Gettysburg — in places soon known across the nation as the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and Devil’s Den — was the largest battle fought during the war and Lee’s first major defeat. Casualties exceeded 50,000, including more than 7,500 killed or mortally wounded. For Lee’s forces and the South, Gettysburg has often been called the “high water mark of the Rebellion.”

During the three-day battle, Robert E. Lee’s full strength was concentrated against the Army of the Potomac. Although they breached the Union line on July 3, Confederate troops were unable to withstand withering artillery during “Pickett’s Charge.” Nearly one third of Lee’s army was casualties. During their retreat, their train of wounded Confederate soldiers stretched for more than fourteen miles.

Battle of Vicksburg
In the West, Grant’s army had laid siege to Vicksburg, a key town along the Mississippi River. His men tried to battle their way into the fortified town in early spring, but the obstacles were insurmountable. Grant then tried to tunnel his army in, but that failed as well. The Union general then had his troops surround the town, cutting off its supply line, and begin a daily artillery assault. On July 4, after a 47-day siege, Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered. With its victory, the Union took control of the Mississippi River and severed the Confederacy in half. This Confederate defeat occurred the day after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg.

 

 Source: USPS and Mystic Stamps

USPS 150th Anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation

USPS on 1 January 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln signed on 1 January 1863 with a first day commemorative stamp.

Renowned graphic designer Gail Anderson partnered with art director Antonio Alcalá to design the stamp.  It prominently features the phrase, “Henceforward Shall Be Free,” which is taken from the historic document. It also notes Abraham Lincoln’s name and the year the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

In the summer of 1862, the Confederates scored one victory after another.  President Lincoln believed freeing slaves would weaken the South by greatly reducing its labor force. He prepared a proclamation that would free slaves in the Rebel states, but needed a Union victory to win support in the North. That chance came in September, when Northern forces stopped a Confederate invasion at Antietam, Maryland.

Within weeks, Commander-in-Chief Lincoln gave the Rebel states the choice to rejoin the Union before the new year or their slaves “henceforward shall be free.” The focus of the Civil War changed from restoring the Union to ending slavery.

On the first day of 1863, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. The order only applied to slaves in Confederate states, but thousands of black refugees, or “contrabands of war,” at Union-held forts in the South celebrated their liberty.  Young black men tasting freedom for the first time joined the U.S. Army and Navy in its fight to restore the Union and grant liberty to those still in bondage.

Lincoln’s proclamation had no effect on the daily life of many slaves. Their freedom came two years later, when the 13th Amendment was ratified, ensuring “slavery nor involuntary servitude” would never again “exist within the United States.”

 

Source: Mystic Stamps

USPS 85th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

The United States Post Office on 19 November 1948 issued a first day cover stamp marking the 85th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This bright blue, 3 cent stamp bore the Gettysburg cancellation postmark on its initial release. Approximately 63,388,000 stamps were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, using a Rotary Press method. The cachet shown here depicts Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address, with the full address inscribed on a scroll. The stamp features the closing lines from Lincoln's speech

The Battle of Gettysburg was one of many battles fought during the American Civil War (1861-1865), and it was one the bloodiest and marked the last time Confederate forces attempted to  advance north. It commenced on 1 July 1863 and lasted three days. In that time, casualties were between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies --  the most costly in U.S. history.

On 19 November 1863, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honour the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.

Local Gettysburg attorney David Willis was the driving force behind establishing a nationally funded cemetery to bury the soldiers who died in the battle. To honor the occasion, Willis invited Edward Everett, a famous public speaker, to give the oration. Over a month later, Willis as an afterthought sent an invitation to the White House to ask President Lincoln to “formerly set aside these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks.” Lincoln agreed.

 

Everett spoke first, delivering a nearly two-hour speech that contained 13,607 words. In contrast, Lincoln’s speech was just 10 sentences – 271 words. He spoke for a little over two minutes.

At the time, the Lincoln’s main concern was maintaining the support of the Union in the war effort. His two-minute speech captivated the crowd of about 15,000.

Soldier and lawyer E.W. Andrews who was present on that day, remembered, “On this occasion [Lincoln] came out before the vast assembly, and stepped slowly to the front of the platform, with his hands clasped before him, his natural sadness of expression deepened, his head bent forward, and his eyes cast to the ground.

“In this attitude he stood for a few seconds, silent, as if communing with his own thoughts; and when he began to speak, and throughout his entire address, his manner indicated no consciousness of the presence of tens of thousands hanging on his lips, but rather of one who, like the prophet of old, was overmastered by some unseen spirit of the scene, and passively gave utterance to the memories, the feelings, the counsels and the prophecies with which he was inspired..."

Afterwards the speech was met with silence, which Lincoln interpreted as failure. On the contrary, the audience was in awe of the words he had spoken.
 
The following day, Everett congratulated Lincoln, saying, “I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.” Lincoln replied in a letter, “I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure.”

Today, President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address has since become one of the most famous speeches in America’s history.

HERE's a video from Ken Burns "Civil War" which provides a backdrop of the Gettysburg battle and the speech itself. Click the link --

The Gambia 10th Anniversary of Radio Gambia

THE GAMBIA in 1972 issued a series of three first day cover stamps marking the 1oth anniversary of Radio Gambia. The stamps featured a map of their transmitter site, the studio and headquarters, whereas the cachet depicted the national emblem of the country.

Radio Gambia was the first media broadcaster of the Gambia following its establishment in 1962. Established during the colonial era with the assistance of advisors from Britain, almost all its programmes in its early years were rebroadcast of programmes in other parts of Africa and England. That strategy continued right after independence in 1965. Although it created its own news, educational shows and music programmes, Radio Gambia initially depended heavily on the BBC for programming. 

As of 2007 the state-owned Gambia Radio and Television Service has two AM stations (Bonto, Basse) and three FM stations (Bonto, Serrekunda, Banjul). There are also seven private FM stations in Serrekunda, Banjul, and Basse.

HERE is  a link to their shortwave service in 1972,

USPS Cartoon Strip Peanuts - Snoopy WWI Ace

USPS on 17 May 2001 issued a series of first cover stamps dedicated to the cartoon strip Peanuts.  Shown in this cachet is Snoopy as a WWI fighter ace in a dogfight with Imperial German ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka The Red Baron. 125,000,000 lithographed stamps were printed by Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd. Cancellation of this 34 cent stamp was in Santa Rosa, California. The die cut  measured  11 ¼  x 11 ½ perforations.

Cartoonist Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (1922-2000) created the comic strip and it appeared in newspapers for fifty years. Readers identified with Schulz's pint-sized characters, who became part of modern American culture. In the 1960s, the beagle -- Snoopy -- featured on the stamp climbed on top of his dog house and into his own fantasy. Snoopy became a World War I pilot pursuing the infamous enemy flyer, the Red Baron.

HERE'S a video clip of Snoopy in aerial combat.

USPS Heroes of 2001 Semi-Postal Stamp

USPS on 7 June 2002 issued the Heroes of 2001 Semi-Postal stamp. The First Day of Issue ceremony was held on the Lawn at Battery Park in New York City.  The ceremony included a presentation of colors as well as speeches by the governor of New York, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and several senators.

Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, many people wanted to help the families of those emergency workers who were killed or critically injured responding to the attacks.  On November 12, 2001, Congress passed the 9/11 Heroes Stamp Act of 2001.  The act permitted the USPS to produce a semi-postal stamp to raise money for these families.

The stamp artwork was based on a photo taken by photographer Thomas Franklin of three weary firefighters raising a flag over the rubble that had been the World Trade Center.  The stamp covered the 34¢ first-class postage rate and included an 11¢ surcharge that would be deposited into a fund for the families.
 
The stamp remained on sale through December 2004, with a total of 133 million being sold.  During the two-plus years it was on sale, the stamp raised $10,565,073.  The money raised was given to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which would then distribute the funds to the families of emergency responders killed or disabled during the 9/11 attacks on New York, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  About 1,000 people or families were eligible to receive aid, and each received about $10,000.


Source: Mystic Stamps

USPS 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington

USPS on 23 August 2013 issued a 46¢ stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. It was the third stamp dedicated to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. First day of issue was postmarked with a cancellation from Washington D.C. It was printed by Avery Dennison. Method of printing was photogravure  in sheets of 200 in 10 panes of 20

The March began on a hot August day in the summer of 1963, over 250,000 demonstrators filled the nation’s capital with one goal in mind – racial equality.

 Tensions ran high during the 1960s as segregation and violence against African Americans were spreading unchecked in the South. Civil rights demonstrations calling for equality swept the nation. The most famous was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The march was organised by the “Big Six” – civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr., A. Philip Randolph, and John Lewis. Among the stated goals of the day were: passing civil rights legislation, ending segregation in schools, protecting against police brutality, and increasing access to jobs.

Several popular entertainers also turned out to perform in support of the cause, including Marian Anderson, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan. The most noted event of the day was the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The largest demonstration ever held in the nation’s capital up to that time, the March on Washington was widely televised and gained national attention. It was largely responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This major success was a crucial step in granting the equal rights Americans enjoy today.