U.S. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT Centenary of Civil War

U.S. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT (POD) on 4 September 1965 issued a  First Day Cover  commemorating the American Civil War Centennial (1961-1965). Cancellation originated from Appomattox, Virginia. This engraved FDC sheet represented  key events during the war. 

The stamps in the series included:

Fort Sumter (1861): A coastal fort in Charleston, South Carolina, where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired on 12 April 1861.  

Shiloh (1862): The stamp was released on peach blossom-coloured paper, referencing the peach orchard where part of the battle occurred.

Gettysburg (1863): Fought 1-3 Jul 1863 was the turning point in the American Civil War with over 51,000 casualties and marked a major Union victory.

Wilderness (1864): a bloody battle, closely fought hand-to-hand with heavy casualties on both sides, considered a tactical draw in Grant's Overland Campaign. 

Appomattox (1865): The site of the Confederate surrender, effectively ending the war. Quote "With malice toward none" is from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address.