randyharper
Member
Right is the only thing left.
Posts: 199
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Post by randyharper on Feb 5, 2014 19:12:01 GMT
That's a really great group of covers. Been collecting for years and still have not "run into one". I suppose I will have to buy one someday.
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I.L.S.
Departed
Rest in Peace
I am in Clearfield, Pa. I love US Classic covers!
Posts: 2,113
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Post by I.L.S. on Mar 22, 2014 14:45:25 GMT
This isn't a period Civil War era cover but it's subject matter is. Observe-
This cover proudly wears a Scott #210 and was addressed to a Major A.H. McHenry in 1884 which is rather interesting, because he was a Captain during his service time in the Army during the Civil War and the Major title was most likely honorably bestowed to him by the G.A.R. after the war.
Obverse:
A little history on the Scott #210 In my personal opinion this is a really under-appreciated stamp!
In 1882 the inland letter rate was reduced from three to two cents and, as Washington had been associated for many years with the stamp which franked the internal correspondence it was decided to transfer his profile from the 3 cents to the 2 cents value (#210 ). Accordingly, a new design was prepared, for the 2 cents bearing his bust and Jackson, dethroned from the 2 cents, was given a place on the 4 cents (#211), which was a new value.
Reverse:
Showing a Jersey Shore Pa. Receiver mark~
Info scanned from my binder:
Headstone:
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Post by ronbreznay on Jul 18, 2018 0:48:03 GMT
Union Occupation of Norfolk, Virginia
May 10, 1862, until end of war
On May 6, 1862, while the Union Army under General George B. McClellan was fighting the Peninsula Campaign, President Abraham Lincoln visited Fort Monroe across Hampton Roads. Recognizing the value of Norfolk, he decided on a plan to capture the city and thus eliminate the base for the CSS Virginia. On May 8, Union ships, including the USS Monitor and batteries on Fort Wool opened fire on the Confederate batteries on Sewell’s Point. Only the approach of the CSS Virginia drove the Union ships back to the protection of Fort Monroe. At this point, Lincoln directed the invasion to be on Willoughby Spit, away from the Confederate batteries, the next day. On the morning of May 10, General John Wool landed 6,000 Union soldiers on Willoughby Spit. Within hours, the Union troops arrived at Norfolk. Mayor William Lamb surrendered the city without firing a shot.
For the duration of the Civil War, the city was held under martial law. Many private and public buildings were confiscated for federal use, including nearby plantations. Mayor Lamb did manage to successfully hide the city’s colonial era silver mace underneath a fireplace hearth to avoid having it confiscated or melted down by union troops.
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Post by ronbreznay on Jul 18, 2018 0:49:41 GMT
Union Occupation of Memphis, Tennessee
June 6, 1862, until end of war
The Battle of Memphis was fought on the Mississippi River below the city on June 6, 1862. The result was a crushing defeat for the Rebels and marked the virtual eradication of a Confederate naval presence on the river. In spite of the lopsided outcome, the Union Army failed to grasp its strategic significance.
Union officer Charles H. Davis moved down the Mississippi with a squadron of ironclad gunboats. Accompanying him were six rams commanded by Colonel Charles Ellet. The Confederate fleet, commanded by James E. Montgomery, a riverboat captain with no military experience, was going to move south to Vicksburg, but was notified that there wasn’t enough coal in the city to fuel his ships for the voyage.
As the Union fleet approached Memphis, Davis ordered his gunboats to form a line of battle across the river, with the rams in the rear. They opened fire on Montgomery’s lightly armed rams. They closed in and the battle engaged at close quarters deteriorated into a wild melee. They succeeded in sinking all but one of Montgomery’s ships. With the fleet eliminated, Davis approached the city and demanded its surrender. Union casualties were limited to one, while Confederate casualties are not known but most likely they were between 180 and 200. The destruction of the Confederate fleet eliminated any Confederate naval presence on the Mississippi.
Ulysses S. Grant was ordered to Memphis to become district commander of the Union Forces. The Union held Memphis for the remainder of the war.
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Post by ronbreznay on Jul 18, 2018 0:54:50 GMT
Knoxville, Tennessee, was captured by Major General Ambrose Burnside on September 1, 1863. While there, his army repulsed a Confederate force, led by Lieutenant General James Longstreet, that was sent to recapture the city. General Burnside’s army was reinforced by troops led by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman. Longstreet withdrew to the north and then into Virginia in the spring of 1864. At that point, all of Tennessee was in Union hands.
This cover was mailed by a soldier in the field, hence the postage to be collected. It is addressed to Sarah Kyger (1836-1925) in Georgetown, Vermilion County, Illinois. This is no year indicated, but it would have been mailed on December 23, 1863 or 1864.
Possible Sender: Sarah’s brother Tilmon Dwight Kyger (b. 10 Sep 1833, Georgetown, Vermilion County, Illinois, d. 24 Feb 1876, Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois) Capt. Kyger mustered into Co. C., 73rd Illinois Infantry on July 12, 1862, as a 1st Sgt., promoted to 2nd Lt. Nov. 20, 1862, promoted 1st Lt. Nov. 28, 1862, and finally Captain July 27, 1862. Mustered out June 12, 1865. His occupation is a lawyer.
Possible Endorser: James F. Jaquess, Colonel. Official record: Residence Quincy IL. Enlisted on 8/28/1861 as a Chaplain. On 1/9/1862 he was commissioned into Field & Staff IL 6th Cavalry. He was discharged for promotion on 8/21/1862. On 8/21/1862 he was commissioned into Field & Staff IL 73rd Infantry. He was mustered out on 6/12/1865 at Nashville, TN. Promotions: Colonel 8/21/1862 (as of 73rd IL Infantry) As colonel of the 73rd Illinois Infantry, Jaquess led his regiment’s charge up Missionary Ridge. He led the unit from its inception through the end of the war.
Sarah married Levi Underwood in 1870. Was he the soldier who sent her this letter? Perhaps not. Levi’s obituary mentioned that he took over the family farm in 1858 and ran it until 1870. No mention is made of military service.
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Post by ronbreznay on Jul 18, 2018 0:55:46 GMT
Old Point Comfort, Virginia, lies at the southeast end of the peninsula between the James and York rivers and is on the north shore of Hampton Roads harbor, opposite Norfolk, Virginia. Named Cape Comfort by the colonists of Jamestown (1607) in thanks for the sheltered anchorage it furnished, it has been the site of fortifications since 1609. Fort George (built 1727–30) was destroyed by hurricane in 1749. Fort Monroe (completed c. 1834), a moated stone-walled structure, served during the Civil War as a Union base of operations for General George B. McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign (1862) and for expeditions against Confederate ports. Following the war, Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederate States, was imprisoned there for two years.
This cover was mailed from Old Point Comfort, Va., on January 4, 1863, to Miss Martha Bannan (1841-1933), c/o John Bannan, Esq. (1796-1868), Pottsville, Pennsylvania. John Bannan was a prominent engineer and attorney in Pottsville, who made his fortune buying coal lands. He built a Greek-revival mansion, Cloud Home, which is a landmark in the city.
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Post by jimwentzell on Nov 1, 2021 2:43:54 GMT
This Civil War "Patriot" cover was sent to a Mr. Silas (?) H. Allton at the Grand Depot in Camp Anderson, Michigan.(in care of Capt.-Gen. Chimbush--might be misspelled!) Franked by a 3 cent rose-colored Scott # 65 it has a large CDS (circular date stamp) in black: "CORUNNA NOV 30 MICH." I believe the year was 1862. Corrunna is the county seat of Shiawassee County, in south-central Michigan. According to Wikipedia, Corunna was platted in 1837, made the county seat in 1840, and made a city in 1869. The sender was a soldier, I was told, training in Camp Anderson for the campaign against the South**.
**I have several more letters from the Union soldier, who remains unknown, all addressed to a Miss Dora Knight "back home" dated 1863-64
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Post by jimwentzell on Nov 1, 2021 3:01:16 GMT
This cover possibly dated September 3 (hard to read the month) 1863, postmarked Memphis, Tenn(essee) was sent by the same soldier on his way to the front.... Memphis, Tennessee, downriver quite a ways from home in Michigan. I believe the soldier and his regiment were supporting troops behind General Sherman's "March to the sea." Subsequent mail from this soldier to his female friend back in Wheelerville Shiawassee County (Michigan) bears this out. According to Wikipedia, " President Lincoln re-organized the Union forces in the West as the Military Division of the Mississippi, placing it under General Grant's command. Sherman then succeeded Grant at the head of the Army of the Tennessee. Ordered to relieve the Union forces besieged in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sherman departed from Memphis on October 11, 1863, aboard a train bound for Chattanooga." I'll post more related correspondence tomorrow!
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banknoteguy
Member
Posts: 284
What I collect: 19th Century US, High denomination US (> $1), 19th century covers US, Indian Feudatory States and most recently I acquired a BigBlue [with about 5,000 stamps] and pristine pages.
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Post by banknoteguy on Nov 2, 2021 21:47:16 GMT
Jim posted, "This Civil War "Patriot" cover was sent to a Mr. Silas (?) H. Allton at the Grand Depot in Camp Anderson, Michigan."
The hand is not clear but it is not Grand Depot but Grand Rapids. And I am not sure the name is Silas Allton but rather Alliton but that may not be correct either. This could be the soldier in question. It looks to me that this is a different hand than the one addressed to Dora Knight.
The Capt in this case is a puzzle to me, other than it is a Capt. Each company was headed by a Capt. and none of them look likely.
Note: this post was edited to remove reference to the 3rd MI which was incorrect. See further message below.
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banknoteguy
Member
Posts: 284
What I collect: 19th Century US, High denomination US (> $1), 19th century covers US, Indian Feudatory States and most recently I acquired a BigBlue [with about 5,000 stamps] and pristine pages.
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Post by banknoteguy on Nov 2, 2021 21:53:37 GMT
Wheelerville Shiawassee County (Michigan)
This post office was only in operation for a short time from about 1857 to 1865. I grew up a few miles away. It is just a couple farms now. Dora Knight appears not to have married this soldier. She married a man named George W. Briggs in 1868 who was from NY and served in the civil war in a unit from that state.
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darkormex
Member
Swinging through Switzerland and getting tied up in Thailand
Posts: 2,145
What I collect: The World...just printing and mounting as I go...call me crazy!
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Post by darkormex on Nov 3, 2021 11:01:05 GMT
jimwentzell and banknoteguy , I think the Captain referenced on the letter to Silas Allton, is Captain Quackenbush. That is how I read the handwriting. I also found some additional information about him here: Captain Quackenbush bioAlso, I live in Grand Rapids, MI and work downtown. There is a civil war monument near my office. Would it be helpful if I took a photo of the list of fallen soldiers on the memorial? I don't know if this would be an aid to knowing more about this cover or not but it might add some historical context to this thread. I think it might be worth doing a genealogical search for Silas Allton rather than focusing on regimental listings and muster rolls, you might be able to find more information about him.
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banknoteguy
Member
Posts: 284
What I collect: 19th Century US, High denomination US (> $1), 19th century covers US, Indian Feudatory States and most recently I acquired a BigBlue [with about 5,000 stamps] and pristine pages.
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Post by banknoteguy on Nov 3, 2021 12:21:03 GMT
Quackenbush looks right to me. He was however, part of the 8th Michigan Volunteer infantry and raised a company from Shiawassee county which was formed partly at Grand Rapids, MI.
And from the Civil War database, I found Silas H. Alliton: Alliton, Silas H.BATTLE UNIT NAME: 3rd Regiment, Michigan Cavalry SIDE: Union COMPANY: G SOLDIER'S RANK IN: Private SOLDIER'S RANK OUT: Corporal ALTERNATE NAME: FILM NUMBER: M545 ROLL 1
Another reference I found indicates Alliton was mustered out of the 8th. So some conflicting information. I also found an obituary but it required a subscription I don't have.
Slias Alliton was born about 1843 in Michigan and married Dora Knight. My previous post indicated Dora Knight married George Briggs - this must have been a different Dora Knight.
Silas Alliton and Dora Knight lived on a farm in New Haven Township, Shiawassee county for most of their lives.
Silas Alliton died 28 Mar 1916 in Ohio.
From the 1880 U.S. Census:
Buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Owosso, MI (same place as my parents and grandparents).
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Post by jamesw on Feb 23, 2022 4:55:56 GMT
Was looking at this thread and find it really interesting. Reminds me first of all what a great collection of covers our dearly departed friend Jeff had. I took notice of the cover Steve posted on the first page, sent to G.W. Childs. I realized that I also had a cover sent to Mr Childs. I've posted this before. It sports a Carrier postmark and showed signs of a missing stamp, most likely an 1869 pictorial. So that dates it after the Civil War. George W. Childs was Owner and Editor of the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper which he purchased in 1864. But to keep with the Civil War theme of the thread I'll include my 1861 Richmond handstamped cover, also shown elsewhere. Confederacy took over control of their Post Office on June 1 when they moved their capital to Richmond, but stamps weren't available until October, so envelopes utilized postmaster provisionals or handstamps, such as this.
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