R4802

Civil War Sesquicentennial

First Battle of Bull Run

Spring 2025 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 25 R4801 to R4804 — The Civil War — (set of four covers) — 4-12-11

These wonderful covers sold out very quickly when they were issued. The lot includes the Battle of Fort Sumpter and the First Battle of Bull Run. It also includes two major military generals, one from each side. The over-sized stamps released for this issue are detailed and dynamic, and the individual hand painting contributes to the overall appearance of this special mini-set.

A brief look at each of the covers starts with Fort Sumter, and the hand-painted cachet shows a Union cannon at a gun portal inside the fort. As the battle rages, a lot of golds, reds, yellows, and oranges bring to glowing life the inside of the brick interior. At the bottom of the cachet, I symbolically illustrate the Union's stars and stripes and the Confederacy's stars and bars.

The scene for the First Battle of Bull Run depicts the grassy north side of Henry House Hill. I show the American and Confederate flags as I did on the Fort Sumter cachet, and field artillery pieces are depicted. Behind the line of cannons is the Henry House at the top of the hill, and it has been preserved as part of the Manassas National Battlefield Park.

General Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to commanding general by President Abraham Lincoln and was put in charge of all Union armies. General Robert E. Lee, the top commander of the Confederacy, was originally asked by President Lincoln to take command of the entire Union Army, but Lee declined as he felt his loyalty bound him to his home state of Virginia. In the end, Lee surrendered to Grant and afterwards became president of Washington and Lee University.