R4804

Civil War Sesquicentennial

Battle of Fort Sumter - Robert E. Lee

Collins Cover Announcement 

Civil War Generals

Robert E. Lee

This cover is the second and final one for 2011 that commemorates generals of our Civil War. A total of ten officers will be featured between now and 2015 - five from the Blue and five from the Gray. The general chosen will not necessarily be connected to the individual battles depicted on the various stamps, but rather I will choose five from the North and five from the South that distinguished themselves as leaders of men and their respective armies.

For the South's first general to appear in this series, I chose Robert E. Lee - the top commander of the Confederate Army. Lee was the son of Revolutionary War hero Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. Robert was a top graduate of West Point, and during a U.S. Army career of 32 years became an exceptional officer and combat engineer. In fact, in early 1861 as the Civil War began, President Lincoln invited Robert E. Lee to take command of the entire Union Army, but a heart-broken Lee declined as he felt his loyalty bound him to his home state of Virginia, even though he personally did not agree with secession from the Union. Lee soon emerged as the shrewdest battlefield strategist of the war and he won many victories.

Despite his battlefield brilliance, many historians feel that his longer range war planning was quite flawed as his invasions of the North in 1862 and 1863 met with defeat and ultimate disaster for the Confederacy. In the long run, the South was unable to replace their losses or even re-supply remaining troops. After his surrender, Lee became president of Washington and Lee University and supported President Andrew Johnson's program of reconstruction. Robert E. Lee became the great southern hero of the Civil War, and he remains an iconic figure of military leadership. Collins #R4804 - $14.00.

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.