Height x Width: 3 1/4 x 5 11/16 in. (7.94 x 14.45 cm)
Type:
Covers & Associated Letters
Place:
Louisiana
Date:
May 15, 1861
Description:
3-cent George Washington stamp (Scott 26) tied by New Orleans, Louisiana, May 15, (1861), postmark. The addressee is William Cabell Rives, a member of the Provisional Confederate Congress in session at Montgomery. Rives had previously served in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. He had also served as Ambassador to France.
Louisiana seceded from the United States on January 26, 1861, and was admitted to the Confederacy on February 4, 1861. This cover represents Confederate usage of a United States stamp.
Mail continued to travel uninterrupted under the service of the U.S. Post Office Department until the Confederate Post Office Department officially began service on June 1, 1861.
