The United Postal Service issued a sheet of 20 stamps in 1995 with the theme of the US Civil War. The Civil War was the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the death of 620,000 soldiers and an untold number of civilians. The war served to hold the Union together, solidify the role of the federal government in the workings of the United States, and ended slavery. It lasted from 1861 to 1865 and was also called the “War Between the States” and the “War Between Brothers,” as it was not uncommon for family members, even brothers to be fighting on opposite sides, depending on their beliefs toward slavery and states seceding from the Union.

Jefferson Davis headed the movement for 11 Southern states whose economies depended on the slave trade to secede from the Union and form the Confederacy. When Lincoln was elected in 1860, 7 of those states had already declared that would secede before Lincoln even got to take office in March 1861. Only a month later, the fighting began when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, starting the US Civil War. Lincoln called for volunteers from the states who supported the Union, and they were able to take control of the border states and gained the upper hand. Lincoln’s 1862 Emancipation Proclamation made one main focus of the war abolishing slavery in the South, while the South believed they were fighting to keep their way of life. Confederate commander Robert E. Lee, after many early victories, was turned back at Gettysburg and the South lost momentum. He surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

The US Civil War stamps released by the Postal Service in 1995 come in a colorful sheet designed for collecting, with even the top bar above the stamps featuring artwork and making it a valuable part of the stamp sheet. Each stamp has its own subject that was in some way important to the Civil War. The gummed side of each stamp bears a short description of the subject of that stamp. The stamps feature 16 individuals of importance, and 4 key Civil War battles.

The US Civil War stamps weren’t released on any important date relating to the Civil war, as commemorative stamps usually are, but instead were second in a US Postal Service series called the Classics Collection, in which all 20 stamps relate to a theme and feature historical information printed on the back of each stamp.

eBay is an excellent source for these US Civil War stamps, as well as many others, and it’s not unusual to find them in an intact sheet. If you can find a first day of issue cancellation, you’ll have a great addition to your collection, as well. First day ceremonies for this stamp were held at the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania where the Civil War turned and began heading toward its end. The pictorial cancellation given there was a cannon, but the stamps were also released nationwide so a variety of cancellations are possible.

Originally posted 2008-11-02 14:00:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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