Civil War

Topical Reference Page

The National Postal Museum is proud to offer Civil War-related material and stories as seen through the lens of postal history and philately. We hope you enjoy the collection of resources that we have assembled.

Union soldiers gathered at a post office

A Nation Divided

July 30, 1993 - August 15, 1998

Exhibition

When the conflict between the north and south finally exploded into war, the nation's communication system was also ripped in two. The system instituted to unify the country through the dissemination of information was instead used to solidify the break.

Although the exhibit is not currently on display in the Museum, selected portions of the exhibit are still available online.

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Absentee Voting in the Civil War: Ohio Cover

Object Spotlight

Some of the eligible voters from Highland County, Ohio were not at home for the state election in October 1864. Service with the Union army had brought them to Atlanta, Georgia. However, with a recent provision enacted by the Ohio legislature, they were able to vote absentee. This pre-printed envelope contained a tally sheet of votes from the soldiers of Highland County at the Field Hospital 2nd Division 23rd Army Corps.

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32-cent Civil War pane of twenty issued June 29, 1995, front

American Civil War Issue

The Postal Service issued a 20 stamp sheet of 32-cent Civil War stamps on June 29, 1995 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Designed by Mark Hess of Katonah, New York, the stamps are the second installment of the Classic Collection.

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Between Home and the Front: Civil War Letters of the Walters Family

The first-hand accounts of Rachel and David Walters who relied on the mail to maintain bonds of love and friendship during horrific events of the Civil War, are featured in Between Home and the Front: Civil War Letters of the Walters Family.

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Women on Stamps: Part 2 - Caring for the Wounded in the Civil War

Exhibition

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About Philately - Civil War (1861-1865)

Exhibition

The conflict between the northern states, known as the Union, and the southern states that...

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Civil War Letter

Object Spotlight

A little over a week after the April 9th surrender at Appomattox Courthouse ended the Civil War, Private Isaac Walters mourned the death of his younger brother, David, in this condolence letter to his sister-in-law, Rachel.

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Newton Scott 1864 Civil War letter, page 1

Letter Writing in America - Civil War Letters

Research Article

As tensions in the United States rose to a fever pitch and civil war broke out in 1861, Union leaders began to develop ways to isolate the mutinous southern states. In addition to erecting a blockade meant to keep supplies from reaching the South, Postmaster General Montgomery Blair cut off mail service to states that had seceded.

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5-cent Jefferson Davis De La Rue Confederate printing plate

Confederate Lost Plate

Object Spotlight

One spring morning in 1862, the calm of the northern Abaco islands of the Bahamas was shattered by cannon fire. The American Federal warship...

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Confederate States of America (CSA)

Exhibition

The Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia, assumed control over the economic, political, and military life of the South. The Confederacy solved the problem of moving mail by creating its own postal service.

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Confederate States of America (CSA) Postage Stamp Issues

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Civil war cover with a flag and a Washington stamp

Conflict Mail: Civil War Covers

A portion of the National Postal Museum's collection of covers of the American Civil War, a bloody clash between two sections of the nation, is available on the museum's collection database.

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Related Blogs

Writing Home: One Couple’s Letters from the Civil War

05.05.2011

“My Love, Once more I am going to try to write to you under difficulties as usual.”

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Brooklyn Fair stamp and Metropolitan Fair stamp

World's First Charity Stamps Raise Money for Soldiers' Relief During Civil War Part 2

11.09.2009

The first Sanitary Fair held to raise funds for supplies and care for Union soldiers took place in...

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Illustration of a woman caring for a man at the dedside

World's First Charity Stamps Raise Money for Soldiers' Relief During Civil War

11.06.2009

On June 13, 1861, two months to the day after Federal troops surrender Fort Sumter to Confederate forces, President Abraham Lincoln...

Learn more About World's First Charity Stamps Raise Money for Soldiers' Relief During Civil War

Civil War Patriotic Envelopes Addressed to Abraham Lincoln Discovered!

11.04.2009

Over 144 years since President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and in the year of Lincoln’s 200th birthday, the United States Philatelic Classics Society has announced a...

Learn more About Civil War Patriotic Envelopes Addressed to Abraham Lincoln Discovered!