Quote:
Ft. Sumter National Park to host First-Day-of-Issue Ceremony for 1861 Civil War Sesquicentennial stamps
A souvenir sheet of two stamps will be issued each year through 2015
What: First-Day-of-Issue unveiling ceremony for sheet of two Civil War Sesquicentennial commemorative stamps — Ft. Sumter and First Bull Run.
Who: Officials representing the National Park Service, Postal Board of Governors and Greater South Carolina Postal District
When: April 12, 2011, 12:30 p.m.
Where: Ft. Sumter Visitor Education Center, Liberty Square, 340 Concord St. Charleston, SC 29401
Background:
The Postal Service begins a series with these stamps commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, joining others across the country in paying tribute to the American experience during the tumultuous years from 1861 to 1865.
A souvenir sheet of two stamps will be issued each year through 2015. For 2011, one stamp depicts the beginning of the war in April 1861 at Fort Sumter, SC, while the other depicts the first major battle of the war three months later at Bull Run, near Manassas, VA.
The Fort Sumter stamp is a reproduction of a Currier & Ives lithograph, circa 1861, titled "Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor." The Bull Run stamp is a reproduction of a 1964 painting by Sidney E. King titled "The Capture of Rickett's Battery." The painting depicts fierce fighting on Henry Hill over an important Union battery during the Battle of First Bull Run.
For the stamp pane's background image, a circa 1861 photograph depicts a Union regiment assembled near Falls Church, VA.
For those who may be interested, Smithsonian.com has an interesting article about the onset of the Civil War:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/histo...l?c=y&page=1
Posted 04/11/2011 1:26 pm
