When Did Home Delivery Of US Mail First Occur?

I never much thought of asking the above question "When Did Home Delivery of US Mail First Occur?", but a recent newspaper article answered that very question.

Before clicking on the link below, does anyone know the answer off the top of their head? I didn't ... in fact I didn't even know the reason behind it was due to the Civil War until I read this article:

http://www.foxbororeporter.com/arti...10385973.txt

I found it rather interesting, so I thought I'd post it.

(For those who prefer not to read the article, the answer is 1863.)

wt1, nice article. A Siegel auction next month features several great example of Civil War covers: http://www.siegelauctions.com/dynam...sale_no=1016

I had absolutely no idea how that was started wt1. I find it quite Fascinating. Thank you for the great info wt & Russ!