by Kenneth Perry
14th of February 2010

LINDBERGH COMMEMORATIVE AIR MAIL STAMP
1927

As a special tribute to Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh the intrepid air mail pilot who made the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris, the department issued a new 10 cent air-mail stamp which temporarily displaced the current air mail stamp of 1926.

The design represents Lindbergh's aircraft, "The Spirit of St. Louis" in flight.

The stamp was first placed on sale on June 18th, 1927 at St. Louis, Mo, , Detroit, Mich,, Little Falls, Minn, and Washington D. C..


Copied from Wikipedia, in whole or in part. the free encyclopedia

"Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) (nicknamed "Slim," "Lucky Lindy" and "The Lone Eagle") was an American aviator, author, inventor and explorer.

Lindbergh, then a 25-year old U.S. Air Mail pilot, emerged from virtual obscurity to almost instantaneous world fame as the result of his Orteig Prize-winning solo non-stop flight on May 20–21, 1927, from Roosevelt Field located in Garden City on New York's Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, in the single-seat, single-engine monoplane Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh, an Army reserve officer, was also awarded the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his historic exploit.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Lindbergh relentlessly used his fame to help promote the rapid development of U.S. commercial aviation. In March, 1932, however, his infant son, Charles, Jr., was kidnapped and murdered in what was soon dubbed the "Crime of the Century" which eventually led to the Lindbergh family fleeing the United States in December 1935 to live in Europe where they remained up until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Before the United States entered World War II in December, 1941, Lindbergh had been an outspoken advocate of keeping the U.S. out of the world conflict (as was his Congressman father Charles August Lindbergh during World War I) and became a leader of the anti-war America First movement. Nonetheless, he supported the war effort after Pearl Harbor and flew many combat missions in the Pacific Theater of World War II as a civilian consultant, even though President Roosevelt had refused to reinstate his Army Air Corps colonel's commission that he had resigned earlier in 1939.

In his later years, Lindbergh became a prolific prize-winning author, international explorer, inventor, and active environmentalist."

BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
1927

This new postage stamp of 2-cent denomination was issued to commemorate the Battle of Fort Stanwicx, Oriskany, Bennington, and Saratoga.

The design represents the surrender of General Burgoyne to General George Washington.

The stamp was first issued on sale on August 3rd, 1927 at Albany, Rome, Syracuse, and Utica, New York and Washington D. C..


Compiled by Fort Stanwix NM staff ( edited )

"In 1777 Gen. John Burgoyne, who had been with the British force coming from Canada in '76, proposed the plan be tried again, submitting "Thoughts for Conducting the War on the Side of Canada," this time with himself in command. This paper was his attempt to strengthen the existing New York strategy and was soon approved by Lord Germain.

This plan became known to history as the Campaign of 1777. The plan called for Burgoyne to advance south from Canada, up to Lake Champlain, capture Ft. Ticonderoga, and then march south along the Hudson to Albany.

After capturing Ticonderoga with ease and speed that shook patriot morale, Burgoyne continued his march south, defeating American troops at Hubbardton and forcing the evacuation of Forts Anne and Edward. Then his luck began to run out. A column of Hessians (German mercenaries) he sent to raid Bennington was defeated by troops under Brig. Gen. John Stark and Lt. Col. Seth Warner. Continuing southward, Burgoyne crossed near present-day Stillwater, where the Americans under Horatio Gates, who had replaced Philip Schuyler as American commander, had taken up position on Bemis Heights. Burgoyne tried to break through the American lines at Freeman's Farm (Sept. 19) and at Bemis Heights (Oct. 7). Both attempts failed, and the British commander, finding himself outnumbered and surrounded and unable to retreat, surrendered on October 17, 1777."

VERMONT SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
1927

This 2-cent stamp was issued to commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the independence of Vermont and the Battle of Bennington.

The design is of a Green Mountain Boy dressed in buckskin leaning on his rifle.

The Vermont stamp went on sale August 3rd, 1927, at Bennington, Vt and Washington D. C.


Copied from Wikipedia, in whole or in part. the free encyclopedia

"The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place on August 16, 1777, in Walloomsac, New York, about 10 miles (16 km) from its namesake Bennington, Vermont. An American force of 2,000 men, primarily composed of New Hampshire and Massachusetts militiamen, led by General John Stark, and reinforced by men led by Colonel Seth Warner and members of the Green Mountain Boys, decisively defeated a detachment of General John Burgoyne's army led by Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Baum, and supported by additional men under Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich von Breymann.

Baum's detachment was a mixed force of 700 composed of dismounted Brunswick dragoons, Canadians, Loyalists, and Indians. He was sent by Burgoyne to raid Bennington in the disputed New Hampshire Grants area for horses, draft animals, and other supplies. Believing the town to be only lightly defended, they were unaware that Stark and 1,500 militiamen were stationed there. After a rain-caused standoff, Stark's men enveloped Baum's position, taking many prisoners and killing Baum. Reinforcements for both sides arrived as Stark and his men were mopping up, and the battle restarted, with Warner and Stark successfully driving away Breymann's reinforcements with heavy casualties.

The battle was an important victory for the American cause, as it reduced Burgoyne's army in size by almost 1,000 men, led his Indian support to largely abandon him, and deprived him of needed supplies, all factors that contributed to Burgoyne's eventual surrender at Saratoga. The victory also galvanized colonial support for the independence movement, and played a role in bringing France into the war on the American side. The battle anniversary is celebrated in the state of Vermont as Bennington Battle Day."

VALLEY FORGE COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
1928

The Valley Forge stamp was issued to commemorate the one hundredth and fiftieth anniversary of the encampment of Washington's army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78.

The 2¢ stamp has for it's central design showing Washington kneeling in prayer.

The stamp was first issued on May 26th 1928 in Washington D. C. and other select locations.

Copied from US History.Org ( edited )

"No battle was fought at Valley Forge. Yet, it was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. It was here that the Continental army was desperately against the ropes — bloody, beaten, battle-weary — and ready to quit. Even General Washington conceded, "If the army does not get help soon, in all likelihood it will disband."  The question must be asked, "Why didn't they disband?"

We know what happened here. Early into the six-month encampment, there was hunger, disease, and despair. Raw weather stung and numbed the soldiers. Empty stomachs were common. Cries of "beef" echoed throughout the camp. The future promised only more desperation and starvation.  Some couldn't take the cold, hunger, and uncertainty any longer. There were dozens of desertions. Disease debilitated. Death descended in droves.

But by February the weather eased somewhat — moving from brutal to merely miserable. In March, General Nathanael Greene was appointed head of the dismal Commissary Department and magically food and supplies started to trickle in. By April, Baron von Steuben, a quirky mercenary who was not really a baron, began to magically transform threadbare troops into a fighting force. Also in April, the Conway Cabal, a plot to remove George Washington from power, was quashed for good. May, brought news of the French Alliance, and with it the military and financial support of France.

On June 19, 1778, exactly six months after they Americans arrived, a new army anxious to fight the British streamed out of Valley Forge toward New Jersey. They had been transformed from Rebel into a Mature Army."

HAWAIIAN SURCHARGED STAMPS
1928

This series of special surcharged stamps was provided for placing on sale in Hawaiian post offices in connection with the sesquicentennial celebration held August 15th-20th, 1928.

The 2 cent and 5 cent issues are overprinted with the name Hawaii and the dates 1778-1928.

The stamps were first placed on sale August 13th, 1928, Honolulu, Hawaii and other Hawaiian post offices thereafter.

The Hawaiian surcharge stamps are valid for prepayment of postage at all United States post offices.

Copied FROM: This Day in History (Edited )

"On January 18, 1778, the English explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he landed at Waimea on the island of Kauai and named the island group the Sandwich Islands, in honor of John Montague, who was the earl of Sandwich and one his patrons.

In 1768, Cook, a surveyor in the Royal Navy, was commissioned a lieutenant in command of the H.M.S. Endeavor and led an expedition that took scientists to Tahiti to chart the course of the planet Venus. In 1771, he returned to England, having explored the coast of New Zealand and Australia and circumnavigated the globe. Beginning in 1772, he commanded a major mission to the South Pacific and during the next three years explored the Antarctic region, charted the New Hebrides, and discovered New Caledonia. In 1776, he sailed from England again as commander of the H.M.S. Resolution and Discovery and in 1778 made his first visit to the Hawaiian Islands.

Cook and his crew were welcomed by the Hawaiians, who were fascinated by the Europeans' ships and their use of iron. Cook provisioned his ships by trading the metal, and his sailors traded iron nails for sex. The ships then made a brief stop at Ni'ihau and headed north to look for the western end of a northwest passage from the North Atlantic to the Pacific. Almost one year later, Cook's two ships returned to the Hawaiian Islands and found a safe harbor in Hawaii's Kealakekua Bay.

It is suspected that the Hawaiians attached religious significance to the first stay of the Europeans on their islands. In Cook's second visit, there was no question of this phenomenon. Kealakekua Bay was considered the sacred harbor of Lono, the fertility god of the Hawaiians, and at the time of Cook's arrival the locals were engaged in a festival dedicated to Lono. Cook and his compatriots were welcomed as gods and for the next month exploited the Hawaiians' good will. After one of the crew members died, exposing the Europeans as mere mortals, relations became strained. On February 4, 1779, the British ships sailed from Kealakekua Bay, but rough seas damaged the foremast of the Resolution, and after only a week at sea the expedition was forced to return to Hawaii.

The Hawaiians greeted Cook and his men by hurling rocks; they then stole a small cutter vessel from the Discovery. Negotiations with King Kalaniopuu for the return of the cutter collapsed after a lesser Hawaiian chief was shot to death and a mob of Hawaiians descended on Cook's party. The captain and his men fired on the angry Hawaiians, but they were soon overwhelmed, and only a few managed to escape to the safety of the Resolution. Captain Cook himself was killed by the mob. A few days later, the Englishmen retaliated by firing their cannons and muskets at the shore, killing some 30 Hawaiians. The Resolution and Discovery eventually returned to England."

BEACON LIGHT AIR MAIL STAMP
1928

The 5 cent air mail stamp was issued to meet the new rate of postage on air mail matters, effective August 1st, 1928.

The design represents the beacon light on Sherman Hill, in the Rocky Mountains, with a mail plane in flight.

The stamp was first placed on sale on July 25th, 1928 at Washington D. C..


Copied from High Beam Research ( edited )

"The highest point between Cheyenne and Laramie is Sherman Hill where the rail lines once crossed the backbone of the Rocky Mountains -- though it's not the Continental Divide.

Once that landscape was covered with pairs of iron bars linked by wooden ties over the summit that climbed a 1.5 percent grade from Cheyenne before dropping through Dale Junction and Hermosa Tunnel into Laramie.

When the Union Pacific surveyed its route across Sherman summit, the goal was to find the shortest route, not necessarily the easiest.

Within 15 months of the railroad reaching Sherman Hill in 1868."

MONMOUTH ( MOLLY PITCHER ) COMMEMORATIVE STAMP
1928

The Molly Pitcher stamp, as it was know,  was issued to commemorate the one hundredth and fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Monmouth and as a memorial to Molly Pitcher, the popular heroine of the engagement.

The "Molly Pitcher"overprint (surcharge) stamp was the ordinary postage of the day and was first offered for sale October 20th, 1928 in Freehold, Red Bank, New Jersey and Washington D. C.

Copied from Wikipedia, in whole or in part. the free encyclopedia

"The Continental Army moved on northeast from Valley Forge to attack. General Charles Lee was handed the command, and elements of his command - General Wayne's brigade supported by General Knox's artillery, attacked the British column's flank. When the British turned to flank him, Lee ordered a general retreat, and his soldiers soon became disorganized. Washington sent the dejected Lee to the rear, then personally rallied the troops and repelled two counterattacks referred to as "Washington's Advance". The battle was a standoff. With a high of over 100 degrees F. both sides almost lost as many men to heat stroke as to the enemy. Both sides retired at nightfall. Eventually exhaustion forced Clinton to call off the attack. Washington tried to organize a counterattack, but the daylight had begun to fade and his exhausted troops could fight on no longer. By about six in the evening the fighting was over. Clinton was happy that his main objective of the day, to cover his retreat, had been achieved. The next morning the Americans woke to findthe British had slipped away during the night. The rest of the march to Sandy Hook went without incident, and on July 1 the British army reached the safety of New York City, from where they were evacuated to New York. This battle was the first test of Steuben's re-trained Continental troops. They withstood the trial well given the conditions due to Steuben's knowledge of Prussian Army training programs. The battle was technically a tactical draw, as it had no particular benefit for either side, but the Americans were left on the field, with the British having withdrawn.

The deeds in the story of Molly Pitcher are generally attributed to Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, wife of William Hays. Molly was a common nickname for women named Mary in the Revolutionary time period.[2] Biographical information about her has been gathered by descendent-historians[3], including her cultural heritage, given name, probable year of birth, marriages, progeny, census and tax records, etc., suggesting a reasonably reliable account of her life. Nonetheless, independent review of these documents and the conclusions suggested by the family still needs to be done by professional historians; some details of her life and evidence of the story of her unherioic deeds remain sparse.

It is said that she was born to a German family in Pennsylvania October 13th,1754. Around 1778, Mary was working in a house with her best friend whose husband was also in the war. She knew her husband was going to Monmouth and she heard from German soldiers about the British. She went to her husband in New Jersey from Carlisle. At the Battle of Monmouth she attended to the Revolutionary soldiers by giving them water. She got the name Molly Pitcher when the soldiers said, "Molly, Pitcher". Hays took her husband's place at his cannon when he fell wounded. After the battle, General George Washington issued her a warrant as a non-commissioned officer, and she was thereafter known by the nickname "Sergeant Molly". The similarity of the story of the cannon to that of another Revolutionary wife has suggested to some that these details may have been borrowed from the actions of a leading candidate for another Molly Pitcher, Margaret Corbin; it is also possible that both accounts could be historically correct.

Her husband, William Hays, was killed in front of her at the battle of Monmouth in June of 1778.

On February 21, 1822, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded her an annual pension of $40 for her heroism. She died January 22, 1832, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the age of 78."

INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AERONAUTICS CONFERENCE STAMPS
1928

This series of special stamps was issued in connection with the International Civil Aeronautics Conference, which was held in Washington D.C., on December 12th-14th, 1928, on the call of president Coolidge.

The 2 cent stamp has a design showing an airplane used by the Wright Brothers on their first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, N. C.

The 5c stamp is a modern monoplane in flight with an outline of the globe in the background.

The stamps were first placed on sale December 12th, 1928 in Washington D. C.

Copied FROM: National Archive.Gov

"On December 8, 1927, President Calvin Coolidge wrote a short note to the Conference of the Aeronautical Industry meeting in Washington, D.C., expressing his interest in having an international conference in Washington the next year. He wanted to honor the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight and to further establish the United States among the world leaders in aviation.

Twelve months later, Coolidge was welcoming aviation leaders and representatives from thirty-four countries to the U.S. capital. Between December 12 and 14, 1928, some of the most important figures in the new field of aviation gathered to exchange information and honor aeronautical achievements, especially those of the guest of honor, Orville Wright ( Wilbur had died in 1912 ). Following the conference, the delegates even traveled to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to attend ceremonies on the site exactly twenty-five years after the Wrights' historic flight.

The International Civil Aeronautics Conference of 1928 was the first significant national recognition of the Wright brothers' achievement of powered manned flight."

Ken Perry

End of Part 2