Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
It seems to me Cairo, IL would be a natural location for processing mails travelling on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and tributaries as it sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers at the southern tip of Illinois.
Login to Like
this post
An interesting cover Antonio. Could we see the front?
Regards ... Tim
Login to Like
this post
what's especially interesting to me is that Corinth had only recently become federal territory, having been captured after mammoth battles. the western theatre in the American Civil War tends to be overlooked by the more famous battles in the East, but it's the west that doomed the confederacy. The first link does a better job explaining the importance of Corinth.
http://www.corinthcivilwar.com/ and http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/corinth.html
and Cairo, incidentally, is where US Grant lived. He was among the more successful union generals in the west. it is he who truly understood the importance of communication lines for the south's ability to prosecute the war.
Login to Like
this post
in case i wasn't clear, this cover moved from Union Illinois to occupied confederate territory under federal control
Login to Like
this post
Ahh, the front, yes.
Mailed to Lt. J. K. Wing, Assistant Quartermaster of the 4th Iowa Volunteer (Infantry Div.) while stationed in Corinth, MS.
Here he is with the other officers of the 4th Iowa while stationed in Corinth, Mississippi.
Login to Like
this post
The person who sent this letter had beautiful handwriting, but I see "J K Wing Esq" but not Lt. J W White - am I reading it incorrectly?
Covers like this spark many questions...how amazing that you even have a picture of the recipient.
Thanks for posting the front and back images,
Sally
Login to Like
this post
amsd, as I undertand it, Maj. General Grenville Dodge's 4th Iowa were in Corinth, MS, after it was taken by the Union to keep open the supply lines (mostly rail lines) while the Union began to conquer the Confederacy in the west.
It still strikes me as odd that the only thing on the cover is the name of the addressee and the city and state where they are residing.
Sally - You are correct. I made a typo. I fixed it.
Login to Like
this post
some comments
the 4th Iowa would be an infantry regiment, not a division. it would be commanded by a colonel (or less; they started, at full strength, being commanded by colonels; some, after attrition, were commanded by captains)
I see no rank at all. Even a lawyer ought to have his rank listed IF attached to the unit
i also think that the unit would have been identified, because it would have been easier to find him if he were listed as part of the 4th Iowa; this appears to be a civil address
a major general would have commanded a division or a corps or even an army (only one rank was higher, Lieutenant General, and only Grant was accorded it AFTER congress reinstated the rank in 1863). Today there are many higher ranks and all that i wrote about ranks and commands is true for civil war, but not true today
David
Login to Like
this post
You have me there David. I am quite ignorant of the names for the structres and parts of the military, and I suspect I shall have to sit myself down and study them in detail if I am to speak correctly in these matters.
Further research reveals that this cover was sent by George Taylor, the Cashier of the State Bank of Ohio in Warren, OH. Mr. Taylor may not have been privy to the rank of Mr. Wing (and I wonder if the adding of the suffix Esq. was meant as a general sign of respect when it was not known the social or military status of Mr. Wing)
I make this a correspondence related to Mr. Wing's plans to settle in Warren after finishing his military service with the 4th Iowa volunteers.
After the war all I can find is that he was a successful businessman, and later became a member of the State Congress of Ohio.
David, would that fit in with this being a civil cover?
Login to Like
this post
No need to become an expert on military organization; since i'm familiar with it, i'm happy to share. it's material only in the sense that this is a war-time cover sent to an area under federal occupation and likely, as you say, to an officer in the 4th Iowa.
it's a lovely cover and one should treasure.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
OK, so I'm officially drooling--as Warren, OH is my birthplace & an area I actively collect. This is a truly wonderful cover, and the work that has been done to identify the addressee only adds to its attractiveness. A very wonderful find.
Roger
Login to Like
this post
Hi, I recently picked up a cover with this interesting received cancel.
It seems to me Cairo, IL would be a natural location for processing mails travelling on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and tributaries as it sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers at the southern tip of Illinois.
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
An interesting cover Antonio. Could we see the front?
Regards ... Tim
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
what's especially interesting to me is that Corinth had only recently become federal territory, having been captured after mammoth battles. the western theatre in the American Civil War tends to be overlooked by the more famous battles in the East, but it's the west that doomed the confederacy. The first link does a better job explaining the importance of Corinth.
http://www.corinthcivilwar.com/ and http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/corinth.html
and Cairo, incidentally, is where US Grant lived. He was among the more successful union generals in the west. it is he who truly understood the importance of communication lines for the south's ability to prosecute the war.
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
in case i wasn't clear, this cover moved from Union Illinois to occupied confederate territory under federal control
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
Ahh, the front, yes.
Mailed to Lt. J. K. Wing, Assistant Quartermaster of the 4th Iowa Volunteer (Infantry Div.) while stationed in Corinth, MS.
Here he is with the other officers of the 4th Iowa while stationed in Corinth, Mississippi.
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
The person who sent this letter had beautiful handwriting, but I see "J K Wing Esq" but not Lt. J W White - am I reading it incorrectly?
Covers like this spark many questions...how amazing that you even have a picture of the recipient.
Thanks for posting the front and back images,
Sally
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
amsd, as I undertand it, Maj. General Grenville Dodge's 4th Iowa were in Corinth, MS, after it was taken by the Union to keep open the supply lines (mostly rail lines) while the Union began to conquer the Confederacy in the west.
It still strikes me as odd that the only thing on the cover is the name of the addressee and the city and state where they are residing.
Sally - You are correct. I made a typo. I fixed it.
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
some comments
the 4th Iowa would be an infantry regiment, not a division. it would be commanded by a colonel (or less; they started, at full strength, being commanded by colonels; some, after attrition, were commanded by captains)
I see no rank at all. Even a lawyer ought to have his rank listed IF attached to the unit
i also think that the unit would have been identified, because it would have been easier to find him if he were listed as part of the 4th Iowa; this appears to be a civil address
a major general would have commanded a division or a corps or even an army (only one rank was higher, Lieutenant General, and only Grant was accorded it AFTER congress reinstated the rank in 1863). Today there are many higher ranks and all that i wrote about ranks and commands is true for civil war, but not true today
David
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
You have me there David. I am quite ignorant of the names for the structres and parts of the military, and I suspect I shall have to sit myself down and study them in detail if I am to speak correctly in these matters.
Further research reveals that this cover was sent by George Taylor, the Cashier of the State Bank of Ohio in Warren, OH. Mr. Taylor may not have been privy to the rank of Mr. Wing (and I wonder if the adding of the suffix Esq. was meant as a general sign of respect when it was not known the social or military status of Mr. Wing)
I make this a correspondence related to Mr. Wing's plans to settle in Warren after finishing his military service with the 4th Iowa volunteers.
After the war all I can find is that he was a successful businessman, and later became a member of the State Congress of Ohio.
David, would that fit in with this being a civil cover?
Login to Like
this post
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
No need to become an expert on military organization; since i'm familiar with it, i'm happy to share. it's material only in the sense that this is a war-time cover sent to an area under federal occupation and likely, as you say, to an officer in the 4th Iowa.
it's a lovely cover and one should treasure.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: 1863 Transit/Received Cancel
OK, so I'm officially drooling--as Warren, OH is my birthplace & an area I actively collect. This is a truly wonderful cover, and the work that has been done to identify the addressee only adds to its attractiveness. A very wonderful find.
Roger
Login to Like
this post