|
WHAT: |
Commemorative Postmark: Reenactment of the Battle of Opequon Creek |
|
WHO: |
East Liverpool Post Office |
|
WHEN: |
From 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2014 |
|
WHERE: |
Trading Post |
|
BACKGROUND |
The Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864. The Liverpool Post Office will be offering a special postmark and cache commemorating the reenactment of this historic battle on September 6, 2014, at the Beaver Creek State Park, 12021 Echo Dell Road, East Liverpool, OH 43920. . The Postal Service™ is also continuing its commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the war with its issuance on July 30, 2014, of a souvenir sheet of two stamp designs: The Petersburg Campaign and the Battle of Mobile Bay stamps. One stamp depicts the 22nd United States Colored Troops engaged in the June 15-18, 1864, assault on Petersburg, Virginia, at the beginning of the Petersburg Campaign. The other stamp depicts Admiral David G. Farragut’s fleet at the Battle of Mobile Bay (Alabama) on August 5, 1864. Art director Phil Jordan created the stamps using iconic images of the battles. The Petersburg Campaign stamp is a reproduction of a painting, dated 1892, by J. André Castaigne. The Battle of Mobile Bay stamp is a reproduction of a painting by Julian Oliver Davidson, published ca. 1886 by Louis Prang & Co. For the background image on the souvenir sheet, Jordan used a photograph of Battery A, 2nd U.S. Colored Artillery (Light), Department of the Cumberland, 1864. The souvenir sheet includes comments on the war by Ulysses S. Grant, Jeremiah Tate, Harrie Webster, and Howell Cobb. It also includes some of the lyrics from the Negro spiritual “O Mary, Don’t You Weep.” The Petersburg Campaign and the Battle of Mobile Bay stamps are issued as Forever® stamps. These Forever® stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce rate. The Petersburg Campaign and the Battle of Mobile Bay stamps, the commemorative caches (envelopes) and the commemorative postmark will be available at the trading post of the reenactment from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, September 6, 2014. The caches will depict a color picture of the Williams House that burned down after a lightning strike. |
Customers will also have 60 days to obtain the special postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at local Post Offices, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:
Special Cancellations
Postmaster
700 Dresden Avenue
East Liverpool, OH 43920
After applying the commemorative postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, the price is 5 cents each. All orders must be postmarked by Nov. 5, 2014.
# # #
Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom.
Reporters interested in speaking with regional Postal Service public relations professionals should visit this link.
Follow us on twitter.com/USPS and like us at facebook.com/USPS. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.
