By Carol Mobley
Acts of war present many hardships for the citizens living through it. While there are not many examples of such in American history, there are some and one of them is the Civil War.
In 1861, President Lincoln enacted a blockade to prevent supplies going into the Confederacy. While this blockade was aimed at the export of cotton and the import of weapons and other vital goods, it also impacted everyday items such as cloth and clothing, salt, food, paper products and newsprint. Let’s take a closer look at the paper shortage.
Because of the south’s limited industrial capacity, they were reliant on the North for some commodities, including paper. Without a source for paper, everyday items such as newspapers, official documents, currency and even mail were adversely affected. One nice example of a creative way to skirt around a shortage was in the mail.
Covers (above), or as we call them today, envelopes, were next to impossible to obtain. If you had a need to send mail, you had to find a way to make a cover. One thing used for both newspaper printing and for covers was wallpaper. Here is a cover from Oct 15, 1863, mailed from Fayetteville, NC to Charlotte, NC made from wallpaper. Notice left lower corner reversed to show the wall paper pattern. Notice the postage was 10 cents to mail a letter in 1863!
Often paper was repurposed to fulfill the need. Here (right) is an example of a cover made from a printed army form. This example was mailed from Camden, Arkansas to Leona, Texas on March 3.
And another example (below bottom) is this fine specimen. This is a folded ledger page, mailed from Magnolia, Arkansas to Louisiana on Sept 24, 1864. It is a small piece of ledger but has a complete message inside. Notice there is no stamp, just an inked message indicating ‘Paid 10’.
Confederate adversity covers are not easy to acquire. Many did not survive and the cost of postage prevented most commoners from sending messages.
Interesting pieces of history are always available at the Denver Postcard & Paper Show that will be held Friday and Saturday July 18-19, 2025 at the Holiday Inn Lakewood, CO. Event details can be found at www.denverpostcardshow.com.
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