Southern Men Arise!

How Great Britain Assisted the Formation of the Confederate Post Office [1861-1863]! (8.1.2025)

The internationally-known London, England printing firm of “Thomas De La Rue & Co.”, prepared plates and stamps for the CSA until a Southern firm was found to take over the work. That firm, Archer & Daly, began producing stamps in 1863. The US blockade of as many Confederate ports as possible often meant that British ships carrying supplies from London, the UK, or the British Empire to the Confederacy – were often intercepted via acts of piracy on the high seas by the US Navy – with the goods confiscated and/or destroyed. The US government was continuously irritated by the continuous (undeclared) British support for the Confederacy – which for at least two-years extended into the realms of Post Office support! Of course, many of the best weapons the Confederate Army possessed were supplied by the UK. The Postmaster General of the Confederate Post Office Department (POD) – John Reagan (whilst traveling with President Jefferson Davis) – was arrested on the 8th May 1865, and imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. Reagan was pardoned and released from prison almost two years later. Jefferson Davis “refused” a Pardon (on the grounds that he had done nothing wrong) – and was subsequently released anyway.

CSA Navy Department

Confederate States of America [1861-1865] – Evolution of Flags! (24.11.2024)

Flags, or “Banners” – have been used for thousands of years – in one form or another, to distinguish one group of humans from another. Each such entity conveys “difference” of intent and identity. Each flag is designed to gather together those who “belong” – and “push-away” those who do not. Like the tribal body-markings of the Celts and Picts, each piece of material containing pictures and coloured sections serve as an identifier of “sameness” and a marker of “difference”. As the “Confederate” States of America (CSA) viewed itself as the “true” and “genuine” conveyor of the authentic 1776 “Revolution” – the flags chosen to represent this reality were similar to – but different from – the “Stars and Stripes” as carried by the “United States” of America (USA). There were many “unofficial” flags flown by the citizens and military of the Confederacy – due to the democratic (free) nature of its society and culture. These popular flags were flown alongside (and parallel to) the “official” flags designed and adopted by the government of the CSA. Indeed, these “local” flags lasted throughout the entire war and influenced all the official designs.