Friday, November 16, 2012

Historic Marker At The Confederate Post Office

I heard Montgomery Alabama  is #3 in having the most historic markers of any city our size. And a new one is going to be unveiled on November 29th, 2012 at noon by the Montgomery Area Stamp Club. It is at the site of the Confederate Postmaster General's Office at the corner of Washington Avenue and Perry Street.
 
 The Post Office Department of the Confederate States of America was established on February 21, 1861 in Montgomery by the Provisional Confederate Government. John H. Reagan was appointed Postmaster General of the CSA.
 
In May 1861 Reagan stated he would officially assume control of the postal service of the Confederacy on June 1. The U.S. Postmaster General Montgomery Blair responded by ordering the cessation of U.S. mail service throughout the South on May 31.  Reagan did a good job but was hampered by all the problems of War, including blockades, lack of money, shortages of stamps, and interruptions in mail services.
 
The resumption of federal mail in the south took place gradually after the war came to an end but by November 1, 1866 3234 post offices out of 8,902 were returned to federal control in the south.
Reagan was arrested after the war but was pardoned and eventually became Federal chairman of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads in the U.S. Congress.
 

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