P5402

Civil War Sesquicentennial

Battle of Five Forks

Cover Announcement 

By March of 1865 the last remaining supply line for Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was the Side Railroad. After nine months of trench warfare, Ulysses S. Grant ordered General Philip Sheridan to attack with his cavalry. They advanced on the Confederate forces by way of Five Forks, so named for the five roads that intersected there.

On April 1st Sheridan, supported by the Fifth Infantry Corps led by Union General Gouverneur Warren, engaged the forces of Southern General George E. Pickett. The irsolated, exhausted, and outnumbered troops of Pickett, after a brief spirited defense, were routed at Five Forks, and soon both Richmond and Petersburg were lost. On April 9, with Union forces pressing him from all sides, General Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House.

My hand painted cachet shows the roads intersecting at Five Forks, site of the battle that is now referred to as "the Waterloo of the Confederacy." Standing in silent tribute to those who fought there are two artillery pieces. And across the bottom of the cachet are the stars and bars of the confederate battle flag and the Stars and Stripes of Old Glory.

The individually hand painted cachet, the jumbo sized stamp, and the historical significance of the civil war make this Collins a prime collectible that will surely be sought after within the hobby. The Battle of Five Forks is now ready. Collins #P5402 at $15.00.