Re-visit the selection of the 1995 Collection Of the U.S. Commemorative Stamps on the Civil War

Re-visit the selection of the 1995 Collection Of the U.S. Commemorative Stamps on the Civil War

The Postal Service commemorated the Civil War in 1995. About 60 recommendations were trimmed to this series of the final 20 stamps, composed of 16 people and 4 battles: 8 persons from the Union and 8 from the Confederates. On the Union side, Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Hancock, Farragut, Frederick Douglas, Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman were selected, and on the Confederates, Davis, Lee, Joe Johnston, Jackson, Raphael Semmes, Stand Watie, Phoebe Pember and Mary Chesnut were chosen. For the battles, Shiloh, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Hampton Road (Monitor-Virginia), resulting one win, one loss and 2 draws, making all even and balanced. The battles were well chosen. Shiloh presented the first great carnage of the war. Shiloh could be considered a draw since the Confederates won on the first day and the Union won the second day. Chancellorsville was the masterpiece of Lee and Jackson's spectacular victory against Hooker, with a ratio of soldiers 1 to 2, the apex of Confederate military success. Gettysburg was the greatest three days Civil War battle, with Union successfully defending the Southern invasion. The ironclads U.S.S. Monitor and C.S.S. Virgina's (U.S.S. Merrimack) dual made all wooden warships obsolete and established a new era in the Naval history. Other combinations included political leaders, Generals, Admirals, minority, and women and making the selection politically correct. Some critics expressed that the list was too politically correct, and thus, depriving some truly deserved military figures from selection in these valuable spots.

The election of Lincoln as President was a surprise. Old hand William Seward led the first ballot of the Republican nomination, but failed to get the majority. On the second ballot, Lincoln's ballots caught up, but still no one got the majority vote. On the third ballot, the delegates of other candidates threw their support to Lincoln instead. In the general election, the famous Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas was expected to win. However, the South pushed for their southern Democratic candidate, ex-Vice President John C. Breckinridge, thus, splitting the votes into two camps, and inadvertently ensuring Lincoln, the dark horse, to be elected. Even though the "fire-eaters" helped to push the states from the deep south to secede, the delegates knew they had to choose a person with high statue, with military and managing experience as their leader. They unanimously elected Jefferson Davis who did not run (who also did not ask) for the position. In fact, he saw himself only as a capable Military General, leading the soldiers to fight. When Davis read the telegram for the appointment as President, he looked so pale as if some catastrophe had struck him.

Grant and Sherman formulated the modern military strategy, by directing their fire power to the Confederate Armies and to their supportive source, i.e., their resource to make war. On the other hand, Lee pulled out miracle after miracle, defeated the Union army in the Seven Days war, the second Manassas, Federicksburg and Chancellorsville, with meager resource and much fewer men. Lee also did well in Wilderness, Spottslavania and Cold Harbor, holding his line in Petersburg. No doubt Lee is a great General. If Grant exchanged places with Lee, I don't think Grant could do better. Stonewall Jackson really understood how to win. Strategist Sun Tse said, "Know thyself and thy enemy, and you will prevail in hundred battles." Jackson never leaked his plan, not even to his Lieutenants, so the Union armies knew nothing about Stonewall, whereas Stonewall knew everything about the Blue coats. Sun Tse also said, "Troop movement prefers rapidity." Jackson's 'foot-cavalry' marched and counter-marched, surprising the Federals in every occasion. Therefore, Stonewall's 17,000 marchers ran circles around the three Union armies, about 50,000 men, in the Shenandoah Valley. Joe Johnston picked the correct Fabian strategy for the South. {Named after the Roman General, Fabius} {The full name of Roman General Fabius is Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (d. 203 B.C.) who avoided direct engagements with General Hannibal during the Second Punic War.} {The webmaster believes that if the South followed the Fabian Strategy, like Gen. George Washington did in the Revolutionary War against the British, the South could drag the war on until the North would give up, for the North might not be willing to pay the price of more lives and money (debt) to finance the long war.}

The survival of the Confederate States depends on the protection of the Confederate army. As long as there is an army, the Confederacy exists. By prolonging the life of the army, they will prolong the life of the Confederacy. Instead of throw your men to the mighty Union meat-grinder, save your men's lives and fight a protracted war. When the Northern people are tired of the draining of blood and money, they will pursue peace. The side that endures longer wins the war. Thus, the South would have kept their Confederacy. Strategist Mao said, "If you lose land, it could be re-taken. If you lose men, you lose both." Unfortunately, no one in the Confederate Government understood Gen. Johnston. No one appreciated his Grand Strategy.

David Farragut knew the sea and the disposition of the Confederate guns in the coastal forts. He knew exactly how many feet of water over the sand bar in high tide and low tide, entering New Orleans. He made preparation by shortening some masts and lightening some ships, by decreasing the number of cannons, so that a maximum number of battleships under his command could pass the shallow sand bar. He took New Orleans. Two years later, he attacked Mobile Bay with gusto. In Raphael Semmes case, the South had hardly any Navy to speak of. Semmes commanded the first Confederate cruiser, C.S.S. Sumter (former Habana), and slipped out New Orleans from the watchful eyes of U.S.S. Brooklyn. With the vast knowledge of the sea, Semmes used guerilla tactics to capture 18 Union ships and burned 7 Union ships, achieving great success beyond everybody's expectation. His cruiser did far more damage then the records showed, for her presence on the high seas kept many Yankee ships in port. Of course, he later skippered the famous C.S.S. Alabama, and did even much more damage to the Union commercial fleet.

For the nurses, Union "Mother" Mary Bickerdyke served the boys well in the West. During the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman ordered to stop all civilians from using the trains and reserved them exclusively for military use, except for Mother Bickerdyke. She could keep one car to carry her supplies for Sherman's wounded soldiers. One powerful medical staff wanted Sherman to remove Bickerdyke. Sherman replied, "I couldn't. She ranks me." (She held no rank.) But Clara Barton in the East, the "Angel of the Battlefield", broke the tie by her post-war work, on Andersonville prison, on finding the missing soldiers, disaster relief work and the establishment of the American Red Cross. For the Southern nurse, I heard of Kate Cummings who nursed a very high % of injured men back to health, but I never heard of Phoebe Yates Pember before getting the stamps. She married Thomas Pember of Boston. Later, when I came across Pember's book, A Southern Woman's story, I bought it and learned more about her. Pember did 4 years as one of the chief administrators supervising the nursing work in the Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond. I have no preference on the choice of either Cummings or Pember. I guess it would only be fair that if we picked a northern nurse, we also have to choose a southern nurse to balance the selection, even though the scope and quality of their works were miles apart.

On the category of minority, the obvious choice for the North is Federick Douglas, an ex-slave and a freedman, abolitionist, writer and lecturer. He lobbied the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation and instrumental in organizing the 54th Mass. black troops, with his son joining it. His influence spread from the pre-war and the post-war era. For the South, the bow-legged Native American, a Cherokee Brig. General, Stand Watie (Degadoga, meaning, he stands on two feet), a slave-holder, took the honor. Watie raised a regiment of Cherokee Mounted Volunteers and fought at Pea Ridge in 1862. In 1863, he captured the tribal capital of Tahlequah and burned the council house. His men scored many coup behind the enemy lines. I have been looking for information on him but find hardly anything. At last, I found Laurence Hauptman's book, Between Two Fires, American Indians in the Civil War, which described Watie's story in detail. Stand Watie, the great warrior, fought well in the West and took the record of the last surrendering Confederate General.

For the remaining two females, Harriet Tubman and Mary Chesnut, I would not choose either one on my list, because their works were not directly affecting the war. Tubman's major contribution were pre-war activities, bravely conducting the "underground railway", risking her freedom in order to get freedom for her people. During the war, she sometimes performed her duty as a guide but her contribution to the war was limited. Mary Chesnut's dairy might add on the literature and history of the upper Confederate class, but her work had no or very little impact during the Civil War, as I read it. However, the editor of her diary, C. Vann Woodward, won the Pulitzer Prize. I had found two other females as their replacements, who directly contributed more to the Civil War. Their names were Rose O'Neal Greenhow and Elizabeth Van Lew. Both would have been my choice.

Rose O'Neal Greenhow knew every important person in Washington. At early 40, she still had a great figure. Famous politicians often visited her house and her frequent guests included President Buchanan, Mass. Senator Henry Wilson, Chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, Cabinet members, judges, heads of congressional committees, Generals and Colonels. Rose was an excellent listener, hospitable, and helpful to job seekers. She also assisted people and solved their political problems or promotion problems. She provided comfortable companianship to her visitors. Thus, she collected all these "favor" chips and some day she would cash in. That some day would be the spring of 1861. Rose sent cipher message to Tom Jordon, aide to Gen. Beauregard. The 2 messages read, "McDowell has certainly been ordered to advance on the sixteenth (of July 1861). R.O.G." and "McDowell, with 55,000 men, will advance this day from Arlington Heights and Alexandria on to Manassas via Fairfax Court House and on to Centerville." So Mrs. Greenhow delivered the first Confederate victory in the battle of first Manassas. Davis sincerely thanked Rose for her secret service, with this message, "The Confederacy owes you a debt." On the Union side, they got their plain looking, unassuming Station Chief, Miss Elizabeth Van Lew of Richmond. She "owned" the Libby Prison. Posted as a nurse, she helped the Union prisoners to survive and to escape. She put up a big act on walking at strange hour and talking gibberish to herself. The prison guards dubbed a nickname "Crazy Bet" for her. The citizens dismissed her as "crazy" and did not suspect anything she did. She freed her slaves and hired them as servants. She had a vegetable garden across town and required her servants to tend. Thus, her agents could go out at odd hours without creating suspicion. She developed a network of agents and she was never caught. Miss Lizzie even got one of her top agents, intelligent Mary Elizabeth Bowser, to work as a servant in Davis's household. Bowser got a ton of top secret information and passed them on. Lizzie supplied information to Butler and Grant. She fed Grant with information on the conditions of Lee's army and plans of the Confederacy. When Richmond fell, Grant made sure that he visited his Intelligence Chief and thanked her for the immense service she did for the country.

I like Winfield Scott Hancock, who did well all through the war, especially in Gettysburg. However, there were other Union Generals performing better than he did. Hancock commanded only a Corps, and not an Army. Hancock did not do too well at the gate of Petersburg. He hesitated to attack, after the awful experience of Cold Harbor (who could blame Hancock?), and both his and Baldy Smith's hesitation provided a chance for Bureaugard's men to hold the line, waiting for Lee's men to reinforce Petersburg. Thus, the missed chance caused the war to drag on 10 more months. I would like to choose George Thomas instead. Thomas won an early victory in Mill Springs in Kentucky; did well in Stones River (Murfeesboro); performed spectacularly in Chickamaurga; won the battle of Chattanooga; destroyed Hood's Army in Franklin and Nashville. He was promoted from a Corp Commander to Army Commander, and eventually taking charge in a large area equivalent to a "theater." His performance definitely earned him a place of recognition. (1998)

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March 10, 2001