Lee A US Postage stamp Honoring Robert E. Lee

[kevikens]

I just finished a biography of Robert E. Lee. No doubt he was a very admirable man in many respects. Sometimes I find myself having to keep in mind that Lee was an American general and is a part of our common history. I began wondering if he would ever be honored by the US Government for some of his traits, character and achievements for his pre war US Army service or perhaps his Reconstruction rebuilding efforts. Statues aside, I started to wonder if the US Post Office would ever issue a stamp with his image on it. Lo and behold I discovered it already did so with a 30 cent and 32 cent stamp and another where he shares the field with a portrait of Stonewall Jackson and in his Confederate uniform to boot. I am not so sure the Post Office could do this today. I don't collect stamps (one of the few things I don't) but I think I just might try to buy a few of these and insert them into a large framed Civil War picture of Lee and Jackson at Fredericksburg that I own along side a CSA five dollar bill I have. I am not sure what my Northern neighbors visiting my home might think but it should be good for, if nothing else, a conversation about the uses of history.

 

[dixie1861]

I didn't know they had made a stamp with Lee on it!! Do you happen to have a picture?

 

[Legion Para]

Here is a thread dealing with the Lee stamps.

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/robert-e-lee-on-u-s-postage-stamps.121649/

 

[UCVRelics]

Here are several with RE Lee and my personnel favorite is The UCV stamp

 

[JOHN42768]

The stamp with Jackson was a 4 cent and a 3 cent with Washington, and the 30 cent and a 32 cent by himself. The Postal rule only prevents anyone who is still alive from being on a stamp. See https://www.google.com/search?q=US+...dAhXESt8KHWfsA78QsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=1502&bih=826 to see what they looked like

 

[JOHN42768]

Here are several with RE Lee and my personnel favorite is The UCV stamp

The top four are correct, but bottom one UCV is not Lee. There is the exact same image on a rose/red color with GAR on it instead of UCV. They were issued in 1949

 

[Jimklag]

At the risk of getting mod-blocked, I would like to say imagine the Edited storm that would blow up if the government tried to make a Lee stamp today. I would pay to see that.

 

[GwilymT]

At the risk of getting mod-blocked, I would like to say imagine the poop storm that would blow up if the government tried to make a Lee stamp today. I would pay to see that.

I'd like to see a Chamberlain stamp myself!

 

[JOHN42768]

Have you noticed stamps in the past twenty years? There are some pretty ridiculous images. With the right lobby group you could get most anything approved. I have collected them for over sixty years

 

[JOHN42768]

There was a pictorial cancellation of Chamberlain in June 2014. Get a group to lobby the Maine senator to push for an issue.

 

[JOHN42768]

Here is the GAR version

 

[dixie1861]

Here are several with RE Lee and my personnel favorite is The UCV stamp

Thanks for posting!

 

[cash]

Stamps have been issued to commemorate the Civil War, and those series have included stamps of Lee, as a primary actor in the war on the confederate side. They weren't issued to honor Lee. They were issued as part of a commemoration of a historical event.

Example:

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Here are several with RE Lee and my personnel favorite is The UCV stamp

Here is the GAR version View attachment 205886

Wow !

Thanks for the memories.

Although issued before 'my time', I remember these stamps very well.
I had an Uncle that was a very serious stamp collector.

I had forgotten about this series as well.

Thanks for even more memories !
My stamp collecting Uncle passed away a few months after these stamps were released.

 

[kevikens]

Stamps have been issued to commemorate the Civil War, and those series have included stamps of Lee, as a primary actor in the war on the confederate side. They weren't issued to honor Lee. They were issued as part of a commemoration of a historical event.

Example:

I think the earlier 30 cent lee stamp was meant to honor him. It was issued in 1955 as part of a "Liberty Issue" of stamps of different denominations that included Patrick Henry, Susan B. Anthony, John Marshall et al. I think all of them were meant to be honored and that included Lee. Different times, different customs, different beliefs. Half a century from now I wonder who will be honored by our postal service?

 

[JOHN42768]

You ar correct it was part of the 1955 Liberty Series. A little info:
The Liberty Series
Issued to replace the 1938 Presidential series, this patriotic set of stamps honors guardians of freedom throughout U.S. history. Eighteenth Century America is represented by Revolutionary War heroes and statesmen such as Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, Henry, Jay, and Revere.

Leaders of the 19th century including Monroe, Lincoln, Lee, Harrison, and Susan B. Anthony make an appearance. The 20th century is represented by Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and General Pershing.

The Liberty Series also features famous locations important to America's democratic history, such as Bunker Hill, Independence Hall, and the Alamo
Stamp collecting was and is a very educational hobby.

 

[John Hartwell]

I had a thread on this a couple of years ago: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/robert-e-lee-on-u-s-postage-stamps.121649/#post-1278421.
It also includes Lee on some foreign postage stamps.

I'd also suggest this thread, for any who might be interested: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/u-s-history-postage-stamp-albums-free.120092/#post-1245347

 

[Blessmag]

Stamps have been issued to commemorate the Civil War, and those series have included stamps of Lee, as a primary actor in the war on the confederate side. They weren't issued to honor Lee. They were issued as part of a commemoration of a historical event.

Example:

This sheet of stamps hangs in my office in a frame. It was a gift from someone who was going to throw it away, stamps and all.

 

[roberts]

If Robert E. Lee wasn't licked during the war he certainly was after....

 

[gary]

I like those bank note style engraved stamps. The modern color ones look cheap by comparison.