Lot
1819 
Confederacy, (Naval) Official to The Executive Officers of C.S.S. Baltic, Official to The Executive Officers of C.S.S. Baltic privately carried buff cover without postal markings, Very Fine and scarce official Confederate Navy use. Estimate $500 - 750.
Realized: $550
Lot
1820
Confederacy, (Naval) 1862, 5¢ blue, Archer & Daly printing, 1862, 5¢ blue, Archer & Daly printing horizontal pair, faulty, tied by partial "Spartanburg S.C. Feb 18" cds on homemade cover to Lt. John Grimball on the C.S. Ram Baltic, Mobile Ala., F.-V.F. Scott No. 7 Estimate $750 - 1,000.
The CSS "Baltic" was a former sidewheel towboat that was fitted out in 1862 with iron and cotton cladding. She operated in Mobile Bay and on the Tombigbee River until reporting unfit for service in February 1863. She was dismantled in 1864 for her armor.
Realized: $1,300
Lot
1821
Confederacy, (Naval) Spartanburg S.C., Dec 5, 1862, "Spartanburg S.C., Dec 5, 1862" cds ties faulty 5¢ light blue (6) vertical pair, cut in at top and gum staining, on homemade brown cover addressed to Lieut. John Grimball, C.S. Steamer "Baltic" at Mobile Ala.; opening tear at right, Fine. Estimate $500 - 750.
The CSS "Baltic" was a former sidewheel towboat that was fitted out in 1862 with iron and cotton cladding. She operated in Mobile Bay and on the Tombigbee River until reporting unfit for service in February 1863. She was dismantled in 1864 for her armor.
Realized: $550
Lot
1822
Confederacy, (Naval) 1863, 10¢ blue, perf'd, 1863, 10¢ blue, perf'd, tied by Army of Virginia circular grid cancel on homemade cover with Naval address to "Lieut. James Mc. Baker C.S.N., Battery Buchanan, Mobile", March 16th 1865 docketing at left, F.-V.F., a scarce use to a Confederate Naval Officer at Battery Buchanan in Mobile Ala. Scott No. 11e $900+.
Battery Buchanan was located at the south-end of Mobile on the shoreline of the Mobile River. According to the Official Records of the War (a report of S.M. Eaton, New Orleans, January 23, 1865) the Confederate troops left at Mobile as of that date included 100 sailors of the "Buchanan Battery, or Missouri Battery (a naval attery manned by sailors from the gun-boat Gaines, which was beached last summer)." and continues, "Battery Buchanan is nearest the city, and mounts nine guns, including the 'great gun' … supposed to be the largest gun in the Confederacy.".
Realized: $1,000
Lot
1823
Confederacy, (Naval) Notasulga Ga. May 9, "Notasulga Ga. May 9" partly indistinct cds with matching "Paid" and "10" rating handstamp on homemade cover to James Mc. Baker C.S.N. on C.S. Str. Huntsville at Mobile Ala., Very Fine and scarce use. Estimate $500 - 750.
Baker was a Lieutenant in the Confederate States Navy and served on the New Orleans naval station before being assigned to command the CSS "Huntsville" at Mobile, Alabama. The CSS "Huntsville" was a propeller steamer built by Henry Bassett and delivered to Mobile in August 1863. She likely escaped up the Spanish River after the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864 and was later scuttled.
Realized: $525
Lot
1824
Confederacy, (Naval) Charleston S.C., Jun 6 1861, "Charleston S.C., Jun 6 1861" clear strike of cds and matching "Paid 5" rating handstamp on cover to John Grimball, Master on C.S. Steamer Lady Davis at Savannah Ga.; small flaws, F.-V.F. Estimate $500 - 750.
On May 12, 1861, five days after the iron-hulled steamer "Lady Davis" was purchased by the Confederate Navy from the state of South Carolina, Lieutenant Pelot took command. The gunboat served as the flagship of Commodore Tattnall's Savannah Defense Squadron along with CSS "Savannah" and the CSS "Resolute". The "Lady Davis" had an auspicious start to her career as on May 19, 1861 she captured and took into Beaufort, S.C. as a prize the A.B. Thompson, a large, full-rigged ship from Brunswick, Maine with her crew of 23 men. She participated in the battle of Port Royal, S.C. in November 1861 with Lt. Rutledge in command. Later, after her engines were transferred to CSS "Palmetto State", she served as a privately owned blockade-runner operating out of Charleston.
John Grimball was a former midshipman in the U.S. Navy, Grimball was present at Ft. Moultrie when the USS "Star of the West" attempted to reinforce Ft. Sumter. He was appointed as a lieutenant in CSN from September 1861. He served on the Savannah station and on CSS "Arkansas" in 1862. He then served on the CSS "Baltic" at Mobile and finally he served abroad on the raider CSS "Shenandoah" from October 8, 1864 until the final surrender of the war on November 6, 1865. He was present at both the first and last shots of the war.
Realized: $950
Lot
1825
Confederacy, (Naval) 1861 (c.) to John Grimball C.S.N. on CSS Lady Davis, 1861 (c.) orange cover addressed to "Mr. Grimball, Lady Davis", carried privately and without postal markings, Fine, This is an early use to John Grimball on the Lady Davis. Estimate $500 - 750.
Midshipman Grimball came back to South Carolina on leave in late 1860 and was in Charleston with his family when S.C. seceded on Dec. 20th. He immediately resigned from the U.S. Navy and joined the South Carolina Navy where he was appointed Master and assigned on Jan. 5th 1861 to the small ship "Lady Davis". Four days later Master Grimball and the "Lady Davis" were at Fort Moultrie in Charleston's harbor area when the first shot of the Civil War was fired from nearby Morris Island at the US merchantmen "Star of the West" when it attempted to resupply the Federal forces on Fort Sumter. The shots from Morris Island were heard at Fort Moultrie where S.C. forces there joined the firing.
Realized: $375
Lot
1826
Confederacy, (Naval) C.S.S. Lady Davis, "Savannah Geo., Paid, Jan 24" partial cds and complete "Paid 10" oval rating handstamp on large size orange buff cover addressed to Lieut. John Grimball C.S.N., C.S.S. "Lady Davis", Charleston S.C. original enclosure actually datelined "Savannah, Feby 8th 1862" from Lt. John Rutledge C.S.N. questioning an inconsistency in the number of loaves of bread (22 very scarce. 32) furnished to the "Lady Davis" for which the C.S. Navy in Savannah was being billed, the different in dates may indicated the large envelope was purchased as a prepaid provisional envelope and used later for this letter; some faults, Fine. Estimate $500 - 750.
John Grimball was promoted to Lieutenant in Sept. 1861. Two months later a U.S. Navy task force led by Admiral DuPont captured the Port Royal-Beaufort-Hilton Head area. The Confederate "Mosquito Fleet", including Lt. Grimball's "Lady Davis" was no match for the U.S. forces and withdrew to the Savannah Ga. area where they engaged in harassing Dupont's ships. While not evident, this large-size envelope was an early non-imprinted semi-official usage by the Confederate State Navy unit in Savannah Ga.
Lot
1827
Confederacy, (Naval) Naval Iron Works, 1862, 5¢ blue, Archer & Daly printing two singles, tied by partial "Savannah Ga. 'Paid' Jan 28" addressed to Asst. Engr. B.S. Herring at Columbus Ga., care Chief Engr. J.H. Warner at the "Naval Iron Works", Very Fine. Scott No. 7 Estimate $500 - 750.
After serving as Second Assistant Engineer on the "CSS Virginia" ("Merrimac") during the "Merrimac" / "Monitor"engagement, the addressee B.S. Herring was assigned to the "CSS Yadkin" being constructed in Wilmington N.C. for Cape Fear River duty. The "Yadki"'s machinery was being built by Chief Engineer J.H. Warner C.s.N., at the Naval Iron Works at Columbus Ga., which explains Herring's presence there. The "Yadkin" saw Confederate Navy service and burned at the fall of Wilmington.
Realized: $1,100
Lot
1828
Confederacy, (Naval) Navy Works, Columbus Ga., 1862, 5¢ blue, Archer & Daly printing, horizontal pair, tied by indistinct "Greenville Ala. May 19" cds on pale yellow turned cover to Lieut. James McBaker, care of Lieut. McLaughlin at the Navy Works, Columbus Ga.; inside use with 1861, 10¢ blue (2), four large to extra large margins, tied by blue "Lynchburg Va. Oct 31" cds to Greenville Ala.; top edge faults, F.-V.F. Scott No. 7 Estimate $300 - 400.
Lieut. Baker had previously served in the Confederate Army and was assigned to the Navy Works at Columbus Ga. where Lieut. McLaughlin was his superior.