Lot
86 
Confederacy, 1862, 10¢ Rose. Three large margins and just to frameline at left, bright fresh color, tied by manuscript "Demopolis, Ala./Oct. 16, 1862" postmark on cover to "Mrs. A. G. Duggas, Macon "Station", Marengo Co., Alabama.", cover with manuscript "Per Steamer Marengo" endorsement, inside of cover professionally silked with small mended tear at top left, Very Fine and rare (Pictured in Monroe Book, pg. 56). Scott No. 5 Estimate $750 - 1,000.
Often a packet or steamboat operating on an inland waterway provided the fastest and sometimes only means of transportation and communication. Not surprisingly, there are 61 known Confederate packet and steamboat handstamped or manuscript markings listed in The New Dietz Confederate States Catalog and Handbook.
The "Marengo" probably picked up the letter at a community or plantation while it was enroute for Demopolis. Upon arrival at Demopolis, the letter was deposited at the post office where it was postmarked and routed to Macon "Station" on the Alabama and Mississippi Rivers Railroad.
The New Dietz does not include the "Marengo" in its inventory of Confederate packet and steamboat markings, nor does it list any packet or steamboat usage connected with the 10c rose. Consequently, this is the only recorded cover carried by the "Marengo" and the only known steamboat/packet use of the 10¢ rose.
Refer to the September-October 1993 issue of The Confederate Philatelist (pages 184-186) which featured this unique cover.
Realized: $2,400