Lot
4378 
Confederacy, [Prize Court Mail] Pendleton S.C. Aug 15, blue cds with matching "Paid 5" rating handstamp (CSA type C), addressed to "Emilio Puig, Care of Spanish Consul, Charleston S.C.", red court docketing at bottom with "H.H.E." initials of Henry H. Elliott; missing backflap and some top edge flaws, still Very Fine. Estimate $750 - 1,000.
A RARE COVER TAKEN FROM A CAPTURED VESSEL EN ROUTE FROM CHARLESTON TO HAVANA, THEN USED AS EVIDENCE IN THE NEW YORK PRIZE COURT.
Emilio Puig was a resident of Charleston who is believed to have been engaged in running Cuban commodities into the South through the Union blockade. Puig attempted to leave South Carolina on the new Spanish ferryboat "Nuesta Senora de Regla" from out of New York and was en route to Cuba but forced to put into Georgetown S.C. for repairs due to storm damage. It was there that Puig boarded the ship. When it continued its voyage to Cuba, it was captured at Port Royal en route to Havana on December 1, 1861, by the U.S.S. "Aries" under Commander T. W. Sherman. The ship and its cargo were brought to New York, and Puig, a Spanish citizen, was held prisoner for violating neutrality laws. Puig's old letters were among the "contraband" seized and used as evidence in the New York prize court. The red ink "H.H.E." is Henry H. Elliott, the New York Prize Court Commissioner. Eventually, the U.S. Government lost its case in the U.S. Supreme Court, and the ferry was declared neutral. Even then, Puig's letters were not returned to him.
Realized: $700