The Civil War -1861 Commemorative Stamps -2011 Issue -12 Stamps - Souvenir Sheet

The U.S. Postal Service® begins a series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War,

joining others across the country in paying tribute to the American experience during the tumultuous

years from 1861 to 1865. A souvenir sheet of two stamps will be issued each year through 2015.

For 2011, one stamp depicts the beginning of the war in April 1861 at Fort Sumter, South Carolina,

while the other depicts the first major battle of the war 3 months later at Bull Run, near Manassas, Virginia.

Art Director Phil Jordan created the stamps using images of Civil War battles. The Fort Sumter stamp

is a reproduction of a Currier & Ives lithograph, circa 1861, titled "Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor."

The Bull Run stamp is a reproduction of a 1964 painting by Sidney E. King titled "The Capture of Rickett's Battery."

The painting depicts fierce fighting on Henry Hill over an important Union battery during the Battle of First Bull Run.

For the stamp pane's background image, Jordan used a photograph dated circa 1861 of a Union regiment assembled

near Falls Church, Virginia.

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