"Forwarded by La. Relief
Committee at Mobile". Manuscript endorsement along top of small cover
to Tuscaloosa Ala., 10c Greenish Blue (12c), large margins to touching,
pre-use crease, tied by "Mobile Ala. Jul. 8" double-circle datestamp, ms.
"Examined" mark on back, backflap removed and slightly reduced at
topVERY FINE USAGE SENT VIA THE LOUISIANA RELIEF COMMITTEE AT MOBILE.
During the Federal occupation of New Orleans from May 1862 to the end of the war, there were many residents of the city who wished to continue corresponding with family and associates in the Confederate States. To circumvent the Federal post office, letters were smuggled out of New Orleans to Mobile where the Louisiana Relief Committee was situated. Provost Marshal J. C. Denis, a member of the committee and the officer responsible for official flag-of-truce mail through Mobile, endorsed at least some of the covers smuggled to and from New Orleans. In this case, the "Examined" censor marking is probably in another hand. (Image)