FREE./For the Regiment/ADAMS EXPRESS CO./Per HOEY. Four-line handstamp perfectly struck in greenish blue on 3c Red on Buff Star Die entire (U27) to Stephen Burkhalter Jr., 7th Regiment New York State Militia, 8th Co., Washington D.C. (Camp Cameron), "Care of Quartermaster Winchester", pencil "9", backflap tear barely extends to front at top

EXTREMELY FINE. A SUPERB STRIKE OF THE RARE ADAMS EXPRESS "FREE FOR THE REGIMENT" MARKING, APPLIED TO MAIL CARRIED TO AND FROM SOLDIERS DEFENDING THE NATION'S CAPITAL IN APRIL-MAY 1861.

The Adams Express "Free for the Regiment" markings were used briefly in April-May 1861 on mail carried free of charge between New York and regiments guarding the capital after Lincoln's call for volunteers to suppress the Southern rebellion. Only seven examples of the "For the Regiment" version are recorded, this being one of the choicest strikes. This example is unusual because it is one of the few showing the use of a 3c stamped envelope, a requirement according to the published notices and postal laws, but apparently often ignored. A comprehensive article on this marking by Scott Trepel can found in Chronicle 244, Nov. 2014, pp. 323-339.

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