Text From Civil War Stamps-- Part 1

From the front of the sheet of stamps (ten with five of each on the front)

THE CIVIL WAR
1863
A NATION TOUCHED WITH FIRE

"In June 1863, Confederate general Robert E. Lee began to carry out his bold plan to invade Pennsylvania and perhaps deal a decisive blow to the Union.  By the end of the month, troops from his Army of Northern Virgina had moved out of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, on their way toward Pennsylvania.

There, on July 1, near the small town of Gettysburg, his forces would meet those of Major General George Gordon Meade, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac.

The ensuing three-day Battle of Gettysburg-- in places soon known across the nation as the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and the Devil's Den--was the largest battle fought during the war and Lee's first major defeat.

There were some 45,000 casualties, including more than 7,500 killed or mortally wounded.  For Lee's forces and the South, Gettysburg has often been called the 'high water mark of the Rebellion.""

Tomorrow, Vicksburg.  --Old Secesh