# 4522 - 2011 First-Class Forever Stamp - Civil War Sesquicentennial: Battle of Fort Sumter
U.S. #4522
2011 44¢ Battle of Fort Sumter
Civil War Sesquicentennial
Issue Date: April 12, 2011
City: Charleston, SC
Quantity: 60,000,000
Printed By: Ashton Potter
Printing Method: Offset
Color: Multicolored
“Our Southern brethren have done grievously, they have rebelled and have attacked their father’s house and their loyal brothers. They must be punished and brought back, but this necessity breaks my heart.” – Major Robert Anderson
After years of heated debate over slavery, calls for war reached a fevered pitch in the fall of 1860 when Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election.
Seven Southern states, including South Carolina, seceded from the Union before Lincoln’s inauguration. The states seized four federal forts within their borders. The new Confederate States of America sent delegates to the nation’s capital to offer payment and negotiate a peace treaty, but they were turned away.
As war loomed, the federal government planned to stockpile provisions at Fort Sumter, which was located in South Carolina’s strategic Charleston Harbor. Attempts at diplomacy failed, and on April 12, 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard ordered his men to fire on Fort Sumter.
Major Robert Anderson surrendered his command of Fort Sumter to the Confederacy after a 34-hour barrage. In response, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer soldiers, four additional Southern states seceded, and the Civil War began.
Birth of Nathaniel Currier
Currier attended public school until he was 15, at which point he began an apprenticeship with Boston lithographers William and John Pendleton. The Pendleton brothers were the first successful lithographers in America.
Over the years, the firm produced at least 7,500 different images. The subjects included the sentimental scenes we’ve come to associate with the company, as well as sports, humor, and national events.
Click here to view more Currier and Ives images.
U.S. #4522
2011 44¢ Battle of Fort Sumter
Civil War Sesquicentennial
Issue Date: April 12, 2011
City: Charleston, SC
Quantity: 60,000,000
Printed By: Ashton Potter
Printing Method: Offset
Color: Multicolored
“Our Southern brethren have done grievously, they have rebelled and have attacked their father’s house and their loyal brothers. They must be punished and brought back, but this necessity breaks my heart.” – Major Robert Anderson
After years of heated debate over slavery, calls for war reached a fevered pitch in the fall of 1860 when Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election.
Seven Southern states, including South Carolina, seceded from the Union before Lincoln’s inauguration. The states seized four federal forts within their borders. The new Confederate States of America sent delegates to the nation’s capital to offer payment and negotiate a peace treaty, but they were turned away.
As war loomed, the federal government planned to stockpile provisions at Fort Sumter, which was located in South Carolina’s strategic Charleston Harbor. Attempts at diplomacy failed, and on April 12, 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard ordered his men to fire on Fort Sumter.
Major Robert Anderson surrendered his command of Fort Sumter to the Confederacy after a 34-hour barrage. In response, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteer soldiers, four additional Southern states seceded, and the Civil War began.
Birth of Nathaniel Currier
Currier attended public school until he was 15, at which point he began an apprenticeship with Boston lithographers William and John Pendleton. The Pendleton brothers were the first successful lithographers in America.
Over the years, the firm produced at least 7,500 different images. The subjects included the sentimental scenes we’ve come to associate with the company, as well as sports, humor, and national events.
Click here to view more Currier and Ives images.