Leon Reed worked as a US Senate aide, defense consultant, and US History teacher. He lives in Gettysburg, where he is the publisher at Little Falls Books and is the author or co-author of a book about his father in law’s experiences in World War II (heavily based on the letters his father in law wrote to his fiancé), three books related to Gettysburg, and a fifth, which uses an extensive collection of civil war patriotic covers to tell the story of the secession crisis and the start of the civil war.
He is a member of the American Philatelic Society and has done three APS stamp chats on patriotic covers in the American Civil War and has one coming up in May on mail and the World War II GI.” Patriotic covers were widely used (more widely in the north) during the secession crisis and the first years of the Civil War. They were important ways for people to show their support for the cause or to tell the soldier in the field or the people back home that they were appreciated. Many were also purchased as souvenirs.
These colorful envelopes addressed a range of topics. Some simply made patriotic statements; others praised the latest victory, or hero, or martyr; while others trash talked the other side. Many collectors primarily view these envelopes from the point of view of collectibles, examining condition, rarity, and similar factors. Reed will briefly reminisce about the valuable history and geography lessons he learned with his stamp collection as a child and then will show how patriotic covers, similarly, are valuable historical documents. He will explain the lessons that can be learned from patriotic covers and show how to identify the meaning of some.
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