CSA Post Office Department - Montgomery, AL
Posted by: xptwo
N 32° 22.586 W 086° 18.430
16S E 565173 N 3582372
This marker is located in front of site of the first offices of the Confederate States Post Office Department, though it was located here only for a short time before the capital was moved to Richmond, VA.
Waymark Code: WMFTTF
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 11/30/2012
Views: 11
The man chosen for the job of Postmaster General was former Congressman from Texas, John H. Reagan. He was an able administrator and was able to organize the department to the point where it took over postal service from the U.S. Post Office on June 1, 1861. By that time, the Confederate Post Office was in Richmond, which became the CSA capital in May, 1861.
Postal service is one area that many do not think about when discussing Civil War history, but it was an important part of life and needed to be done. Apparently, the Confederate Post Office was the only department that lived within its budget. Source is Wikipedia article on John H. Reagan: (
visit link)
The marker itself reads:
Confederate States of America (CSA) Post office Department
In February, 1861, delegates from six of the seven seceding southern states met in Montgomery to establish the government of the CSA. Newly elected President Jefferson Davis named J. H. Reagan of Texas as Postmaster General. Reagan established the Post Office Department in this building on the corner of Washington Ave. and Perry St.
The U.S. Postal service continued to deliver mail throughout the South until June 1, 1861 when the Confederate Post Office Department began their operations. The U.S. Postal Service then suspended mail delivery in the Confederacy. After the war began, four more southern states joined the Confederacy. In late May, 1861, the CSA government, including the Post Office Department, moved from Montgomery to Richmond, VA. Postmasters had to create their own stamps or write "paid" on the mail. The first CSA stamp was printed in Richmond and issued in October, 1861.
This building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Perry St. Historic District.
Marker erected by Montgomery Area Stamp Club
2012