Havana to Augusta Ga. via Mobile Ala. 10c Blue Die A (11), three large margins, touched at right, tied by "Mobile Ala. Oct. 27?" double-circle datestamp on blockade-run cover originating in Havana, Cuba, addressed to "Mr. Emile Le Blanc, Columbus Miss." and "Care of J. B. DeBow", enclosed letter datelined Havana Oct. 23, 1863, docketed on back in French by Leon Seré that it was received in Augusta Ga. unsealed on Nov. 7, 1863, cover with small corner repair at top left

VERY FINE. A RARE INCOMING BLOCKADE COVER TO THE C.S.A. VIA MOBILE ALABAMA. ONLY NINE ARE RECORDED IN THE SPECIAL ROUTES CENSUS.

The exact sequence of handling for this cover and letter is difficult to determine, but after originating in Havana, it most likely was carried in an outer envelope (discarded) addressed to DeBow in Mobile Ala. From there it was franked with the 10c Confederate stamp and put into the mails as addressed, to Columbus Miss. Evidently, LeBlanc was not there, so the letter was opened (the "unsealed" part of the note) and the return address instructions (to Leon Seré in the text of the letter) were used to get the letter to Augusta. Seré added the "unsealed" note at Augusta upon its arrival on Nov. 7. We are grateful to Steven C. Walske for his interpretation.

An entry from the Louisiana State University library provides a picture of LeBlanc's activities during the war: "LeBlanc, C.E. Papers, Mss. 1315, 1864-1865 [Columbus, Mississippi]. Location: Reel 12, Confederate Military Manuscripts, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge: This collection consists of six items, papers, 1864-1865, of C. E. LeBlanc, deputy Confederate government agent for the purchase of cotton. Papers concern the sale of certain Confederate property in Columbus, Mississippi, and its subsequent confiscation by a U.S. Treasury agent. Additional items include a promissory note, a contract for the delivery of cotton, and a broadside announcing a lecture to be presented by J. D. B. DeBow in Columbus, Mississippi."

James D. B. DeBow, to whose care this cover was directed, was an American publisher and slavery advocate best known for his influential magazine DeBow's Review. A resident of New Orleans, DeBow was exiled to Mobile after the capture of New Orleans in April 1861. He later became one of the founding members of the Louisiana Relief Committee.

Special Routes census no. BI-MOB-8

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