Knoxville Tenn., 5c Carmine on Grayish Laid (47X2). Intense shade and impression, two full margins, touched at bottom and in at lower left where roughly separated, tied by full clear strike of "Knoxville Ten. 5 Paid" circular provisional handstamp (listed as Scott 47XU5) on bright yellow cover to Nashville Tenn., neatly docketed with Oct. 28, 1861 reply date

VERY FINE COVER. THE FINEST KNOWN STRIKE OF THE KNOXVILLE "PAID 5" HANDSTAMP ON THE 5-CENT PROVISIONAL STAMP. A COLORFUL COVER IN IMMACULATE CONDITION.

Charles W. Charlton (1825-1889), a Methodist minister and newspaper journalist, was Knoxville's Confederate postmaster. He issued adhesive stamps and envelopes in 5c and 10c denominations. Charlton's stamps were nearly identical to the stamps issued by his close acquaintance, William D. McNish, the postmaster of Nashville. It is possible that both the Nashville and Knoxville adhesives were engraved by a Nashville resident, Dan Adams, and printed in the offices of the Nashville Daily Gazette. When the Knoxville engraving was made, Charlton's name was misspelled: the letters "C.H." appear instead of "C.W." or "CH." (for Charles). The woodcut engraving was used to make stereotype plates. There was more than one printing, including reprints made after the war (the printings and papers are described in Confederate Philatelist articles by Richard Graham and Peter W. W. Powell).

Shortly before U.S. forces occupied Knoxville in September 1863, Postmaster Charlton sent the stamps on hand and post office effects to the postmaster at Dalton, Georgia. The stamps were never seen again (J. L. Poklis, "C. W. Charlton Comments on His Confederate Postage Stamps," Confederate Philatelist, Apr.-Jun. 2008). After the war Charlton became editor of the Knoxville Whig.

There are probably no more than ten covers extant with the Knoxville 5c provisional (either shade) tied by a handstamped marking -- more than half of the known covers are manuscript cancelled. The Knoxville cancellations -- the double-circle and large-circle town datestamps, and the "Paid 5" in circle -- are rarely struck clearly.

Ex Caspary, Gallagher, Hill and D.K. Collection. With 1998 P.F. certificate

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