Together with the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Postal Service held a ceremony at Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, MA on April 16 to dedicate its new Battlefields of the American Revolution stamps.
“These stamps celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation and pay tribute to the heroes who fought and sacrificed for American independence,” said Judy de Torok, the Postal Service’s corporate affairs vice president, who served as the stamps’ dedicating official. “We are proud to partner with the National Park Service to commemorate and honor the enduring legacy of these historic battlefields.”
“The National Park Service is honored to host the U.S. Postal Service’s first-day-of-issue ceremony for the Battlefields of the American Revolution stamps,” said Simone Monteleone, Minute Man National Historical Park superintendent. “Having the ceremony at the site of the opening battle of the American Revolution provides another opportunity for visitors to participate in the 250th anniversary.”
Other participants at the ceremony were Paul O’Shaughnessy, master of ceremonies and Friends of Minute Man National Park board president; Kerry Lafleur, Concord, MA, town manager; Steve Bartha, Lexington, MA, town manager; Lt. Col. Geoffrey Love, Massachusetts National Guard historical services director and curator of its museum; Donald Hafner, historian, author and former Boston College professor; Liza Stearns, National Parks of Boston deputy superintendent; and Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County, NY, historian and Saratoga 250th American Revolution Commission chair.
Background
On farm fields and town greens, along countryside byways and city lanes, the people of a new nation — some famous, others forever unknown — committed their lives to American independence. As the United States prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary next year, the Postal Service honors the battlefields where so many sacrificed to make independence possible.
With photographs and historic sites alongside dramatic illustrations of pivotal moments in the American Revolution, this pane of stamps focuses on five turning points in the war: the battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Trenton, Saratoga and Yorktown.
Many of the places and buildings associated with these battles have been preserved or restored as museums, monuments, and national, state, or local parks. As part of the multiyear celebration of America’s 250th birthday, the Postal Service hopes these stamps will inspire the public to visit these and other sites from the Revolutionary era and contemplate the long threads of history that connect us to the first generation of Americans.
Stamp Design
The pane of 15 stamps is arranged in five rows, with each row dedicated to one of the five battles. Each row features a photograph of a site linked to the battle, complemented by a watercolor illustration depicting a scene from that battle.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord is represented by a modern photograph of the Old North Bridge and an illustration showing American militia members retaking the bridge from the withdrawing British on April 19, 1775.
The Battle of Bunker Hill is represented by an illustration showing the second British assault on Breed’s Hill on June 17, 1775, from the perspective of the defending Americans, alongside a photograph of the Bunker Hill Monument in modern-day Boston.
The Battle of Trenton is represented by a recent photograph showing the Old Barracks Museum, which housed Hessian and British soldiers in Trenton, NJ, before the Dec. 26, 1776, battle, and an illustration showing George Washington and some of his officers during their daring crossing of the Delaware River prior to the battle.
The Battle of Saratoga is represented by an illustration showing British Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne handing his sword as a symbol of surrender to Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates on Oct. 17, 1777, with men from both sides looking on. Alongside the illustration is a modern photograph of a replica of a British howitzer on the lawn of the visitors’ center at Saratoga National Historical Park in Stillwater, NY.
The Battle of Yorktown is represented by a modern photograph of two British defenses taken by Americans and their French allies during the autumn 1781 siege in Virginia and reconstructed by the National Park Service — Redoubt 9 in the foreground and Redoubt 10 in the background. Alongside the photograph is an illustration depicting the formal surrender of the British on Oct. 19, 1781.
The title “Battlefields of the American Revolution” appears at the top of the stamp pane. The names and dates of each battle, which encompass the dates of the two British surrenders, appear on the selvage to the right of each row of stamps. In the top right corner of the selvage are the opening words of the first pamphlet in Thomas Paine’s series, “The American Crisis.” Published in December 1776, the pamphlet was read aloud to George Washington’s troops on Dec. 23, 1776, three days before the Battle of Trenton. Inspired to write “The American Crisis” by low civilian morale and the grim state of the Colonial army that winter, Paine hoped to bolster American resolve. He had previously written “Common Sense,” a pamphlet that decried monarchy and made a clear and forceful case for American independence.
Derry Noyes, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps, with illustrations by Greg Harlin and photographs by Jon Bilous, Richard Lewis, Tom Morris, Gregory J. Parker and Kevin Stewart.
The Battlefields of the American Revolution stamps are being issued as Forever stamps and will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate.
Customers may purchase the stamps through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic or at Post Office locations nationwide. For officially licensed stamp products, shop the USPS Officially Licensed Collection on Amazon. Additional information on stamps, first-day-of-issue ceremonies and stamp-inspired products can be found at StampsForever.com.
