Price
$20.00
Condition
used
Product Condition
Very fine
Size
4.75"' x 2.75"
Civil War Patriotic Cover – "While I Live I'll Crow" Likely Representing Gen. Winfield Scott. Civil War patriotic envelope featuring a crowing rooster beneath the slogan "While I Live I'll Crow" and the initials "W.S." While the initials are not identified on the envelope itself, they are believed to represent General Winfield Scott, the Union's commanding general at the outbreak of the Civil War. This interpretation is supported by a companion patriotic cover issued in the same style that depicts a giant hand labeled "W.S." effortlessly brushing aside a tiny figure labeled "J.D." (Jefferson Davis). If correct, the rooster symbolizes Scott confidently predicting eventual Union victory. An attractive and thought-provoking example of early Civil War political propaganda. Unused and original.
From a large collection of Civil War patriotic covers we recently acquired.
Roosters frequently appeared in nineteenth-century American political cartoons as symbols of victory, confidence, and party pride. During the Civil War, patriotic envelope publishers borrowed familiar campaign imagery to encourage Union morale, turning humorous political symbols into powerful reminders that supporters believed eventual victory over secession was inevitable.
$20.00
used
Very fine
4.75"' x 2.75"