37.5c double War of 1812 letter rate for 90-150 miles forwarded stampless cover

PHI (Philadelphia) 30 JL postmark; to Gen'l Floyd Late of the U. S. Army Savannah, Geo.; forwarded to St Marys (GA), SAVAN. GA. JUL 12 postmark; 56-1/4 cent triple letter war rate for 90-150 miles apparently was applied in Savannah at the time of forwarding. The war rate in effect from Feb. 1, 1815 to March 31, 1816 was a 50% surcharge to defray the costs of the War of 1812. The base single letter rate without the surcharge, established by the postal rate act of 1799, was 12-1/2 cents for 90-150 miles.

The docketing indicates that the letter contained addresses of the disbanded officers of the US Army, and includes the date 15th June 1815. There is no specific indication on the cover of free frank privilege, but since no rate was applied in Philadelphia, and given that a number of War Department officials had the privilege, it seems likely that this is a free frank cover. However, the privilege apparently did not apply to the forwarding, hence the postage calculation in Savannah.

The three dates seen are not mutually consistent if all are in the same year. It is likely that one of the two postmarks had the wrong month slug inserted.

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