USPS issue remembers the past and present of Revolutionary War battlefields

By Scott Tiffney

On April 16 in Concord, Mass., the United States Postal Service will honor five battlefields of the American Revolution with 15 nondenominated (73¢) forever commemorative stamps to be issued in a pane of 15. The pane includes watercolor paintings featuring scenes of five battlefields appearing beside more recent photographs of the historic sites.

“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 we prepare to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, we honor the battlefields where so many sacrificed to make our celebration possible,” the Postal Service said in providing the historical context for the new issue.

A first-day ceremony for the Battlefields of the American Revolution issue is scheduled on April 16 at the Minute Man National Historical Park’s North Bridge Visitor Center, 174 Liberty St., Concord, Mass., at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The outdoor ceremony is free and open to the public.

Those wishing to attend the ceremony are asked to register online with the USPS. Postal Service vice president of corporate affairs Judy de Torok will be the dedicating official.

Designed by USPS art director Derry Noyes, the pane includes five rows of three stamps each, with each row showing one of the five battles of the Revolutionary War: Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Trenton, Saratoga and Yorktown.

In a press release for the new issue, the USPS hopes these stamps encourage the public to visit these historic locations as a remembrance of the nation’s foundational history. “Many battlefields have been preserved or restored as national, state, or local parks, or as private sites open to the public. Each one offers a profound and highly personal opportunity to retrace the steps of those who fought, hear echoes of hard-won victories and devastating losses, and keep their memory alive,” the USPS said.

In the blue selvage area of the pane, the name and date of each battle appear to the right of each row of stamps. In the upper right corner of the pane is a Dec. 18, 1776, quote from Thomas Paine from his essay “The American Crisis,” which reads: “These are the times that try men’s souls; the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

Each row features a recent photograph, alternating down the pane from the far left to far right position in each row, of a location commemorating each battlefield site. Spanning the adjacent two stamps in each row is a watercolor illustration, done by artist Greg Harlin, of a scene associated with that battlefield.

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