1861-5 Confederate States Cover CSA Captain John C. Winsmith 1st South Carolina Volunteers (1865 Militia Brig. General)

1861-5 Confederate Cover Blue Petersburg, Virginia circular date stamp &  "10" from Captain John Christopher Winsmith, 1st South Carolina Volunteers to Miss Kate Winsmith, envelope has a homemade blue flap affixed to the previously opened envelope.  Envelope has no contents. Condition as pictured. Homemade Cover-flap Blue 10 & Circle Petersburg, Virginia CDS "10" CSA

Captain John Christopher Winsmith (Winn Smith) (1802-1888), son of a South Carolina politician and grandson of a South Carolina Congressman had a storied career as a Confederate officer in the Civil War.  The 1st South Carolina was involved in some of the fiercest campaigns, including Second Manassas/Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg.  He was wounded at Sharpsburg September 16, 1862 and again at Fort Harrison in 1864. He was appointed to brigadier general of state militia in South Carolina in 1865 and served for one year.  After the war he tuned to law angered many by joining the Republican Party and defending the civil rights of now free black American citizens.

http://cwmemory.com/2013/01/28/john-christopher-winsmith-rejects-secession-and-embraces-the-republican-party/

http://cwmemory.com/2020/09/05/desertion-and-coercion-in-a-confederate-company/