AN AMERICAN CIVIL WAR SECRET MESSAGE LETTER, AUGUST 23, 1863, CONFEDERATE, ink on paper, correspondence from Private W.M. Hay, of the 5th Mounted Infantry Regiment, sent from Stanford, Kentucky, to Private Harvey K. Hay, of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Prisoner of War, Camp Douglas, Illinois, a secret message under an 1861 Rose three cent stamp, "It is impossible for me to escape," with an original COA for stamp from The Philatelic Foundation Expert Comittee, New York, NY, 1989. 3" x 5 1/4" NOTE: "The 6th Cavalry Regiment was organized during the summer of 1862 with men from the central and eastern section of Kentucky. It was mustered into Confederate service in September. For a time the unit skirmished in Kentucky attached to Buford's Brigade, then it fought with J.H. Morgan. Most of its members were captured at Buffington Island on July 19, and the remaining part at New Lisbon on July 26, 1863. The regiment was not reorganized. Its commanders were Colonel J. Warren Grigsby, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas W. Napier, and Major William G. Bullitt" and "5th Infantry Regiment, assembled during the late summer of 1861, included Freeman's Kentucky Infantry Battalion. Its members were raised in the counties of Pendleton, Breathitt, Morgan, Magoffin, Bath, Owen, Grant, Jessamine, Henderson, Harrison, Shelby, and Franklin. Being a twelve-month unit, when it became time to reenlist some of its members refused and were transferred to the 9th Kentucky Regiment. Later men of the 5th did reenlist for the duration of the war. It became part of the Orphan Brigade or Louisville Legion. The regiment reported 134 casualties in the Battle of Shiloh, then was active at Baton Rouge before being assigned to Kelly's and J.H. Lewis' Brigade, Army of Tennessee. It was prominent at Chickamauga and later took an active part in the Atlanta Campaign. In the fall of 1864 it was mounted, aided in the defense at Savannah, and fought in the Carolinas. The unit had 91 men disabled at Chickamauga, totalled 201 men and 165 arms in December, 1863, and surrendered on April 26, 1865. Its field officers were Colonels Hiram Hawkins, Andrew J. May, and John S. Williams; Lieutenant Colonels John W. Caldwell and George W. Conner' and Majors Richard Hawes and William Mynheir." Source: nps.gov.

Some handling smudges, toning of paper, a few small holes in the creases of letter, but overall in very good condition, wear commensurate with age.

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