History of Virginia on stamps

The design adopted in 1861 is deep blue field containing a circular white center bordered with a garland and the Latin motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis", Thus always to tyrants.

The 5-cent portrays Pocahontas, who was instrumental in the colony's survival: her marriage to John Rolfe of tobacco fame resulted in peaceful relations between the settlers and the neighboring Powhatan tribes throughout her lifetime.

[4] The engraved portrait of Pocahontas is modeled on a likeness by Simon Van de Passe created in 1616, which appeared in a book published by John Smith in 1624.

[8] The issue realized a design drawn by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on White House stationery, faithfully reflecting his accompanying written suggestions that the stamp be baby blue in color and square in shape.

[9] Widow Martha Custis married George Washington enhancing his status as a colonial gentleman, from which he launched his public career.

The draft was completed in York Town, Pennsylvania on November 15, 1777, but it was not finally approved until Maryland ratified five years later, after Virginia and other states with western claims ceded territory to the U.S.

The design was taken from the Julius Brutus Stearns' painting showing the signers, including Virginians George Washington and James Madison.

The remaining four states including Virginia, the largest, New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified by 1790, following guarantees that the Constitution would be amended with a Bill of Rights.

The distinctive barbell-shaped building shown in the stamp had allotted the mirror image footprint for the royal governor's council proceedings versus the colonial Virginia legislature.

[38] James Monroe, the fourth president of the United States, was first honored on a 3-cent U.S. postage stamp on April 30, 1904, as a part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Issue.

The Northwest Territory as defined by the Ordinance of 1787—that is, the U.S. lands recognized in the Treaty of Paris (1783) north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi—was commemorated on its 150th anniversary with a stamp issued on July 13, 1937.

The senior commander of the U.S. army at the onset of the American Civil War was Winfield Scott, author of the Anaconda Plan (seen in commemorative above).

The image used for the stamp was inspired by two Library of Congress prints, one for his facial features, the other for Lee's civilian attire, by passing the uniform controversy of the earlier army commemorative.

Fifty northwestern counties of Virginia whose population had been underrepresented in the General Assembly were successfully admitted to the Union as a new state on June 20, 1863.

The same scene is reproduced on a 3-cent stamp on July 11, 1945, a group of Marines raising the U.S. flag over Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The super carrier of the Forrestal class with escort vessels is featured at sea in the Atlantic Ocean approaching a map of the Hampton Roads.

[60] Virginians gained fame in careers away from Virginia and at home, including Texas statesman Sam Houston, Naval officer Hispanic David G. Farragut, educators Booker T. Washington and Carter G. Woodson, poet Edgar Allan Poe, artist Grandma Moses, army doctor Walter Reed, athlete Arthur Ashe, explorers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and Richard E. Byrd and military leaders George C. Marshall and "Chesty" Puller.

In January 1862 he commanded the capture of New Orleans, in July 1863 he forced surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and in 1864 he won Mobile Bay.

During the Cold War, he served as Truman's secretary of state, overseeing the "Marshall Plan" for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize.

A poll of 100 distinguished Americans including public leaders, presidents of state universities and historians helped determine the selection.

[78] George Washington's quote is featured on the first 4-cent stamp in the American Credo Series, issued on January 20, 1960, at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

[80] Patrick Henry's quote is featured on the sixth 4-cent stamp in the American Credo series, issued on January 11, 1961, at Richmond, Virginia.

The vignette shows the east, "River Front" of the building, designed by William K. Shrage of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, from a photograph.

Washington inherited the place on his brother's death; Lawrence had named it for his commander in the British Navy, Admiral Edward Vernon.

Stratford Hall, Robert E. Lee's ancestral home, was the background vignette for the 4-cent Army commemorative stamp issued March 23, 1937.

[101] On all subsequent definitive issues released between 1870 and 1932, Washington's was the sole image to appear on the stamp covering the normal letter rate (2-cents or 3-cents).

Many of these stamps exist in multiple variants: the 5-cent value shown here, first issued in December, 1908, eventually ran in seventeen versions, differentiated by papers, coils, watermarks and perforations.

[105] The public objected that the heavy shading around the lower part of the face made Washington look unshaven, and so, a lightened version of the issue appeared in November 1967.

Used for large, foreign letter rate parcels, this stamp was reissued during World War I to meet the demand for postage for machine parts mailed to Russia.

At the first day ceremony, three hundred carrier pigeons were released to state capitals within a five-hundred mile range, arriving before the regular mails.