Advertised Letters
The Confederate Act of 23 February 1861 and Section 181 of the Postal Regulations in the 1859 PL&R prescribed the circumstances for advertising letters and the fee for same.
Mail that was unclaimed at a post office was periodically advertised in a local newspaper. Such letters were marked “Advertised” and a fee of 2¢ charged the recipient when the mail was claimed. Some advertised markings include the 2¢ advertising fee.
Forwarded Letters
Section 64 of the Postal Regulations in the 1859 PL&R prescribed the circumstances under which mail could be forwarded and the charge for this service.
Letters could be forwarded only when requested by the addressee. Such letters were marked “Forwarded” and prepayment of the proper postage to the new address required. However, most were forwarded postage due.
An exception was mail addressed to a soldier and forwarded as a result of an official military movement. This type of mail was forwarded without charge.
Missent Mail
Section 64 of the Postal Regulations of the 1859 PL&R provided for the forwarding of missent letters without charge. Letters that were missent to the wrong post office were redirected without charge. Such letters were to be marked “missent” and “forwarded.” However, many times “forwarded” was not marked on the letter.
Private Express Mail
The Confederate Acts of 15 March 1861 and 19 April 1862 and Section 437 of the Postal Regulations in the 1859 PL&R prescribed the condition under which private express could carry mail.
Effective 1 June 1861 express companies were authorized to carry all mailable matter provided the Confederate postage was paid. The Act of 19 April 1862 rescinded this authorization and thus reinstated the provisions of the 1859 PL&R. This law authorized express companies to carry mail, provided they were in sealed stamped envelopes (postal stationary). Since the Confederate Post Office Department never prepared such envelopes express companies were effectively prohibited from carry mail after 19 April 1862. Despite the prohibition, express companies continued to carry mail throughout the war.
Trans-Mississippi Express Mail
The Confederate Act of 1 May 1863 authorized the postmaster general to establish express mail service across the Mississippi River for the “conveyance of letters and government dispatches only.” The rate was not to exceed $1.00 for a single letter of one-half ounce. Postmaster General set the rate at 40¢ per half ounce. Soldiers could not use this service without prepaying the full express mail postage.
This service did not replace the regular mail across the Mississippi. It continued to be carried at the regular postage rates.
Way Mail
Section 108 of the Postal Regulations in the 1859 PL&R prescribed the charges for way letters.
Way letters are those picked up between post offices by a mail carrier and delivered to the next post office on his route. Such letters were marked “Way” and charged 1¢ for the carrier in addition to the regular postage. The extra 1¢ was to be added to the postage, but this was rarely marked on the letter. Letters picked up by a steamboat or railroad between post offices were also classified as way letters but were not normally marked as such.
