Issue Date: July 1, 1963
City: Gettysburg, PA
Quantity: 79,905,000
Printed by: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Giori Press
Perforations: 11
Color: Gray and blue

 

U.S. #1180 honors the Battle of Gettysburg. The stamp image is the result of the first nationwide contest sponsored by the Post Office Department inviting professional artists to design a U.S. postage stamp. Pictured are a Confederate soldier on a gray background and Union soldier on a blue background.

 

The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point in the American Civil War. General George C. Meade commanded a Union army of about 90,000 men against General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army of 75,000. The two forces met by accident in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Both sides suffered terrible casualties, 22,800 men from the North and 22,600 from the South. However, the Confederates lost the battle. The Confederate army was battered and unable to recover from the loss. The South was never again able to launch a major offensive.