Civil War Covers, Lt Hans P Jorgensen 15th Mass Vols, KIA Gettysburg 1863 For Sale

PAIR OF CIVIL WAR COVERS TO LT. HANS PETER JORGENSEN — 15TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS — LATER CAPTAIN, KILLED AT GETTYSBURG
Offered here is a remarkable pair of Civil War-era covers addressed to Lieut. H. P. Jorgensen of the 15th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Hans Peter Jorgensen (1827 - 1863)Born 12 Mar 1827 in Copenhagen, Kobenhavns Kommune, Hovedstaden, DenmarkDied 2 Jul 1863 at age 36 in Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA
The recipient was Hans Peter Jorgensen, a Danish-born Union officer whose military career took him from the battlefields of Europe to some of the hardest fighting of the American Civil War, culminating in his death at Gettysburg in July 1863.
Both covers bear 3-cent rose/pink Washington stamps of the 1861 issue (Scott 65 type), interestingly affixed upside down on both envelopes. The covers are written in different hands, indicating correspondence from at least two different writers.
THE WHITE COVER
The second envelope bears a faint but readable ROCKVILLE, MD. / JAN 8 postmark and is likewise addressed to Lieut. H. P. Jorgensen, 15th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, Worcester, Mass.
The 3-cent Washington is again affixed upside down and tied by the postal cancellation.
Because Jorgensen was promoted from lieutenant to Captain on October 28, 1862, the lieutenant designation provides useful evidence for dating the cover. The Rockville January 8 usage is therefore quite plausibly January 8, 1862, although no year is visible in the postmark and the cover is not being represented as conclusively dated to that year. Massachusetts military records confirm his progression through the officer ranks and his October 1862 promotion to captain.
THE YELLOW COVER
The yellow/buff envelope is postmarked POOLESVILLE, MD., a strategically important Maryland community near the Potomac River that was heavily associated with Union military operations during the early Civil War.
It is addressed:
Lieut. H. P. Jorgensen15th Regt. Mass. Vols.WorcesterMass.
The 3-cent Washington is tied by the postal markings and bears a bold black killer. The Poolesville CDS is faint but enough of the town name is visible under magnification to identify it. Poolesville is particularly relevant to Jorgensen\'s story because the 15th Massachusetts served in the Poolesville area during the opening months of the war, before its disastrous engagement at Ball\'s Bluff.
WHO WAS HANS PETER JORGENSEN?
Hans Peter Jorgensen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and already had considerable military experience before coming to the United States.
A historical account of Leominster records that he had served in the Danish Army during the Schleswig-Holstein conflict and had been wounded twice while fighting the Prussians—once by a gunshot wound to the arm and once by a saber wound to the head.
After coming to America, Jorgensen enlisted in Company A of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a regiment closely associated with Worcester County.
He entered the regiment as an Orderly Sergeant.
At the Battle of Ball\'s Bluff on October 21, 1861, Jorgensen was wounded in the right arm. Following his recovery he performed recruiting duty and subsequently advanced through the commissioned ranks. Historical and Massachusetts military records document his promotions from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant and ultimately to Captain of Company A on October 28, 1862.
His wartime experience was extraordinary. Regimental accounts place him through a succession of major Army of the Potomac battles and campaigns including Ball\'s Bluff, Fair Oaks, the Seven Days fighting, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
Just before Gettysburg, on June 30, 1863, Jorgensen wrote optimistically of the approaching battle and of the reputation being earned by the 15th Massachusetts.
Within days he was dead.
Captain Hans Peter Jorgensen was killed in action at Gettysburg in July 1863 while serving with the 15th Massachusetts.
His remains were subsequently returned to Massachusetts. Historical accounts record their arrival at Leominster on July 17, followed by his funeral on July 23 with the State Guards performing escort duty.
Jorgensen is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Leominster, Massachusetts. His surviving monument identifies him as a native of Copenhagen and a Captain of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteers and commemorates his death at Gettysburg.
The City of Leominster\'s own Civil War history likewise records Jorgensen as a Copenhagen native, an orderly sergeant in the 15th Massachusetts, and a soldier wounded at Ball\'s Bluff.
These two envelopes therefore represent more than ordinary Scott 65 postal history. They are surviving pieces of correspondence addressed to a foreign-born Union volunteer, veteran of two wars, Ball\'s Bluff casualty, officer of the 15th Massachusetts and ultimately a Gettysburg fatality.
The fact that both covers originated in Montgomery County, Maryland—one at Poolesville and the other at Rockville—adds further Civil War postal-history interest, particularly given the 15th Massachusetts\' early service in the Poolesville area.
CONDITION
Both covers show normal age, toning, handling and wear consistent with Civil War-era postal history. The postmarks are faint but identifiable under magnification. Both 3-cent Washington stamps remain attached and show cancellations tying them to their respective envelopes. Please examine all photographs carefully for centering, perforations, postal markings and overall condition.
The covers are offered together as an historical pair and will not be separated.
PROVENANCE
From the collection of Dr. Allan C. “Doc” Johnson (1889-1941) of Clinton, Massachusetts, an active stamp collector during the early 20th century. Doc\'s collection has remained with his family for more than eight decades.
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