I chose a Trumbull battle scene for my Fourth offering. At the battle of Bunker Hill, the British were bloodied and changed the wat they fought to lose less and the Americans realized to just stay in the game till the British tire. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and raise the flag. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp is issue A967, a 10 cent stamp showing the Battle of Bunker Hill outside Boston in 1775. It was part of a series of stamps honoring the American Bicentennial in 1976. It is worth 25 cents whether mint or used.
The Battle of Bunker Hill came about when rebelling colonists tried to fortify the hills overlooking British held Boston. The British succeeded in taking the hill the same day but at a cost of shocking casualties. After this battle, the British changed their tactics to not confront dug in troops as much. This allowed the Continental Army to break away and escape from many encounters that otherwise might have spelled doom. The British also resolved to hire more mercenaries to fill out their ranks and further limit British casualties.
John Trumbull was an artist and a veteran of the Continental Army. He was the son of the Governor of Connecticut and attended Harvard. His paintings of American Revolutionary figures and battles are synonymous with the time. Other paintings of his grace the back of the two dollar bill and the Hamilton portrait on the ten. Post war he plied his trade in London and Paris but was only financially secure when he sold a large group of paintings to Yale in exchange for an annuity. Trumbull got his own stamp in 1968.
Well remembering the sacrifice that the painting and it’s stamp showed. It is time to watch the parade. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.