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Central New York FDC Society
AFDCS Chapter 53
John A. Cali, 613 W. 4th St., Fulton, NY 13069-3104
rocket@dreamscape.com, 315-592-4441
CNY
FDCS
53
White Plains Commemorated Losing Battle
By Heather Sweeting
T
he Battle of White Plains, on October 28, 1776, pitted the British Army against
American troops led by Gen. George Washington. The British forced the Americans
to retreat northward from White Plains, New York, and were the victors of this skirmish.
The two-cent stamp (Scott No. 629) was issued to mark the 150th anniversary of the
battle. It was somewhat unusual that a stamp was issued in honor of a battle which the
U.S. did not win.
The design of the stamp was modeled after a painting by E. F. Ward showing four
soldiers in continental uniform and a cannon. There are two flags in the lower corners
of the stamp, the Continental flag (left side) and the “Liberty or Death” flag, first used
in the White Plains battle. Dr. Jason Parker of White Plains submitted the design to the
BEP for review.
The stamp was first
placed on sale October 18,
1926, at the White Plains
post office. A corresponding
souvenir sheet, the first ever
issued by the U.S. (Scott No.
630), was issued at the International
Philatelic Exhibition
held at Grand Central
Palace, New York City, from
October 16 to 23.
The souvenir sheet, of
which only a little more
than 100,000 were printed,
had 25 stamps and bore the
marginal inscription “International
Philatelic Exhibition, October 16 to 23, 1926, New York, N.Y., U.S.A.” Regular
sheets of this issue contained 100 stamps.
The first day covers of this stamp, which primarily bear the date October 18, were
among the first to be largely distributed with corresponding artwork on the envelope.
The concept of cachets on envelopes owes much of its lineage to this event.
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