1851 U.S 3¢ Washington imperforated, (vertical tear re-attached) tied by ”New York Jan (20)” datestamp on entire from MOSUL IRAQ MESOPOTAMIA to ST. LOUIS, U.S. Lower left ms ”STEAMER / D.W MARSH, MOSUL” 3 page letter, datelined ” Mosul, Mon. Nov. 23rd 1856 ”. The cover was taken to Bagdad per steamer along the Tigris and then carried by British dromedary service through the Syrian desert to Beirut where it was put on board a packet (postal route opened by the British in 1843 between Beirut and Bagdad). The letter travelled nearly 3 months till its final destination, St. Louis U.S. Written by the missionary Dwight Whitney Marsh who was posted at Mosul from 1850 to 1860. After graduating in 1849 he was sent by the The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (A.B.C.F.M) to reopen the station at Mosul, closed in 1845. He sailed from Boston December 7 1849, arrived in Smyrna Jan 20, and arrived in Mosul on March 29, 1850. His voyage went via Beirut (Lebanon), Iskenderoun, Aintab, and Ourfa. In 1852, Mr. Marsh went back to America, and was married in October to Julia White Peck, and brought out his bride early in 1853 to Mosul. On May 5th 1859, his only child, a boy of two, died, and then on August 12th of the same year, his beloved wife passed away in Mosul. It was a blow that led him to return to the U.S in 1860. During his stay in Mosul, Marsh acquired two Assyrian reliefs from Nimrud for his alma mater, saying he hoped students would ”look upon the relics of the past and think wisely of time”. The reliefs were the first of their kind to arrive in the U.S. In this letter the author makes reference to the Anglo-Persian war (Nov. 1 1856 - Apr. 4 1857) ”News from Persia and India is warlike but Persia will probably yield and England be saved the cost of another war - Persia ought to be humbled, she has treated England hautighly” He concludes the letter by saying ”I hope slavery will not prevail tomorrow” in reference to the U.S presidential elections which took place on the 4th Nov (18th quadrennial presidential election), where Democrat James Buchanan defeated Republican nominee John C. Frémont. THIS AMAZING 1856 COVER REPRESENTS THE EARLIEST USE OF A POSTAGE STAMP IN IRAQ AND THE ONLY KNOWN COVER TO BEAR A U.S STAMP. ONE OF THE MAJOR ITEMS OF IRAQ POSTAL HISTORY.
