Stand Watie...who?

Being on a postage stamp is an honor that sticks“One of the fascinating aspects of my job is when a new subject is brought forward,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said ‘Who?’ We try to use the stamp program as an educational tool, to get these people known and tell their story.”

In 1995, for instance, the Postal Service produced a 20-stamp series on the Civil War. It issued stamps of Gen. Robert E. Lee, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln, of course.

But they also made a stamp of a man named Stand Watie.

Who?

Watie was the only American Indian to attain the rank of brigadier general during the Civil War and was the last Confederate general to surrender. On the back liner of Watie’s stamp—as on selected other stamps—the Postal Service included a brief biography.