Page "Postage stamps and postal history of the United States" Paragraph 11

In 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster General, the U. S. Post Office was born.

So important was the Postmaster General that in 1829 this position was included among those in the President's Cabinet.

As America began to grow and new towns and villages began to appear, so too did the Post Office along with them.

The dates and postmarks generated from these places often has provided the historian with a window into a given time and place in question.

Each postmark is uniquely distinctive with its own name of state and town, in addition to its distinctive date.

Post Offices that existed along railroad lines and at various military posts have their own special historical aspect.

Mail and postmarks generated from prisoner of war camps during the Civil War, or from aboard Naval ships, each with a U. S. Post Office aboard, can and have offered amazing insights into United States history and are avidly sought after by historians and collectors alike.