Woodville to Heligoland

Iam writing to congratulate you on your excellent article from April 29th 2018 titled: “Foreigner’s diary describes ‘sufferings’ of Rappahannock County during Civil War.”

I came upon your article while researching this interesting philatelic item below. As you will notice, the item is a newspaper wrapper sent from the small Island of Heligoland (which has a very storied past far disproportionate to its minute size).

Of interest here is the fact that the wrapper is addressed to Colonel Lyon Fremantle, Coldstream Guards, England. Unfortunately, there is no way to date this item precisely, however these Heligoland newspaper wrappers (above) were first issued on the 13th February 1878 and were used til the 10th of August 1890.

Fremantle died September 25th

1901.

So what brought him to Heligoland: the health spas and bathing beaches, perhaps a stop over on a European speaking tour or simply visiting military friends?

Perhaps a visit to the Coldstream Guards in England and searching through their archives might give an answer, but for now it remains a mystery.

Thank you again for your beautiful and informative article. Hope you find my item interesting. Serge Houde

Vancouver, Canada

Editor’s note:

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, a member of the H.M. Coldstream Guards, was 28 years old and on military leave from the British Army when he arrived in Brownsville, Texas, three months before the Battle of Gettysburg. Virtually a tourist at wartime, his risky sojourn eventually took him through Woodville (where he spent a miserable night), Sperryville and beyond. He would sit around the campfires of the Civil War’s top generals, Union and Confederate alike, gaining the trust of Robert E. Lee, no less. The diary Fremantle kept would ultimately be heralded as one of the most thorough examinations of the South during wartime, including its observations of Rappahannock County — its people, farms (or what remained of them), and scenic vistas.