thecivilwarparlor:

Valentine’s Day In The Civil War

The sending of Valentine’s Day cards, a tradition that is thought to have begun more than 20 years before Christopher Columbus went searching for America.

This Civil War-era Valentine features a portrait of General I.B. “The Fighting Duck” Richardson, a major general in the Union Army. This war-time Valentine envelope was postmarked Washington, D.C., of course.

http://www.worthpoint.com/books-paper-magazines/breathtaking-beauty-19th-century-valentines-day-cards

So you open up your valentine and there’s General Richardson, because romance

(Source: theamericanparlor)