Petersburg, Va. 5¢ red 65X1 tied by blue PETERSBURG Va JAN 25 (1862) circular datestamp on fresh blue outer folded lettersheet to Judge Thomas Ruffin “Alamance” PO, Alamance Co., No Ca,” 2008 Philatelic Foundation certificate, Very Fine. $2,250.

Judge Thomas Ruffin (1824-1889) was a lawyer, North Carolina Supreme Court Justice, and Confederate officer. He was born in Hillsborough, the fourth son of Chief Justice Thomas and Anne Kirkland Ruffin. He was the grandson of Sterling Ruffin, who had been a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Young Ruffin graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1844. He studied law for a year under his father and brother William before moving to Morganton, where he prepared for the bar. In 1846, Ruffin settled in Yanceyville to begin his practice, but in 1848 moved to Wentworth to become the partner of John H. Dillard. In 1850–51, he represented Rockingham County in the North Carolina House of Commons. On 20 April 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, Ruffin enlisted as a private in the 27th Regiment but was promoted to captain of the Alamance Company of the Thirteenth Regiment on 8 May. He resigned his commission in October 1861, when urged by Governor Henry T. Clark to fill a vacant superior court judgeship. He served on the court until March 1862, when he was appointed lieutenant colonel of his regiment; later that year, he was promoted to full colonel as regimental commander. Ruffin led the 13th Regiment in the battles of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and South Mountain. In September 1862, he was severely wounded, forcing him to resign his command six months later. He was soon appointed presiding judge of General E. Kirby Smith's corps, making him one of only three North Carolinians to serve on a Confederate military court. Ruffin remained in that post until the end of the war, when he returned to his law practice in Graham.