the issues for Bunker Hill and Saratoga, as well). A painting-format stamp was issued January 3, 1977 for Washington's successful battle at Princeton. Similarly painting stamps were issued to commemorate the Battle of Oriskany and the Battle of Saratoga. Four stamps were issued on July 4 to honor craftsmen with the legend "Skilled Hands for Independence". Additional stamps honored the Articles of Confederation and the arrival of Lafayette. One of the Christmas stamps that year, though not formally part of the series, showed Washington kneeling at Valley Forge. By 1978, not only was the nation losing interest in the Bicentennial, but most of the events familiar to citizens from school history books had already had their bicentennials pass. Only a single stamp, noting the French Alliance, was issued that year. One Bicentennial stamp was issued in 1979, depicting John Paul Jones. The next stamp issue would not occur until 1981, when two stamps marked the Battle of Yorktown. The final stamp in the series, noting the Treaty of Paris in the painting format, was issued in 1983. A number of items of postal stationery were issued. Notably, the USPS found issuance of postal stationery a convenient way of marking the bicentennial of some of the more obscure, but important battles of the war (such as 1781's Battle of Cowpens) without the need to issue a stamp. Instead, a postal card was issued. A number of other issues, while not part of the series themselves, had Bicentennial themes. The standard definitive postal card, throughout the Bicentennial Era, honored figures of that time such as John Hancock and Charles Thomson. The 7.7 cent coil stamp for bulk rate issued in 1976 contains the inscription "Beat the Drum for Liberty and the Spirit of 76" (it depicts a drum). Envelopes, cards, and aerogrammes all had Bicentennial themes. References External links Postage stamps of the United States Works about the American Revolution United States Bicentennial