When the American Civil War started, Cameron became a drillmaster with the Missouri Minute Men at Camp Jackson. On May 9, 1861, U.S. Army captain Nathaniel Lyon dispersed the secessionists during what became known as the Camp Jackson affair, during which Cameron was captured but soon released.
Returning to Virginia on June 14, 1861, Cameron was elected as the second lieutenant of Co D, 12th Virginia Infantry, formerly a militia group in his native Petersburg. His militia company did not re-elect him during its reorganization. Instead, on May 1, 1862, he was promoted to first lieutenant and appointed regimental adjutant. Severely wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run on September 30, 1862, Cameron was temporarily promoted to captain and assistant adjutant general upon returning to duty in June 1863. He would serve under Brigadier General William Mahone throughout the rest of the war, with his rank confirmed on November 2, 1863.[3][4]
Marriage and familyedit
After the war, Cameron returned to Petersburg, where he married Louisa Clarinda Egerton (1846–1908) on October 1, 1868. They had three children.
Lawyer and journalistedit
Cameron read the law under Judge William T. Joynes and was admitted to the Virginia bar. Although Cameron began a legal practice, he also began a newspaper career, editing first the Petersburg Index, then the Richmond Enquirer and Richmond Whig.[5]
In 1869, Cameron fought a duel with Robert William Hughes after Cameron criticized Hughes in print for opportunism: he had changed his political views from pre-war Secessionist to post-war Republican.[6] According to the writer Frank Luther Mott,
[T]he parties met at Chester Station, on the Petersburg Railroad; but, before they could exchange a shot, the police made their appearance, and caused a flight of the parties. They passed into North Carolina, where they fought on the 12th of June with pistols. Cameron was hit in the breast at the first fire, the ball striking a rib and glancing. Hughes demanded another fire, but the surgeons declared that Cameron could not deliver another shot, and the affair ended 'to the satisfaction of all parties.'[7]
Political careeredit
Cameron became active in the Readjuster Party led by his former commander, William Mahone. Petersburg voters elected him mayor and re-elected him several times, so he served from 1876 to 1882.
In 1881, he was the gubernatorial candidate of the Readjuster Party and elected governor with biracial support defeating John Warwick Daniel (who represented the state Funder faction, a group who wanted to pay the debt and its interest in whole) by nearly 6% of the vote. During his term from 1882–1886, he attempted to implement his party's debt reduction programs and racial integration in certain areas. In 1882 it led to the passage of legislation for a land-grant college for blacks, what is now Virginia State University in Ettrick, near Petersburg.
On February 17, 1882, Cameron personally led a successful anti-oyster pirate expedition of two boats and armed state militia in the ongoing Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake Bay, capturing seven ships. The state had attempted to license and control traffic in the popular seafood, but 5,800 Virginia oyster boats often disregarded laws related to trying to preserve the harvest.[8] An attempt at a repeat raid the following year ended in Cameron's steamships unsuccessfully racing the "laughing lasses" of the pirate sailboat Dancing Molly.[9] His embarrassment was compounded by the fact that none of the alleged pirates captured in the second raid were convicted, but Cameron persevered and helped form the Board on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries to enforce oyster law.[8]
After his term as governor ended in 1886, Cameron briefly left Virginia. He returned and resumed a career in politics, but as a conservative Democrat. Cameron represented Petersburg in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901–1902. At this time, the Democrat-dominated legislature created a disfranchising constitution and essentially ended black voting. The Republican Party, which had made a brief and small comeback after the collapse of the Readjusters, ceased to be competitive in the state.
^Matt Mckinney. "I'm hit!": Meet 3 former Virginian-Pilot editors who fought in duels, The Virginian-Pilot, December 17, 2017
^Mott, Frank (2000). American Journalism: A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years, 1690–1940. Routledge/Thoemmes Press. ISBN0-415-24144-8.
^ abMoore, James Tice (July 1982). "Gunfire on the Chesapeake: Governor Cameron and the Oyster Pirates, 1882–1885". The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 90 (3): 367–377. JSTOR 4248570.
^Goodall, Jamie L. H. (24 February 2020). Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay : From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars (Paperback ed.). History Press US. pp. 118–119. ISBN978-1467141161.
william, cameron, other, people, named, william, cameron, william, cameron, disambiguation, william, evelyn, cameron, november, 1842, january, 1927, confederate, soldier, became, virginia, lawyer, journalist, politician, served, 39th, governor, virginia, from,. For other people named William Cameron see William Cameron disambiguation William Evelyn Cameron November 29 1842 January 25 1927 was a Confederate soldier who became a Virginia lawyer journalist and politician He served as the 39th Governor of Virginia from 1882 1886 elected as the candidate of the Readjuster Party headed by William Mahone 1 William Evelyn Cameron39th Governor of VirginiaIn office January 1 1882 January 1 1886LieutenantJohn F LewisPreceded byFrederick W M HollidaySucceeded byFitzhugh LeePersonal detailsBornNovember 29 1842Petersburg Virginia USADiedJanuary 25 1927 aged 84 Louisa County Virginia USAPolitical partyReadjuster DemocraticSpouseLouisa CameronProfessionPolitician Lawyer JournalistMilitary serviceRankUnit12th Virginia InfantryAllegiance Confederate States Contents 1 Early life and education 1 1 American Civil War 1 2 Marriage and family 2 Lawyer and journalist 3 Political career 4 Death and legacy 5 Notes and referencesEarly life and education editWilliam Evelyn Cameron was born in Petersburg Virginia His parents were cotton broker Walker Anderson Cameron and Elizabeth Page Walker He attended local private classical schools operated by Charles Campbell and Thomas D Davidson before being sent to Hillsboro North Carolina to attend the North Carolina Military Institute in 1858 The following year he attended Washington College in St Louis Missouri then became a clerk on a Mississippi River steamboat Tutored By then Captain John F Reynolds Cameron received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point New York but did not attend choosing to fight for the Confederacy against the U S Army 2 American Civil War edit When the American Civil War started Cameron became a drillmaster with the Missouri Minute Men at Camp Jackson On May 9 1861 U S Army captain Nathaniel Lyon dispersed the secessionists during what became known as the Camp Jackson affair during which Cameron was captured but soon released Returning to Virginia on June 14 1861 Cameron was elected as the second lieutenant of Co D 12th Virginia Infantry formerly a militia group in his native Petersburg His militia company did not re elect him during its reorganization Instead on May 1 1862 he was promoted to first lieutenant and appointed regimental adjutant Severely wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run on September 30 1862 Cameron was temporarily promoted to captain and assistant adjutant general upon returning to duty in June 1863 He would serve under Brigadier General William Mahone throughout the rest of the war with his rank confirmed on November 2 1863 3 4 Marriage and family edit After the war Cameron returned to Petersburg where he married Louisa Clarinda Egerton 1846 1908 on October 1 1868 They had three children Lawyer and journalist editCameron read the law under Judge William T Joynes and was admitted to the Virginia bar Although Cameron began a legal practice he also began a newspaper career editing first the Petersburg Index then the Richmond Enquirer and Richmond Whig 5 In 1869 Cameron fought a duel with Robert William Hughes after Cameron criticized Hughes in print for opportunism he had changed his political views from pre war Secessionist to post war Republican 6 According to the writer Frank Luther Mott T he parties met at Chester Station on the Petersburg Railroad but before they could exchange a shot the police made their appearance and caused a flight of the parties They passed into North Carolina where they fought on the 12th of June with pistols Cameron was hit in the breast at the first fire the ball striking a rib and glancing Hughes demanded another fire but the surgeons declared that Cameron could not deliver another shot and the affair ended to the satisfaction of all parties 7 Political career editCameron became active in the Readjuster Party led by his former commander William Mahone Petersburg voters elected him mayor and re elected him several times so he served from 1876 to 1882 In 1881 he was the gubernatorial candidate of the Readjuster Party and elected governor with biracial support defeating John Warwick Daniel who represented the state Funder faction a group who wanted to pay the debt and its interest in whole by nearly 6 of the vote During his term from 1882 1886 he attempted to implement his party s debt reduction programs and racial integration in certain areas In 1882 it led to the passage of legislation for a land grant college for blacks what is now Virginia State University in Ettrick near Petersburg On February 17 1882 Cameron personally led a successful anti oyster pirate expedition of two boats and armed state militia in the ongoing Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake Bay capturing seven ships The state had attempted to license and control traffic in the popular seafood but 5 800 Virginia oyster boats often disregarded laws related to trying to preserve the harvest 8 An attempt at a repeat raid the following year ended in Cameron s steamships unsuccessfully racing the laughing lasses of the pirate sailboat Dancing Molly 9 His embarrassment was compounded by the fact that none of the alleged pirates captured in the second raid were convicted but Cameron persevered and helped form the Board on the Chesapeake and its Tributaries to enforce oyster law 8 After his term as governor ended in 1886 Cameron briefly left Virginia He returned and resumed a career in politics but as a conservative Democrat Cameron represented Petersburg in the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1901 1902 At this time the Democrat dominated legislature created a disfranchising constitution and essentially ended black voting The Republican Party which had made a brief and small comeback after the collapse of the Readjusters ceased to be competitive in the state Cameron edited the Norfolk Virginian Pilot newspaper from 1906 to 1919 Death and legacy editWilliam Evelyn Cameron died on January 25 1927 at the home of one of his sons in Louisa County Virginia 10 He was buried at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg His executive papers are held by the Library of Virginia 11 Notes and references edit Tice Moore James William Evelyn Cameron 1842 1927 Encyclopedia Virginia Retrieved 13 July 2015 William D Henderson 12th Virginia Infantry 1984 ISBN 0 930919 12 2 p 115 Henderson p 115 Robert E Leitch William Evelyn Cameron A biography Richmond 1939 Henderson p 115 Matt Mckinney I m hit Meet 3 former Virginian Pilot editors who fought in duels The Virginian Pilot December 17 2017 Mott Frank 2000 American Journalism A History of Newspapers in the United States Through 250 Years 1690 1940 Routledge Thoemmes Press ISBN 0 415 24144 8 a b Moore James Tice July 1982 Gunfire on the Chesapeake Governor Cameron and the Oyster Pirates 1882 1885 The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 90 3 367 377 JSTOR 4248570 Goodall Jamie L H 24 February 2020 Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars Paperback ed History Press US pp 118 119 ISBN 978 1467141161 Milestones Feb 7 1927 Time 1927 02 07 ISSN 0040 781X Retrieved 2023 01 19 A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor William E Cameron 1882 1885 The Library of Virginia Party political officesFirst Readjuster nominee for Governor of Virginia1881 Succeeded byNonePolitical officesPreceded byFrederick W M Holliday Governor of Virginia1882 1886 Succeeded byFitzhugh Lee Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William E Cameron amp oldid 1176529391, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
