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William
The City of Petersburg made sixteen trips.”While the ships ran munitions and other supplies through the blockade to support the Confederate war effort, they also ran tobacco, cotton, and other valuables to England on their return voyages. The revenue helped fund the Confederate war effort and keep southern businesses afloat. It and the Old Dominion are
reported to have been carrying an estimated 1,800 bales of cotton “said to be in payment of the interest for the Rebel loan” per the Army & Navy Journal on September 17, 1864, when they arrived in Halifax a week prior. McKenna indicates the
steamer headed to Halifax again in January 1865 “with a number of prominent Confederates, including Joseph E. Hunt, who carried $20,000 in British gold with him.”
With the end of hostilities, William Cameron also traveled to Europe in May of 1865 and then to Australia on an 18 month trip to expand their business operations abroad, eventually opening factories in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney in Australia
with his brothers. They also had factories in Virginia, Kentucky, and England, and Cameron had a contract with the Royal Navy after the Civil War. Cameron tobacco products were sold around the globe and are listed as supplying 75% of the manufactured tobacco
consumed in India and Australia at one point in the 19th century. William Cameron applied for a presidential pardon in 1867. He was on the Petersburg Common Council in 1888-1892 and served as the chair for the Committee on Gas and Light. He moved to
Washington, D.C., in October of 1892. The revolver was previously accompanied by now absent letters and documents discussing the recovery of the revolver by George Cameron and a receipt for it and their involvement in the tobacco trade and blockade
running.
CONDITION: Very fine with 85% original gold plating on the frame and barrel, traces of original gilding on the cylinder and
loading lever, crisp engraving and markings throughout, strong niter blue on the small parts, mostly bright hammer, gray and brown patina on the balance, some light spotting, and mild age and storage related wear. The grip is also very fine and has attractive natural grain, a couple of small spots of insect damage, and light handling wear. Mechanically excellent. The case and accessories are very also fine with aged patina on the brass fittings, some split divider corners, bright gold on the mold, and generally minor age and storage related wear. This is an incredible presentation cased Adams revolver presented to a leading Virginian businessman just after the conclusion of the Civil War by the captain of a blockade runner.
Estimate: 15,000 - 25,000
95
Cameron Esq.
The Caledonian Mercury of Edinburgh, Scotland, under the heading “Arrival of
Another Blockade-Runner at Greenock” on March 25, 1865, indicates the City of
Petersburg arrived on March 22, 1865, and indicates the two blockade runners
returned to the United Kingdom due to the Union victories and impending defeat
of the Confederacy. An article titled “The Perils of Blockade Running” in the April 3,
1865, issue of the Sheffield & Rotherham Independent indicates these two sister ships
were blockade runners based in Bermuda and indicates that the City of Petersburg
“although fired upon by the blockading squadron each time she attempted to run in or
out of a blockaded part, was never once hit by a shot. She was repeatedly chased, but not
one of the much-talked-of Yankee steamers could ever come near her under ordinary circumstances.