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| Paul Cameron |
Do you even know who Paul Cameron is? In 1860, he was
considered the wealthiest man in North Carolina. He reportedly owned 30,000
acres, and up to 1,900 slaves. According
to the 1860 census, his real estate was valued at $195,000, and his personnel
property at $72,000 (which is probably low). He also had plantations in Alabama
and Mississippi. Cameron was born in 1808 in Orange County and inherited a considerable fortune. But he
was not an idle aristocrat. He attended
the University of North Carolina and eventually graduated from Trinity College
in Connecticut. Cameron studied law, but according to one bio, never practiced.
He devoted himself to managing his plantations. He was also interested in
railroads, helping to promote the North
Carolina Railroad, and was a director of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and
the Augusta Air Line. He also owned considerable stock in two different banks,
and in several textile miles. Cameron married Anne Ruffin in 1832. She was the
daughter of Thomas Ruffin, chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Only
once did Cameron run for office, serving in the North Carolina Senate in 1856
and 1857.
If you have ever visited Historic Stagville, near Durham,
you might have heard of Cameron. It was the house in which he was born, and one
of several that he later owned.
Recently, I visited Stagville for the second time. It was on
a Friday afternoon, and according to the sign, we had just missed the last tour
of the day. I had been to the site a year earlier, and the tours were running a
little later, and had managed to catch the better part of that tour. On this
trip, we had to content ourselves with looking over the displays in the visitor
center and walking the grounds about the house.
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| Stagville |
In the visitor center, there was not one single mention of
Paul Cameron. Now, having caught most of the tour last year, I know that he is
mentioned there, as owner of the house, but every single exhibit in the visitor
center was about his slaves. Now, don't get me wrong, slavery is an important
part of our National story. Without slaves, who would have built out
courthouses and universities, or provided the counties and states where their
masters lived the money from taxes to take on these capital projects? Without
slaves, who would have picked the cotton the fired the industrial revolution in
the North? Without slaves, there would not have been the need for the massive
amount of textile mills, who were turning out "negro cloth" in huge
numbers to clothe the slaves in the South. Slavery is, unfortunately, a part of
the history of us. And it needs to be interpreted and understood as a complex
and many-faceted academic topic as well as a real human concern that affected
the lives of real people with their own unique, often tragic, stories.
However, in my opinion, to totally expunge the story of Paul
Cameron (and his ancestors) out the equation, is inexcusable. What were
Cameron's contributions to the War? I see a brief mention of some of his slaves
being conscripted to work on costal fortifications. And there is a mention of
Federal forces raiding the Stagville (and others, I assume) for supplies
towards the end of the war. Give us one board (with photos) tell us about his
life, and the role of the community during the War years. Did Cameron sell
foodstuffs to North Carolina or to the Confederate government? While Cameron
himself did not serve (too old), and his sons were too young, how about other
people in the community? Or, other members of his extended family? Did he have
overseers who resigned and headed off to the war? I read someplace that Cameron
was a Whig prior to the war. Did he even support secession and the Southern
Confederacy? The Southern Historical Collection has the Cameron family papers.
Surely somewhere in those 33,000 pieces are the answers to a few of those
questions. The general public wants to know more.
PS: If you work at Stagville, it is usually common courtesy
to break away from the computer and at least acknowledge visitors when they
show up. Yes, it was about 3:30 on Friday. But, well, you never know who might
walk through that door. It might just be a family killing time between
science fair competitions, or it might be an award-winning author and historian
hoping to ask questions and learn more about your site. It our case, it was
both, which you might have noticed if you had bothered to say hello or even make
eye contact while we were in your visitor's center.
General's Lee's
Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of
Northern Virginia is set for release on December 3, 2017. I'm really
looking forward to getting the proofs this summer. More details about ordering
signed copies and maybe about scheduling a visit to your area, will come later
this year. I am really looking forward to seeing this project in print. The
story has been part of my life for over 20 years. 
Kirk's War: The Civil
War Along the North Carolina-Tennessee Border (proposed title) is what my
winter (and now spring) project has been. It's been interesting diving into
some local history and folklore, trying to capture the War as it raged across
the border area. I hope to wrap up the battle of Red Banks next week and move
on to 1865. This book is being published by the History Press. 
