[AFRICAN AMERICANA] Civil War Officer & Young Man

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Day 2: Early & Historic Americana

By Fleischer's Auctions

Oct 10, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-10-10 09:00:00 2025-10-10 09:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Day 2: Early & Historic Americana https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/fleischers-auctions/day-2-early-historic-americana-19250
Day one of Fleischer's 2025 Fall Premier auction includes early American artifacts, documents, signatures, ephemera, and weaponry. Rare material relating to African American history is featured, as well as fine examples of antique photography. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com

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• Lot Description

  Albumen CDV studio full-length portrait of Lt. William Dumont of the Revenue-Marine Service and a young, African American boy. N.p. Unmarked. Pen inscription to lower recto margin reads “Now + Ever / Yours truly / Mich. 1863 / W.H. Dumont.”

   

  In this studio portrait, both subjects stand on a patterned floor in front of a bucolic painted backdrop scene. The young man wears a fur hat and carries a woven game basket and a lure bird. Dumont, wearing striped pants, cradles a Navy Sharps m1859 Carbine while he pours a drink.

  
  Due to location and likeness, the consignor believes the young man is possibly Isaac White. In 1863, Isaac White was one of several formerly enslaved children featured in photographs used to appeal to Northern donors interested in supporting schools for emancipated youth. Together with Rosina Downs, White was the subject of the portrait “Isaac and Rosa, Emancipated Slave Children, From the Free Schools of Louisiana.” In the 30 January 1864 edition of Harper’s Weekly, White was described as “a black boy of eight years; but none the less intelligent than his whiter companions. He has been in school about seven months, and I venture to say that not one boy in fifty would have made as much improvement in that space of time.”

  
  Lt. William Dumont (1840-1914) was born into a well-connected family in New York City. The descendants of men who fought for independence during the American Revolution, the Dumonts were affiliated with several of the city's oldest families. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Lt. Dumont enlisted with the Revenue Cutters, serving on the USS Kensington, a supply and water vessel. On 24 February 1862, the Kensington sailed from Boston, bound for the Gulf of Mexico. After a forced stop in Charleston, South Carolina, due to engine issues and inclement weather, the Kensington arrived in New Orleans on 4 May 1862. 

  
  The Kensington and her crew proved to be a valuable asset, delivering supplies and fresh water to Flag Officer David Farragut's blockade ships along the Gulf Coast. Towing the Horace Beals and Sarah Bruene on the Mississippi River, the Kensington took fire from Confederate batteries on 26 June 1862. Responding with cannon fire, the Kensington crew's efforts allowed Union forces to proceed to Vicksburg, providing supplies to Porter's Mortar Flotilla. During its time in the Gulf region, the Kensington captured several British blockade runners, including the Velocity, Adventure, Dart, and West Florida, as well as the Confederate vessels the Conchita, Dart, Mary Ann, Eliza, and Dan. The Kensington delivered water to blockade ships in Texas on its way to Pensacola in October 1862 and, during its operation in Florida, captured the Confederate schooner Course and the British schooner Maria. The Kensington returned to New Orleans in January 1863.

   

  [Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] 

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