William E. Cameron

William Evelyn Cameron
Portrait photograph of Governor William E. Cameron
39th Governor of Virginia
In office January 1, 1882 – January 1, 1886
Lieutenant	John F. Lewis
Preceded by	Frederick W. M. Holliday
Succeeded by	Fitzhugh Lee
Personal details
Born	November 29, 1842 Petersburg, Virginia, USA
Died	January 25, 1927 (aged 84) Louisa County, Virginia, USA
Political party	Readjuster Democratic
Spouse(s)	Louisa Cameron
Profession	Politician, Lawyer

William Evelyn Cameron (November 29, 1842 – January 25, 1927) was a soldier, 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 T. Mahone.

William Evelyn Cameron was born in Petersburg, Virginia. His parents were Walker Anderson Cameron and Elizabeth Page Walker. He attended local schools, then a military academy in Hillsboro, North Carolina.

Cameron briefly attended Washington College in St. Louis, Missouri. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

When the American Civil War started, Cameron abandoned his preparatory studies and joined the Confederate Army, serving throughout the war.

After the war, Cameron returned to Petersburg, where he married Louisa Clarinda Egerton (1846–1908) on October 1, 1868. They had three children.

Cameron read the law and passed the bar. He started to practice law, but decided to pursue a career in journalism . He was an editor for newspapers in Petersburg, Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia.

In 1869, Cameron fought a duel with Robert William Hughes, after Cameron criticized Hughes in print for the opportunism: he had changed his political views from pre-war Secessionist to post-war Republican. According to the writer Frank 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.'"