Albumen CDV three-quarter-length studio portrait of Lt. William Dumont of the Revenue-Marine. Unmarked.

In this portrait, a uniformed Lt. William Dumont is seated, his cap displayed in his right hand, his left hand wrapped around the hilt of his saber. Dumont's uniform is adorned by shoulder boards while his gaze is directed slightly away from the camera. 

Lt. William Dumont (1840-1914) was born into a well-connected family in New York City, the son of Robert Dumont, a custom house broker, and Mary Brewerton Swords Dumont. 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; boarding the U.S.S. 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. 

After the war, Lt. Dumont followed in his father's footsteps as a customs house broker. He was married from 1861 to 1871 to Mary Emma Obsorne of Baltimore, Maryland; eight years after Mary’s death, Lt. Dumont married Frances Rebecca Mallaby from Stonington, Connecticut. According to his 31 July 1914 death announcement in the New Jersey Madison Eagle, the marriage between Mallaby and Lt. Dumont “was one of the big social events of the day” in Madison, New Jersey. Additionally, the Madison Eagle recognized Dumont as the "oldest custom house broker in New York City, and up to the time several weeks ago, he went to business every morning, it having been known of him that he found great pleasure in his work."

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