The Overstated Cargo of the Meridian Star

≈ 4 min

The brig Meridian Star docked at Charleston on 14 March 1887 carrying a mixed cargo from Havana. Hargrove & Sons filed a customs declaration listing six categories of goods for duty assessment. The port surveyor and independent records now call some of the declared quantities into question. The Customs Board has asked you to compare the declaration against the available records and identify which single line contains a discrepancy that would allow Hargrove & Sons to pay less duty than is lawfully owed — or to claim a higher insured value.

The scene

Port of Charleston, South Carolina, 1887

Source documents

Meridian Star Sailing Manifest, Havana, 10 March 1887
Port Surveyor's Landing Survey, Charleston, 14 March 1887
Casa Fuente Commercial Invoice No. 114, Havana, 9 March 1887
Charleston Customs Duty Register, March 1887

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