Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/305

 DUEL 297 was defended by some of the greatest men of England. In the reign of James I. there were many duels, one of the most noted of which was between Lord Bruce and Sackville, after- ward earl of Dorset, in which the former was killed. A sermon delivered by Chillingworth before Charles I. contains a warm expostula- tion against duelling. Cromwell was a foe to the practice. After the restoration it became more common, from the spread of French ideas. Some of the English duels of that time were in keeping with its loose morality. The duke of Buckingham killed. Lord Shrewsbury; Lady Shrewsbury, on whose account the duel was fought, attending the duke as a page, and then passing the night with her lover. In Anne's reign, the duel between the duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun, in which both fell, caused much feeling, from its political character, and the atrocities that marked it. Duels be- came more numerous as society became more orderly, and many of the most distinguished Englishmen took part in them. William Pul- teney, leader of the opposition, fought Lord Hervey. Wilkes was engaged in two duels. Throughout the reign of George III. duels were frequent; among those who fought in England were Charles James Fox, Sheridan, Pitt, Can- ning, Castlereagh, the duke of York, the duke of Richmond, Sir F. Burdett, and Lord Camel- ford ; the last named was the great duellist of the time, and fell in a duel in 1804. During the reigns of George IV., William IV., and Vic- toria, there were some noted duels, among which was that between the duke of Welling- ton and Lord Winchelsea, in 1829, the duke challenging the earl because of the latter's reflections on his conduct at the time he determined upon emancipating the Roman Catholics. The duke fired at his antago- nist, who fired in the air, and then apologized. In 1835 Benjamin Disraeli challenged Mor- gan O'Connell. Among the most conspicuous duels in England of late years was that between the earl of Cardigan and Capt. Tuckett in 1840. Ireland is that part of the British em- j pire in which duelling has always been most in vogue. In the latter part of the last cen- tury there was scarcely an Irishman of note who had not been " out," and many of them had fought often. Grattan, Curran, Lord Clare, Flood, Burrowes, Barrington, Toler, and many others, men of high positions, were among the Irish duellists of those times. In 1815 Daniel O'Connell fought with and killed Mr. D'Esterre, a member of the Dublin cor- poration, which the former had stigmatized as a " beggarly " body. In Scotland duels have not been so common as in Ireland. In 1822 James Stuart, known by his work on the United States, killed Sir Alexander Boswell in a duel, which grew out of gross newspaper attacks on the former. Stuart was tried and acquitted. Francis Jeffrey, who was of counsel for the defence, went almost the entire length of upholding duelling, and boldly assumed that the man who slew another under the circum- stances that caused Stuart to slay Boswell was not guilty of murder in any sense. The court, while it charged that killling in a duel was murder, declared that there was no evidence of malice on the part of Stuart, and praised his conduct on the ground ; and when the ac- quittal was given, the court congratulated him on the result. It is a singular fact that Bos- well, when a member of parliament, took the principal part in getting two old Scotch statutes against duelling repealed, one of which made the mere fighting of a duel, though it should have no evil result, punishable with death. The first duel in America took place in 1621, at Plymouth, between two serving men. They were sentenced to be tied neck and heels to- gether for 24 hours, but a portion of the pun- ishment was remitted. In 1728 a young man named Woodbridge was killed in a duel on Boston common, by another young man named Phillips. They fought without seconds, in the night and with swords. Phillips got on board a man-of-war and escaped to France. A great sensation was caused, and a new and severe law against duelling was enacted. There were some duels in the revolution, the most noted being those between Charles Lee and John Laurens, in which the former was wounded, and between Cadwalader and Conway, in 1778, in which the latter received a shot in the head from which he recovered. Button Gwin- nett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was killed in a duel with Gen. Mclntosh, in May, 1777. In 1785 Capt. Gunn challenged Gen. Greene twice, and threatened a personal assault when the latter refused to meet him. Greene wrote to Washington, acknowl- edging that if he thought his honor would suffer from his refusal he would accept the challenge. Washington approved of his course. Alexander Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr in 1804, the latter being vice president and the former the leader of the op- position. This duel is allowed the first place in the history of American private combats. Next stands that between Capts. Barron and Decatur, the latter being killed and Barron se- verely wounded. Henry Clay and John Ran- dolph fought in 1826. Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson .in a duel, and was engaged in other "affairs." Thomas II. Benton killed a Mr. Lucas, and had other duels. In 1841 Henry Clay was on the eve of fighting with William R. King, then a senator from Ala- bama. Mr. Cilley of Maine fought with Mr. Graves of Kentucky in 1838, near Washington, and the former was killed. This duel caused nearly as much excitement as that between Hamilton and Burr. Both parties were mem- bers of congress. Formerly duels were very common in the United States navy, and val- uable lives were lost. Richard Somers, who is said to have been a mild man, fought three duels in one day. In 1830 President Jackson caused .the names of four officers to be struck