![]() ![]() As the challenged party, Biddle was allowed to choose the weapons and the distance. When the debate flared into physical violence, the congressman challenged the major to a duel. Louis press, Biddle called Pettis “a dish of skimmed milk,” while Pettis questioned Biddle’s manhood. In an exchange of fiery political speeches Pettis had publicly railed against Nicholas Biddle, pres ident of the Second Bank of the United States, and Biddle’s brother Thomas took offense to the remarks. Historians believe it was their meeting that led to the towhead’s designation as Bloody Island. Representative Spencer Pettis of Missouri faced off. 26, 1831, when Major Thomas Bid dle, a distinguished War of 1812 veteran, and U.S. Senate and represented Missouri for 30 years.Ī duel with a more unusual outcome occurred at 5 p.m. Emerging un scathed with his reputation unblemished, Benton was later elected to the U.S. In the second duel, on the morning of September 27, Benton shot his rival through the heart, and Lucas died within minutes. Both men ignored appeals from friends to make amends, and weeks later Lucas had recovered sufficiently to arrange a rematch. ![]() When Lucas proved unable to rise for a second shot, the duel was suspended. In the initial volley, Lucas took a slug to the throat, while Benton was grazed in the right knee. In the wake of a rancorous court case, the men had exchanged harsh accusations and insults, prompting Lucas to challenge Benton. Louis attorneys Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Lucas. Farrar felt compelled by oath to tend to his opponent, but Graham later died of his wounds.Īnother notable duel on the island touched off at 6 a.m. Over the course of three volleys, Farrar was grazed in the buttocks by a slug, while Graham was hit in the legs, right hand and side, the latter ball lodging in his spine. His “second” in the duel was none other than famed explorer William Clark. ![]() The good doctor was defending the honor of a friend whom Graham had accused of cheating at cards. Farrar, the first American physician to practice west of the Mississippi. In the first recorded duel there, in late December 1810, attorney James Graham shot it out with Dr. So, where to duel? Thus the seemingly inconsequential towhead in the midst of the Mississippi-without name, owner or laws-became the perfect place for gentlemen to settle disputes, a no-man’s-land where men could rendezvous to defend their reputations and spill blood without fear of penalty. Refusal might jeopardize one’s career, particularly in the legal, publishing or political professions.īy the early 1800s, however, both Missouri and Illinois had moved to outlaw the barbarous custom. Societal pressure demanded a gentleman defend his honor. How many volleys the duelists fired depended on the gravity of the offense. Were an apology not forthcoming, the rules permitted the challenged party to choose the weapons, the ground and the distance. BLOOD ISLAND SAINT LOUIS CODEIt surfaced in an era when a dwindling number of upper-classmen, particu larly in Missouri, every so often waged duels with pearl-handled revolvers, adhering to a gentleman’s code of honor that had originated in Europe in the Middle Ages.īy 1877 the practice had become so well established in Ireland that adherents saw fit to pen a formal “code duello.” It enumer ated more than two dozen rules of conduct governing a challenge to regain honor in the event a gentleman dared defame another in public. But as it was so insignificant, neither state moved to claim ownership. Known as a towhead, the alluvial island lay smack between Missouri and Illinois and directly across from St. ![]() BLOOD ISLAND SAINT LOUIS PATCHBut this particular patch of ground had a more enduring destiny in the affairs of honor among 19th-century gentlemen. At first, it was just one among the thousands of sandbars that are born and die each year as the mighty river ebbs and flows. IT EMERGED INNOCENTLY enough around 1798, quietly and ever so slowly surfacing above the muddy Mississippi River. Lous was the scene of duels between “gentlemen.” This onetime sandbar in the Mississippi River off St. ![]()
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