fights a duel except in order to be able to say that one has done so; the of-
fense is generally a sort of moral stain which one wants to wash away and
which most often is washed away at little expense. In America one only
fights to kill; one fights because one sees no hope of getting one’s adversary
condemned to death” (Hussey 1980, 8).
Dueling in the American South occurred from the time of the Revolu-
tion to the Civil War. Duels were frequent. Many of the duelists were promi-
nent political figures, and the consequences were often fatal. Anyone doubt-
ing this statement should look at the first five denominations of U.S. paper
money. One man whose head is shown died in a duel, while another killed
a man in a duel: respectively, Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson.
Political opponents Alexander Hamilton and Vice President Aaron
Burr met on the dueling ground at Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11,
1804, with their seconds. Hamilton’s persistent libeling of Burr precipi-
tated Burr’s challenge. As the challenged party, Hamilton supplied the
matched dueling pistols. The seconds measured the distance, ten full
paces. The duelists loaded the pistols in each other’s presence, after which
the parties took their stations. On the command “Present,” each raised his
pistol and fired. Apparently, Burr fired first, with the ball hitting Hamil-
ton in the right side; Hamilton swayed and the pistol fired, missing Burr.
A surgeon friend of Hamilton attended to him. The surgeon’s account says
that Hamilton had not intended to fire, while Burr’s second claimed
Hamilton fired first. It was obvious to both Hamilton and the surgeon
that he was fatally wounded.
Andrew Jackson’s killing of Charles Dickinson in a duel in Logan
County, Kentucky, on May 30, 1806, is less well known. The animosity be-
tween them grew out of a dispute about stakes in a horse race that did not
take place. Jackson issued the challenge, which Dickinson eagerly accepted,
although he did not have a set of dueling pistols. Yet Dickinson, a snap-
shooter who did not take deliberate aim, practiced en route to the dueling
field. The agreed-upon distance was 24 feet. Jackson, a thin and ascetic
man, dressed in large overgarments and twisted his body within his coat so
that it was almost sidewise. Dickinson was a large, florid man. On the com-
mand to fire, Dickinson shot, and Jackson held his fire. Jackson was hit,
his breastbone scored and several ribs fractured, but he stood his ground.
Jackson’s twist of body had saved his life. Jackson aimed and pulled the
trigger, but the hammer stopped at half cock. He recocked it and took aim
before firing. The bullet passed through Dickinson’s body below the ribs.
Dickinson took all day to bleed to death. Jackson was later criticized for
recocking his pistol, something an honorable man would not have done.
But each man wanted to kill the other.
Keith F. Otterbein
Dueling 107