USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 66
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Passion often beclouds the truth. As a matter of fact, Clary was an unprincipled fellow who, knowing the differences between Clark and Crawford, sought to help his own case, while under arrest, by trumping up a charge against General Clark; but Judge Tait was too just a man to give ear to what was manifestly a malicious fabrication.
Contrary to the general's past record, and at variance with his well- known fiery disposition, instead of inviting Judge Tait to meet him on the field of honor, he strangely enough presented a memorial to the State Legislature, asking for Judge Tait's impeachment. At this time Mr. Crawford was a member of the House from Oglethorpe, and naturally he espoused Judge Tait's cause. As chairman of the special investigating committee, he submitted a report to the House, in which Judge Tait's good name was upheld, with the further statement that no evidence could be found on which to base an impeachment. This report was supported by Mr. Crawford in an eloquent speech upon the floor. His powers of logie, of sarcasm, and of invective, were never heard to better advantage; and when a call of the roll was taken, on the adoption of the committee's report, there were only three votes cast in opposition, to fifty-seven in favor of exonerating Judge Tait.
Thus the matter ended. General Clark was willing to let Judge Tait escape now that larger game was in sight; and taking offense at Mr. Crawford's partisan activities in Judge Tait's behalf, and especially at his speech before the IIouse, he sent him a challenge through his friend, John Forsyth. Mr. Crawford yielded compliance to this demand for satisfaction and selected George Moore to arrange the details for the meeting. On account of engagements in the Federal Court, John Forsyth was prevented from acting as General Clark's second, where- upon the latter chose Gilbert Hay, of Washington, Georgia, to fill this post.
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High Shoals, on the Appalachee River, in what was then Indian Territory, was the site selected for the proposed encounter. Near the scene of this hostile meeting, three counties today converge, viz., Wal- ton, Morgan and Oconee. Before the duel took place, a code of rules was agreed upon by the seconds; and, on account of the light which these rules will serve to throw upon the history of the times, especially in showing how affairs of honor were conducted after the arrival of the combatants upon the scene of action, they are herewith reproduced in full, for the better information of those interested :
Article 1. The pistols are to be smooth bore, and loaded with a single ball by the seconds of the parties, in the presence of each other and of the principals.
Art. 2. The distance shall be ten yards, the parties facing.
Art. 3. The seconds of each party shall place the pistol in the right hand of his friend, cocked, with the barrel as nearly perpendicular as possible, pointing up or down, and neither of the principals shall alter the position of the pistol until the word of command is given.
Art. 4. The signal for a discharge shall be: "Make ready; fire!" At the word "fire," each party shall discharge his pistol as near as possible after receiving the word; and should either party withhold his fire it shall be lost.
Art. 5. A snap or a flash will be considered the same as a shot.
Art. 6. Whenever the challenger shall express himself satisfied or shall receive a wound, judged by the survivors mortal, or whenever the challenged shall have received a wound and expresses himself satisfied, then the contest shall cease.
Art. 7. No conversation between the parties direct.
Art. 8. To prevent the possibility of suspicion, relative to improper wearing apparel, each party shall submit to an examination by the sec- ond of his opponent immediately before taking positions.
Art. 9. Choice of ground and the word to be decided by lot.
Art. 10. The seconds shall be properly armed to prevent a trans- gression of these rules and the interposition of any other person.
Art. 11. If either of the principals deviate from the foregoing rules, or attempt to take any undne advantage, either or both of the sec- onds are at liberty to fire at him.
Art. 12. If either party falls, no person except the surgeon shall be admitted until the opposite party leaves the ground."
On December 12, 1806, according to agreement, the parties met at the place appointed; but due to some little dispute between the seconds as to details of arrangement, an hour elapsed beyond the time set for the affair at high noon and it was 1 o'clock before the belligerents were brought face to face. In the meantime, Mr. Crawford, keyed for combat, became restless and impatient. To quote his biographer, "he was temperamentally unfitted for a duellist," while Clark, on the other hand, "was a practiced fighter, thoroughly skilled in the use of weapons, and equally courageous." Quoting still further, from this same author- ity, "The result was what might have been anticipated. Crawford swaggered to the peg with the same degree of carelessness that he was
* Shipp: "Life of Crawford," p. 73.
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wont to exhibit when addressing a jury in Oglethorpe. His left arm was forgotten and heedlessly held unprotected by his body in a way to catch the ball of the rawest duellist. At the first fire, Clark was un- touched and Crawford's left wrist was shattered and the bones crushed in a way to cause him many weeks of excruciating pain. Clark was not satisfied and insisted that the shots be continued; but George Moore declined to allow his principal to proceed further, the terms of the agreement having been fully met." *
With this decision the affair ended. But General Clark was not appeased. He still hungered for satisfaction; and no sooner was Mr. Crawford well enough to resume professional activities than he received from General Clark a second challenge to mortal combat, without any fresh grievance to warrant a renewal of hostilities. Mr. Crawford could now decline to meet him, without incurring adverse criticism or hazard- ing his reputation as a man of courage.
But the partisan warfare still continued between the loyal followers of the two men and, as time went on, the feudal inheritance was trans- mitted from sire to son, with solemn abjuration. Georgia was divided into two hostile camps; and even churches, while preaching a gospel of forgiveness, insisted upon a sharp line of division. Perhaps an amusing anecdote will illustrate the temper of the times :
"To introduce the subject of politics in any promiscuous gathering was to promote a quarrel. A son of Erin, lately from Limerick, opened a bar-room in a village in Greene County, Ga. He endeavored by strenu- ous neutrality, to catch the trade of both parties. After a week's trial, he gave it up in disgust. When describing this experience he said : ‘As soon as a Crawford man would come in, he would at once inquire if this was a Crawford bar; and, faith, when I told him it was naither, he cursed me for a Clarkite and refused to drink. When a Clark man came in and I told him I was naither, he cursed me for a Crawfordite, and I sold not a gill to anyone. Faith, it pays to be a politician in Georgia.' " +
Though General Clark did not call Judge Tait to the field of honor, as a result of the alleged conspiracy for which he sought his impeach- ment by the Legislature he did visit him in a most spectacular manner and in a most literal sense, with the marks of his displeasure. The story is thus told :
One day, in the summer of 1807, when Judge Tait, then an occupant of the Superior Court bench, was driving along Jefferson Street, in Milledgeville, General Clark came up, gracefully cantering on a hand- some sorrel. The general always rode a fine horse, with best accontre- ments, and rarely failed to make an impression. Whatever else might be said of him, John Clark was a born soldier, and he appeared to special advantage on horseback. Riding up to Judge Tait, he engaged him in a brief conversation :
"This is the first time I have seen you, sir," began General Clark, "at least since your hasty departure from Louisville."
"Yes," replied the judge, "I have not seen you since then."
* Shipp: "Life of Crawford," p. 73.
+ Shipp: "Life of Crawford," p. 67.
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"Tait," resumed the general, after a moment's pause, "under the cloak of judicial authority, you have sought to destroy my reputation, and for your infamous attempt to do so I shall give you the lash."
Thereupon, before any reply could be made, General Clark came down with his riding whip upon the shoulders of the jurist, inflicting severe blows upon him with the aid of powerful muscles. On account of his wooden leg, Judge Tait was no match for his irate antagonist. While the interview was in progress, Tait's horse took fright, but Clark kept along side of him until his wrath was appeased.
For this attack upon a judge of the Superior Court, General Clark was duly prosecuted and, ou conviction, was sentenced by Judge Early to pay a fine of $2,000 and to give security for his good behavior for a period of five years. However, this sentence was never put into effect. Governor Jared Irwin, an old comrade-in-arms, feeling that General Clark was an injured man, afterwards issued an executive order remit- ting the fine imposed upon him by Judge Early and furthermore releas- ing the old soldier from any and all other legal consequences attached to his rash conduct. As for Judge Tait, he afterwards became a United States senator, but eventually removed to Alabama where he spent his last days.
When Peter Van Allen fell at Fort Charlotte, before Mr. Crawford's fire, the solicitorship of the Western Circuit, made vacant by his death, was conferred by appointment upon a gentleman noted in the annals of Georgia for his Attic salt : Hon. John M. Dooly. Judge Dooly was after- wards elevated to the bench, from which circumstance arose the title by which he was universally known. He was easily the greatest wit of his day in Georgia, a master of satire and as quick at repartee as chained lightning. Public speakers seldom, if ever, engaged with him in joint debate, for prudential reasons. Crowds thronged his courtroom when ever he appeared on the circuit ; and if Charles Dickens could only have met this unique character, he might have improved upon the drolleries of Pickwick.
On a certain occasion, when this same feud between Clark and Craw- ford was still alive, Judge Dooly became involved in a controversy with his predecessor upon the bench, Judge Charles Tait. As a result Judge Tait challenged him to mortal combat. There are several versions to this story, but, according to one of them, Judge Dooly accepted the challenge and actually appeared upon the scene of encounter, though he was notoriously opposed to shedding blood, especially from his own veins.
General Clark was Judge Dooly's second, while Mr. Crawford, in a like capacity, served Judge Tait; and the affair was probably planned with the utmost seriousness by the friends of both parties. Now, it hap- pened that one of Judge Tait's bodily infirmities was a wooden leg, and it was a knowledge of this faet which inspired Judge Dooly's singu- lar feat of valor. At the appointed time, Judge Tait, with his second, Mr. Crawford, appeared upon the scene of action, where he discovered Judge Dooly sitting patiently alone upon a stump. In reply to an inquiry from Mr. Crawford, concerning the whereabouts of General Clark, with whom he wished to confer in advance of the duel, Judge Dooly replied :
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"Gen. Clark is in the woods looking for a bee-gum."
"May I inquire," asked Mr. Crawford, "what use he intends to make of a bee-gum?"
"I want to put my leg in it," replied Judge Dooly. "Do you sup- pose for a minute that I am going to risk a good leg of flesh and blood against Tait's wooden stump? If I hit his leg, he can get him another one before tomorrow morning; but if he hits mine I may lose my life, certainly my leg; and to put myself on equal footing with Tait, I must have a bee-gum for protection. I can then fight him on equal terms."
"Then am I to understand that you do not intend to figlit Judge Tait ?" inquired Mr. Crawford.
"Well," responded Judge Dooly, "I thought every one knew that." "Perhaps so," replied Mr. Crawford, "but you will fill a newspaper column in consequence of this day's business."
"So be it," replied the judge, with an arch smile, "I would rather fill a dozen newspapers than one coffin."
There was nothing more to be said. Judge Tait was, of course, chagrined at this unexpected turn of affairs. He expected to humiliate Judge Dooly, even if he could not force him to fight; but Judge Dooly had cleverly managed the situation and, without putting his good legs in jeopardy, had come off the victor: Gallant Jack Falstaff himself could not have managed the affair with keener strategy or with cooler discretion.
Prior to December 12, 1809, there was no law on the statute books of Georgia forbidding the practice of duelling, though it was customary for belligerents to cross the state lines, to avoid indictment on the general charge of murder, in the event of fatal consequences. But the frequency of such affairs, involving men of the highest intellectual type and of the greatest public usefulness, eventually produced a revulsion of sentiment. The killing of Alexander Hamilton by Aaron Burr, perhaps more than any other event, served to call nation-wide attention to the imperative need of reform in this direction. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that not less than 1,000 duels were fought in Georgia in consequence of this feudal enmity between Clark and Crawford; and there were few households in the state which were not bereaved, either directly or indi- rectly, by the countless sacrifices which were made during this period to appease the demands of this bloody Moloch.
Consequently, on December 12, 1809, Governor David B. Mitchell signed a measure, passed by the General Assembly of Georgia, making it unlawful either to extend or to accept a challenge, or to be concerned in any way therein, either as principals or as seconds; and on conviction the offender was to be excluded from the right to hold any office of trust, honor, or emolument in this state.# Governor David B. Mitchell, whose signature as chief magistrate was attached to this measure, himself fig- ured on one occasion in an affair of honor.
It was well enough to have such a law upon the statute books, in deference to humane public opinion. But for years it was practically a
* "Clayton 's Compilation," p. 529.
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dead letter, and, to procure an acquittal from an average jury it was only necessary to show that the duel was fought in a decorous manner, according to the strict ethics of the Code of Honor. Here the law stopped. It required something more than a legislative enactment to uproot the traditions of chivalry in a land of Cavaliers.
Perhaps the most famous of Georgia's Indian fighters was Gen. John Floyd, who won renown on the frontier during the War of 1812. Skilled in the exercise of arms, there was scarcely any sort of weapon, from a shot-gun to a bowie-knife, with whose effective use he was not familiar ; nor was it solely with Indian warriors that this seasoned old regular engaged in hand-to-hand encounters. Down in Camden County, Georgia, where General Floyd spent most of his life and where he lies buried on one of his plantations, tradition credits him with having fought what in some respects was the most extraordinary duel of which there is any record in the bloody chronicles of the Code.
IIis antagonist, a Mr. IIopkins, was equally skilled in the use of weapons, and equally fearless. It was Greek against Greek. As the challenged party, Mr. Hopkins claimed the right to choose weapons; but, instead of satisfying himself with one kind, he chose three-a most radical departure from the venerated traditions. To settle the grievance between them it was agreed to fire a round with shot-guns, at a certain specified distance. In the event neither was killed or disabled in this exchange of shots, they were to approach several feet nearer with drawn pistols, and if both remained on foot after this second fire, they were to end the affair in a hand-to-hand grapple with bowie-knives, fighting till one or both should fall mortally wounded.
On both sides, this program was commenced in deadly earnest. But General Floyd's antagonist, in either the first or second round, was so effectually disabled by loss of blood that resort to bowie-knives as a finality was abandoned. The incident suffices to show General Floyd's grim hardihood as a fighter. His characteristics in this respect were transmitted to his son, Gen. Charles L. Floyd, and to his grandson, Capt. Richard S. Floyd, both of whom are credited with affairs of honor. Hon. Wm. G. McAdoo, the present distinguished secretary of the treas- ury in President Wilson's cabinet, and the latter's son-in-law, is a lineal descendant of General Floyd; and, while he has not emulated the prowess of his ancestor as a duellist, he has turned the fighting spirit of his family into industrial channels, with the result that he is today credited with one of the greatest achievements of modern times: the construc- tion of the Hudson River tunnels.
.Hon. Eb. T. Williams, of Atlanta, a distinguished member of the Georgia bar, owns a duelling pistol which figured in one of the most dra- matic episodes of Georgia's history prior to the Civil war. It is an old flint-and-steel weapon, made by Manton and Son, of London, famous in an earlier day for the manufacture of firearms used on the field of honor. The barrel is one of very large bore, inlaid with platinum and encircled by silver bands. The device for sighting is also of silver, while the powder pan is covered with a layer of platinum. From end to end, the pistol measures some eighteen inches in length. It is handsomely en-
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graved, and when fresh from the laboratory of Manton and Son, must have been a work of art. The pistol was purchased by Colonel Williams years ago from an old locksmith of Augusta, by the name of Rogers .*
According to legendary accounts, this grim relie of duelling days in Georgia figured in more than one tragic encounter; but the affair of honor to which its rust-covered cylinder unmistakably points, after a lapse of nearly 100 years, was a duel which occurred at Sister's Ferry, on June 8, 1822, between Col. William Cumming, of Augusta, and Hon. George McDuffie, of South Carolina, the latter of whom afterwards be- came governor of the Palmetto State and United States senator. Colonel Cumming was a distinguished soldier of the United States in the War of 1812. He held the rank of colonel in the regular army, but was adjutant- general of the army operating on the Canadian frontier and was severely wounded in one of the battles of that campaign. Having resigned from the army, after the war, he was subsequently offered a brigadier-gen- eral's commission by President Jackson, but declined the appointment. At the outbreak of the Mexican war, in 1846, he was appointed a major- general in the United States Army, by President Polk, but declined this appointment also, mainly, no doubt, on account of his age, which was then about sixty.
It is difficult to vouch for the circumstances at this late day, but as gleaned from newspaper accounts the duel originated in this wise: t An article, without signature, appeared in one of the Augusta papers, sup- porting the claims of Mr. Crawford against those of Mr. Calhoun for President of the United States. This article provoked a salty reply from a gentleman of South Carolina, whose name was likewise undis- closed. The Georgia writer rejoined on the assumption that the South Carolina writer was Mr. MeDuffie, which gentleman nettled by the strictures therein contained replied in the belief that his opponent was Colonel Cumming, a gentleman whose pen was famous in the contro- versies of his time.
Both men were mistaken. The affair proved to be a comedy of errors. But no explanation was made on either side and subsequent develop- ments led to a challenge, which was promptly accepted. It is understood that a proposition to which Mr. McDuffie gave assent but to which Colonel Cummings demurred was made by mutual friends in the hope of a satisfactory adjustment ; and, this effort failing, the details of the meeting were arranged by seconds after the usual custom.
According to newspaper accounts, Colonel Cumming wished to fight in round-jackets or shirt-sleeves, but his antagonist suggested the conven- tional frock coat. This dress was accepted. At the appointed hour, Colonel Cumming appeared upon the field in a suit of cotton; Mr. MeDuffie came attired in silk. The combatants, facing each other at a distance of ten paces, exchanged shots. McDuffie's ball struck the ground about four paces from his own feet, while the bullet of his antagonist entered the former's back obliquely just below the short ribs and de-
* This information obtained from Col. Eb. T. Williams in a personal interview. t Dr. R. J. Massey : "Scrap-book."
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flected. Only one round was fired, the surgeons agreeing that Mr. McDuffie was too severely wounded to continue the hostile interview.
This wound eventually caused the great orator's death. As a reason why the bullet did not penetrate deeper, the Augusta Chronicle, some time afterwards, in giving a purported authentic account of the affair, made this statement : "Cumming's bullet was loaded for the side, not for the back; and for the resistance of common drapery, not for several folds of strong silk." On the authority of Judge John B. O'Neill, iu his "Bench and Bar of South Carolina," the wound received by Mr. MeDuffie in this duel changed his entire disposition, embittered his life, and sent him a wreck to his tomb.
John Forsyth was one of the ablest men of his day in the arena of national politics. While United States minister to Spain, he negotiated with Ferdinand VII for the purchase of Florida. He represented Geor- gia in both wings of the Federal Congress and succeeded the dauntless troup in the chair of governor. Mr. Forsyth rounded his career in public life as secretary of war, holding his portfolio under two presi- dents : Jackson and Van Buren. As an orator, he was superior, in the judgment of many, even to Judge Berrien, our American Cicero, with whom, in the famous Tariff Convention of 1833, he engaged in a grapple of argument lasting for three days. From this contest he bore off the laurels.
But Mr. Forsyth, when a young man, came near losing his life in a duel which he fought with a Mr. Williams, an affair in which the weapons used were small swords. Mr. Forsyth received a severe wound in the neck. When Gen. John Clark invited William H. Crawford to mortal combat, on the eve of the famous duel at High Shoals, it was Mr. Forsyth who, as the former's second, bore the challenge to Mr. Crawford; but the duties in the Federal Court prevented him from serving in this role when the duel occurred. The father of Mr. Forsyth, while holding the office of United States marshal for Georgia, was instantly killed in a difficulty with the noted Beverly Allen, whom he sought to arrest. His grave in the churchyard of old St. Paul's at Augusta, is marked by a tombstone, on which an account of the affair is inscribed. Allen succeeded in making his escape.
One of the most distinguished of Georgia's ante-bellum physicians was Dr. Ambrose Baber; and there were few men in the state before the war who possessed a wider circle of friends or left a profounder impress upon public affairs. Doctor Baber was long a resident of Macon. Though an active practitioner of medicine, the fascinations of public life became a charm too powerful to be resisted, especially by one whose intellect and information fitted him to adorn any station.t He repre- sented this country at one time as minister to Sardinia. He also sat re- peatedly in the State Senate of Georgia, and for some time prior to his death held the office of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Georgia
* Sabine: "Notes on Duelling," p. 242. Dr. R. J. Massey: Article in the "Sunny South."
t Judge R. H. Clark: "Memoirs."
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Masons. He was a power in politics. But among the other distinguish- ing marks of this accomplished gentleman was his deadly aim with a pistol and his expert use of the sword.
Doctor Baber was a duellist. His first connection with an affair of honor was in 1825, when he was present in the capacity of a surgeon at the famous duel fought between Hon. Thomas D. Mitchell and Maj. Robert A. Beall. Colonel Mitchell was allied with the Clark faction in polities and at the time of the duel was the newly elected solicitor-general of the Southern Circuit. He was a native of Laurens District, South Carolina, but studied law at Eatonton, Georgia, under Judge Eli S. Shorter, after which he settled at Hartford, Georgia, to practice his pro- fession. Major Beall was residing at this time in Talbotton, Georgia, but afterwards removed to Macon, where he became the first mayor of the young town. At a later period in his life he also held a brigadier-gen- eral's commission in the state militia.
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