Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 4

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274

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Surgeon in Beall- Dr. Baber was a duellist. His first Mitchell Affair. connection with an affair of honor was in 1825, when he was present in the capacity of a surgeon at the famous duel fought be- tween Hon. Thomas D. Mitchell and Maj. Robert A. Beall.

*Judge R. H. Clark: Memoirs.

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Col. Mitchell was allied with the Clark faction in politics and at the time of the duel was the newly elected Solicitor-General of the Southern Circuit. He was a na- tive of Laurens District, S. C., but studied law at Eaton- ton, Ga., under Judge Eli S. Shorter, after which he settled at Hartford, Ga., to practice his profession. Major Beall was residing at this time in Talbotton, Ga., but af- terwards removed to Macon, where he became the first mayor of the young town. At a later period in his life he also hield a Brigadier-General's commission in the State militia.

The difficulty between the two men grew out of a triv- ial remark made by Col. Mitchell at the dinner table of a friend, to which remark Major Beall took exception. As a result there sprang up between these gentlemen a quarrel which proved to be so persistent that a resort to weapons offered the only sane solution and accordingly they agreed to adjust matters between them by fighting a duel at Hamburg, S. C., just opposite the city of Au- gusta. Capt. Joseph Morgan, second for Major Beall, and Mr. John P. Booth, second for Col. Mitchell, arranged the details. Two rounds were fired without effect, after which, mutual friends, a number of whom were present, intervened to prevent further hostilities. The courage of both men having been attested, a reconciliation was effected and the combatants shook hands on the field.

Duel With Thomas D. Mitchell.

Unfortunately, some comment up- on the duel made by Dr. Baber, who attended as surgeon to Major Beall at Hamburg, S. C., was resented by Col. Mitchell. The latter subsequently published a card which gave offence to Dr. Baber, who, after a brief controversy on the sub- ject, demanded of Col. Mitchell the satisfaction due a gentleman under the Code. The challenge was accepted, and rifles, at a distance of ten paces, were selected as the weapons. In the spring of 1826, the parties met at Ham-

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

burg, S. C., the scene of the former duel; and, on the sec- ond fire, Col. Mitchell fell, mortally wounded. The ball penetrated the lungs causing almost instant death.

Dr. Isaac W. Mitchell, a brother of the deceased, was present at the duel, acting in the capacity of surgeon, and attended upon the dying man in his last moments. It was a sad duty to perform, but the ordeal was soon over, and there were no pangs of lingering distress, thanks to the deadly work of the bullet. Dr. Mitchell was a life-long resident of Thomas County, Ga., where he amassed a large property and died well advanced in years. Col. Mitchell, at the time of his death, was still a young man, aged thirty-three, and unmarried. Exceptionally well-equipped for his profession, he was a man of splen- did talents, but sensitive to a fault and inclined to be somewhat rash and dictatorial, especially when aroused by anger.

Tragic Death Dr. Baber survived his hostile encounter of Dr. Baber. with Col. Mitchell by twenty years and was still in the prime of life when he came to his death in a most tragic and sudden manner. As narrated by Judge Richard H. Clark, the circumstances are these: Among the patients of Dr. Baber was a man with consumption, named Jarrell, in East Macon. On Saturday the doctor made for him a prescription which contained cyanuret of potassium. This drug consists largely of the elements of prussic acid, and if taken in too large a dose is a deadly poison. The prescription was put up by George Payne, then and now, a prominent drug- gist of Macon and a most excellent man. Detecting the mistake, Mr. Payne, nevertheless, filled the prescription, but tied it to the valve and wrote the patient not to take it, that it was a killing dose, and to show the prescription, with his note, to Dr. Baber, when he arrived. The next morning early Dr. Baber made his accustomed visit and was disappointed and irritated that his patient had not

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taken the medicine the day before, as he directed. The dose was a teaspoonful.

"To satisfy you there is no danger in it." said the doc- tor to the patient, on the impulse of the moment, "I will take a double dose."

Suiting the action to the word, he swallowed two tea- spoonsful, staggered to a chair, and in seventeen min- utes, drew his last breath. The mistake was due to a misprint in the formulary used by Dr. Baber. After- wards, due to the notoriety which this affair attained, the entire edition was called in and destroyed by the publish- er, but no amends could restore the life of one of the most useful public men of the State. The excitement which prevailed throughout the city of Macon on the fatal Sunday morning which witnessed this tragic occurrence was most intense. It was Macon's dark Sabbath.

Crawford On January 25, 1828, at Fort. Mitchell, in

and the Creek Nation, on what is now the Ala- Burnside. bama side of the Chattahoochee River, just below the present city of Columbus, occur- red the famous duel between George W. Crawford and Thomas E. Burnside. Both principals were then talented young lawyers, residing at Appling, in Columbia County, Ga. The former was a kinsman of the renowned William H. Crawford and was himself destined to become scarcely less distinguished in the political history of Georgia. He served his State as Governor and held the portfolio of Secretary of War in the cabinet of Gen. Taylor, after which he presided over the historic Secession Convention, at Milledgeville, in 1861. As a lawyer, he encountered few equals at the Bar; and for his services in prosecuting the celebrated Galphin claim against the United States government, he received a fee of $80,000.

Burnside, who was fated to fall in this encounter on the threshold of what promised to be a brilliant career in public life, was an uncle of the noted Federal comman-

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

der Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, afterwards Governor of Rhode Island and United States Senator.

The duel between Crawford and Burnside grew out of a newspaper article published, without signature, in one of the Augusta papers, criticizing Hon. Peter Craw- ford, a Whig. Peter Crawford was for years prominent in Georgia politics and was at this time in very poor health. George W. Crawford, incensed at this attack upon his father by an unknown writer, demanded the authorship of this offensive card. But the editor de- clined to disclose the writer's name. Col. D. W. Lewis, who was afterwards Gov. Gilmer's private secretary, says that the writer of the article in question was a lady and that it was for this reason that Mr. Crawford's de- mand was refused.

However, Thomas E. Burnside assumed responsibil- ity for the article, whereupon he promptly received a challenge from George W. Crawford to mortal combat. He seems to have been reluctant to fight, but at a time when the Code Duello was in vogue, he well knew the consequences to himself and to his political fortunes, should he refuse to meet his antagonist on the field. He, therefore, accepted the challenge and repaired at once to the scene of combat. But, on the night before the fatal meeting-perhaps with some premonition of the result in mind-he dispatched the following note to Mrs. Burnside :

Fort Mitchell, Jan. 24, 1828.

Dear Wife and Mother:

Tomorrow I fight. I do it on principle. Whatever may be my fate, I believe I am right. On this ground I have acted and will act. I be- lieve I shall succeed, but if I do not I am prepared for consequences. Kiss the children and tell them that if I fall my last thought was of them.

Yours most affectionately,

THOMAS E. BURNSIDE.

This pathetic fragment sounds not unlike the message which Alexander Hamilton, on the eve of his fatal meet- ing with Aaron Burr, addressed to Mrs. Hamilton, on the subject of duelling. Nor was the fate of the two men

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dissimilar. Thomas E. Burnside fell mortally wounded in the encounter which followed. His body was interred, with every show of respect, in the private burial ground of Col. Crowell, whose residence was not far from the spot on which the unfortunate man fell. More than two weeks elapsed before Burnside's family received the sad news, which, when it finally came, after so long a period of suspense, almost cost Mrs. Burnside her life; but she rallied her strength for the sake of her children and af- terwards removed to Dahlonega, Ga., where she resided until her death.

Burnside was held in high esteem by his countless friends and colleagues at the Bar. He was a native of South Carolina, where he was born in 1794, and after settling at Appling for the practice of law, he represented Columbia County in the General Assembly of Georgia. The late Judge W. A. Burnside, for years a trustee of the North Georgia Agricultural College, was his son. Numerous tributes were paid to Burnside's character, and from these honors it may be inferred that he was a man of splendid parts. At Appling, a mass-meeting of his personal and political friends was held, over which Tur- ner Clanton presided. There, was also a meeting of the Bar of his circuit at which resolutions were adopted and a movement launched for erecting a monument.

According to Col. W. P. Price, this duel between Burn- side and Crawford caused great excitement in Georgia and, more than any other personal conflict, it led the people of this State to make a crusade against duelling and to demand reform in the method of seeking satisfac- tion for aggrieved honor. Gov. Crawford always de- plored the unfortunate affair and, down to the day of his death, expressed the tenderest solicitude for the bereaved widow and children, whose helpless condition he caused. On more than one occasion it is said that he substantially befriended them, by seeking the help of intermediate parties, without letting his own name be given, and for more than one act of kindness from an unknown friend the family was indebted to George W. Crawford.

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

Judge Cone's Assault Alexander H. Stephens was not an Upon Mr. Stephens. athlete. It is doubtful if the former Confederate Vice-President ever tipped the scales at more than ninety-six pounds, his exact weight in 1843, when he made his maiden speech in the national House of Representatives. Throughout his long career in public life, he presented the typical look of an invalid, wan and emaciated. But Mr. Stephens was an utter stranger to the sense of fear, either moral or physical. He was game to the core; and every ounce of flesh which gripped his spare bones contained as much real pluck as Caesar ever displayed in Gaul.

On the steps of the old Thompson Hotel, in Atlanta, during the fall of 1848, there occurred an incident which well illustrates the courage of Mr. Stephens. It will also serve to show that he bore a charmed life. At this time he encountered somewhat unexpectedly Judge Francis H. Cone, of Greensboro, with whom he was then on strained terms. Judge Cone had severely criticized Mr. Stephens for something which the latter had either said or done in Congress, and among other choice epithets which the Judge is said to have used was the term "traitor".

Difficulties almost immediately ensued. Mr. Stephens probably infuriated Judge Cone by returning his vituper- ative adjectives, whereupon Judge Cone, delving under- neath his broadcloth, whipped out a knife with which he made a leap toward Mr. Stephens. The latter was doubly at a disadvantage, not only because in avoirdupois he was a pigmy beside Judge Cone, but also because he was unarmed, except for an umbrella which shot out from his left elbow. With this somewhat unheroic weapon, Mr. Stephens sought to parry the blow of Judge Cone; but he was soon overpowered by his antagonist and fell bleed- ing upon the floor.

"Retract!" demanded the irate jurist, who now bent over his prostrate foe.

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"Never!" replied Mr. Stephens, the blood gurgling from his wounds, but the proud spirit of the man still unquenched. Again the knife descended, severing an intercostal artery, but Mr. Stephens still refused to retract. He continued to grapple with his adversary, growing momentarily weaker and weaker, until at last rescue came from some of the hotel guests who, hastening to the scene of encounter, separated the belligerents. Though Mr. Stephens received the best medical attention, he lay for weeks hovering between life and death. Finally he arose from his sick bed to renew his campaign for re- election. But he never fully regained the use of his right hand which was frightfully lacerated in the struggle; and his penmanship as well as his person bore the marks of the encounter as long as he lived. In justice to Judge Cone, who was one of the ablest lawyers in the State and a man much beloved in his social and domestic relations, it may be said that he was completely upset by his violent anger and did not perhaps stop to think of the difference in physical strength between himself and Mr. Stephens. They had once been good friends, in spite of professional tilts and rivalries; and later on in life the cordial rela- tions of earlier years were resumed.

Benjamin H. Hill But this is only an incidental story. Challenged The affair between Mr. Stephens and by Mr. Stephens. Judge Cone could hardly be called a duel. It was not fought according to the ethics of the Code and was a one-sided battle, at least with respect to weapons. But there came a time when Mr. Stephens appeared in the role of challenger. It was during the presidential campaign of 1856, and the invita- tion to mortal combat grew out of a joint debate between Mr. Stephens and Mr. Hill in the town of Lexington. The period was one of transition. Mr. Stephens and Mr. Toombs had both left the old Whig party and had now come into the Democratic ranks; while Mr. Hill stood squarely upon the American or Know-nothing platform.

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

With merciless oratory Mr. Hill pilloried Mr. Stephens on his change of front. Mr. Stephens, in his speech assailed the American candidate for President, characterizing him as Judas, to which Mr. Hill retorted by saying that while Judas did betray his Master for thirty pieces of silver he did not abuse his Master after he betrayed Him. There was an implication in this lan- guage which Mr. Stephens did not like; but nothing further was said on the subject at this time. In a joint debate with Mr. Toombs at Washington, the latter was taxed in pretty much the same fashion. It was a novel spectacle to see a youngster like Mr. Hill touch the breast- plates of old veterans like Mr. Toombs and Mr. Stephens ; and stories of Jack the Giant-Killer began to circulate up and down the State.

What Mr. Toombs thought on the subject does not appear, but Mr. Stephens was by no means pleased with the garbled accounts which reached him within the next few days, and, putting some vitriol into his ink bottle, he wrote to Mr. Hill for information. Said he in substance : "I have been informed that in your speeches at Thomson and Augusta you declared that you had charged upon Mr. Toombs and myself that we had betrayed the Whig party and had acted toward it worse than Judas Iscariot, for though he betrayed his Master he did not abuse Him afterward; that you had thundered this in our ears and that we had cowered under your charges. Please let me know if this be true, at least so far as I am concerned."

To this letter Mr. Hill replied in substance that he had repeated at Thomson and Augusta exactly what had taken place at Lexington and Washington, no more and no less; that he met argument with argument, sarcasm with sarcasm, and ridicule with ridicule; that he dis- claimed any personal ill-will and made shots only at those who built batteries.

Mr. Stephens was not satisfied with the terms in which this reply was couched, and several additional love-letters were exchanged in which Judas was the only

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one of the disciples whose name was mentioned; and finally Mr. Stephens, nettled by what he considered an admission of the rumors with an effort to escape the con- sequences, challenged Mr. Hill to mortal combat. It was quite a predicament in which the latter was placed. He knew the risk which he was bound to incur, if he declined an invitation. At the same time, he shrank from fighting an invalid. He did not wish Mr. Stephens to take his life, nor did he wish to take the life of Mr. Stephens. More- over, he was anxious to serve his State. Accordingly he declined the challenge; but he gave a summary of his reasons therefor and closed his letter with this para- graph : "While I have never at any time had an insult offered to me nor an aggression attempted, I shall yet know how to meet and repel any that may be offered by any gentleman who may presume on this refusal."

Unable to obtain satisfaction through this avenue of redress, Mr. Stephens published a card in which he set forth the result of the correspondence and lambasted Mr. Hill with picturesque epithets ; but Mr. Hill, who was an adept at the same art, came back with his own review of the controversy and wound up by giving as his last reason for declining a duel with Mr. Stephens his now celebrated rejoinder :

"I have a family and a conscience ; you have neither."

Mr. Hill Hurls There have been many exaggerated ac- an Ink Bottle counts of a personal difficulty which oc-

at Mr. Yancey. curred in 1862 between Benjamin H. Hill and William L. Yancey on the floor of the Confederate Senate. The dispute grew out of an argument with which Mr. Hill as usual was defending some policy of the Davis administration. It may have been on the bill for establishing a Supreme Court. At any rate, an exciting debate had been in progress for several days and Mr. Yancey had made some severe

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

strictures upon certain executive matters. Indeed, he had gone so far as to declare, in the heat of towering argument, that Mr. Hill had spoken what he knew to be false.

This was a declaration which carried a challenge, and, reaching for a missile with which to repel the charge, he chanced to strike an ink bottle upon his desk. Swiftly calculating the distance, he hurled this projectile at Mr. Yancey, with the force of a catapult and with the aim of a rifleman, striking the surprised Senator upon the cheek-bone. He had shown himself an adept in the use of ink-bottles, whether employed in the gentle art of letters or in the deep-chested and muscular science of pugilism; but he had also nettled the Titan wrath of one of the superb invincibles.

Things looked serious. Mr. Yancey was not a man to brook an affront. But the possibility of further diffi- culties was prevented by the interference of Senators who now rushed between the combatants; and the doors being closed the affair was amicably adjusted by med- iating friends. With some difficulty, Mr. Yancey sup- pressed his resentment, feeling that the hot haste in which Mr. Hill had acted was perhaps natural under the circumstances and that the subject-matter of disagree- ment was too trivial to estrange patriots.

Both subsequently became fast friends. The story that Mr. Yancey's death, which occurred not long after this encounter, was due to the effect of the blow received from Mr. Hill, is only artistic fiction. The wound pro- duced an effusion of blood, but it was never regarded as serious, and Mr. Yancey resumed his argument soon after the difficulty occurred. He subsequently died of kidney trouble. Both his brother, Col. B. C. Yancey, of Rome, and his son, Capt. Goodloe H. Yancey, of Athens, continued to be numbered among Mr. Hill's steadfast friends and supporters .*

*Benj. H. Hill, Jr .: Senator Benj. H. Ilill of Georgia-His Life, Speeches and Writings, pp. 43-44.

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General Toombs and , Between General Toombs and Gov- Governor Brown. ernor Brown there arose an issue during the days of Reconstruction which reached an acute stage during the summer of 1872, and while these distinguished Georgians never met on the field of honor they became involved in an acrimonious controversy which threatened at every moment to end

in a resort to weapons. It was intimated by Gen. Toombs, in language which amounted almost to an open declaration, that Gov. Brown had been guilty of lobbying certain claims through the State Legislature, to which Gov. Brown returned an indignant answer, stating that if Gen. Toombs meant to accuse him of lobbying he was an unscrupulous liar.

Up to this time Gen. Toombs and Gov. Brown had been staunch friends. In the latter's famous issue with President Davis, over the Conscript Act, Gen. Toombs had sided with Gov. Brown. But the two men parted company under the bayonet regime of Reconstruction, Gen. Toombs urging resistance, while Gov. Brown advo- cated submission to the Federal authorities. With philo- sophic composure, Gov. Brown endured the ostracism to which his unpopular course exposed him; but his habit- ual calmness forsook him when Gen. Toombs stepped forward with his offensive implication.

At this stage of the controversy, there appeared upon the scene a gentleman, acting on behalf of Gen. Toombs, who wished to know if Gov. Brown was prepared for personal hostilities, to which Gov. Brown replied that he would reserve his answer until he received a challenge. In the meantime, however, with characteristic delibera- tion, he began to put his house in order and to arrange his private affairs so as to be prepared for whatever might happen. It is said that he even contemplated withdrawing his letter from the Baptist church until the affair was concluded; but there was never any ground for this statement. Mr. Grady's imagination hatched it up in order to give color to a sensational newspaper

GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

report. If a challenge was contemplated by Gen. Toombs, it failed to materialize into a cartel. Con- troversial warfare was carried on in the public prints; but no invitation to go blood-hunting was ever issued or received.

Discussing the threatened hostile meeting between Gen. Toombs and Gov. Brown in 1872, Mr. Grady in- dulged in some humorous speculations. Said he: "In the first place, Gen. Toombs made no preparation for the duel. He went along in his careless and kingly way, trusting presumably to luck on quick shot. Gov. Brown, on the contrary, made the most careful and deliberate preparation. Had the duel come off, Gen. Toombs would have fired with his usual magnificence and his usual dis- regard of rule. I do not mean to imply that he would not have hit Gov. Brown; on the contrary, he might have hit him in a dozen places at once. But one thing is sure- Gov. Brown would have clasped his long white fingers around the pistol butt, adjusted it to his gray eye, and set his bullet within an eighth of an inch of the place he had selected. I should not be surprised if he drew a diagram of Gen. Toombs, and marked off with square and compass the exact spot he wanted to hit."

Last Duel Fought On August 10, 1889, perhaps the last in the South. duel fought in the Southern States, according to the strict ethics of the Field of Honor, occurred in Alabama, near the Georgia State line, between J. R. Williamson and Patrick Cal- houn, both of whom were captains of industry and rail- way magnates interested in Southern rehabilitation. The former, since deceased, was then President of the Rome, Chattanooga and Columbus R. R., with head- quarters in Rome; while the latter, a direct lineal de- scendant of the Great Nullifier of South Carolina, was at this time attorney for the West Point Terminal Company, with offices in Atlanta. Mr. Calhoun has since become

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a national figure, due to his connection with the great street railway system of San Francisco.

From an eye-witness to the affair, Mr. Gordon Noel Hurtel, who was present in the capacity of a newspaper correspondent, the following account of the duel has been obtained. Says this writer :*

During a certain investigation before a legislative committee at the Georgia State capitol, Mr. Calhoun made a remark which reflected on the integrity of Captain Williamson, and Captain Williamson denounced the statement as a falsehood. Mr. Calhoun sent a letter by Captain Harry Jackson to the offending party, in which he demanded an apology. Captain Williamson referred the bearer to Captain Jack King. There was no retraction.,

Cedar Bluff, where it was planned to fight the duel, can be reached from Atlanta over the Rome and Decatur Railroad, via Rome. or over the Southern Railroad, via Anniston. It was strictly against the Code for newspaper reporters to attend a duel, and in the palmy days of the Code it was not difficult for duellists to rid themselves of too much publicity; but when the Calhoun-Williamson duel was fought not even the Field of Honor was too sacred for the staff correspondent.

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 4

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co. Number of Pages: 1274

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274