NSLM Visitor Services Associate posted: " By Nicole Stutt When we envision duels, we often think of knights in shining armor or 18th century gentlemen in a field taking aim with pistols and one man left standing at the end of it. That was often the case, but not always. Some gentl" Drawing Covert
When we envision duels, we often think of knights in shining armor or 18th century gentlemen in a field taking aim with pistols and one man left standing at the end of it. That was often the case, but not always. Some gentlemen were able to settle their disputes before they had to draw weapons. Some went through with the duels and decided they were satisfied with their rivals being injured. Some decided that simply meeting out in the field with pistols and swords wouldn't give enough satisfaction, which led to all sorts of ridiculous circumstances. Here's a list of some of the most unusual duels and almost-duels to ever take place.
Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr - July 11, 1804
The only peculiar thing about this duel were the people involved, but since it's the most famous duel in U.S. history, I couldn't leave it off the list. Both men were lawyers in New York, even working on some cases together, and both dove headfirst into managing the U.S. government which at the time was in its infancy. They developed an intense political rivalry and a deep, personal hatred for each other. Hamilton even hated Burr so much that he convinced members of his party to vote for Thomas Jefferson when he ran against Burr in the presidential election, despite his political differences with Jefferson (Holland, 108-109). The straw that broke the camel's back was apparently a letter published by Charles Cooper, detailing some rather nasty opinions Hamilton expressed about Burr. One such opinion was that Burr was 'a dangerous man, and one who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government.' Burr sent the letter to Hamilton asking him to confirm or deny whether he had in fact said those things. Hamilton did neither. Among other things, his reply says that the allegation was too vague for an explanation and didn't actually answer Burr's question. They exchanged more letters, Burr asking Hamilton if he had been spreading defamations of Burr's character, and Hamilton still replying much in the vein of his response to Burr's first inquiry. Eventually, Burr and Hamilton's seconds met and decided to arrange their duel at Weehawken, New Jersey, the same place Hamilton's son Philip had died in a duel only two years earlier (Holland 111-113). Scholars still aren't certain about the details of the duel, as there are conflicting accounts. Hamilton wrote his own eulogy the night before, declaring his attention to throw away his first shot, and his supporters would agree that's what happened. But whether Hamilton purposely misfired or simply missed, Burr hit his target, and Hamilton was killed (Holland, 117-119).
Poulain de Saint-Foix
This entry pertains to a particular duelist who has provided us with some entertaining anecdotes. Poulain de Saint-Foix was a French writer and duelist during the reign of King Louis XIV. Despite having condemned the practice of dueling, he seemed to always have a sword in hand and was constantly accepting challenges and provoking other men into fights. One day, an officer of the King's Guards walked into the Café Procope while Saint-Foix was there and ordered café au lait (coffee) and a roll for dinner. Saint-Foix immediately said that was a sorry dinner. For some reason, the officer decided this offense was worth calling him out and injuring him on the spot. Even after the skirmish Saint-Foix maintained, 'That still doesn't prevent café au lait and a roll from being a very sorry dinner.' On another occasion, Saint-Foix challenged a lawyer to a duel. The lawyer responded very calmly and told Saint-Foix when he would be in his office. It was a great shock to both men when Saint-Foix arrived with weapons and a second to find the lawyer busy at his desk and entirely unarmed. The misunderstanding came from the French word affaire, which can refer to a duel or legal business (Baldick, 80).
Mellant vs. Lenfant - 1843
While the circumstances of many duels are quite strange, gentlemen usually employed the traditional weapons of swords or pistols. This is not one of those times. The duel took place in the Commune of Maison Fort in France. Two gentlemen named Mellant and Lenfant got into an argument over a game of billiards and decided they would duel by throwing billiard balls at each other. Mellant drew first and managed to strike Lenfant on the forehead with enough force to kill him in one go (Baldick, 156).
Isabella de Carazi vs. Diambra de Petinella - 1552
Often in the history of the duel, men would meet on the field to fight for the honor or favor of a woman. This time, it was the other way around. The two ladies in question were both vying for the affections of a man named Fabio de Zeresola, who was apparently quite desirable in Naples. They dueled on horseback using lances first, then maces, then swords. Isabella was victorious, but the Neapolitan viceroy ensured that Diambra survived the fight. This duel was immortalized in a painting by Jusepe de Ribera in 1636, although he chose to portray the women fighting on foot rather than on horseback (Sartore).
Humphrey Howarth vs. Lord Barrymore - 1806
This incident was apparently preceded by a disagreement at the racetrack that, for some reason, could only be resolved by a duel (Sartore). Howarth, a member of Parliament and former surgeon, knew that gunshot wounds were often made worse by bits of clothing getting caught in the open wound. His solution to this was to arrive at the field and duel Lord Barrymore completely naked. Lord Barrymore refused to fight Howarth, and the two parted ways with no further argument (Baldick, 157).
Otto von Bismarck vs. Rudolf Virchow - 1865
This one might just be the strangest duel on the list. In 1865, Otto von Bismarck challenged his political rival Rudolf Virchow to a duel. Virchow had criticized Bismarck's policies that allocated more money to the military and less toward public health and resources. As the challenged party, Virchow had the right to decide which weapons they would use. He chose sausages. And yes, I do mean sausages as in meat. Unfortunately, what Virchow had in mind was way less amusing than using them like swords. One sausage would be safe and the other would be poisoned with parasite larvae. I assume that either Virchow would prepare the sausages and have Bismarck choose his or a third party would prepare them, but once the choice was made, each man would eat one of the sausages. But we will never know, since Bismarck withdrew the challenge upon hearing Virchow's terms (Sartore). And no, I am not suggesting either man had built up an immunity to parasites.
Monsieur de Grandpre vs. Monsieur Le Pique - 1808
Like many duels, this one was fought over a woman. Mademoiselle Tirevit was a famous French dancer and de Grandpre's mistress, but she had been discovered in a compromising position with Le Pique. They quarreled and decided to settle matters with a duel. But a field wasn't good enough for these gentlemen. Oh, no. No, these two decided they were going to duel in hot air balloons. Because meeting on a field at dawn and shooting at each other wouldn't have been dramatic enough already. They met near the Tuileries, and each took a blunderbuss gun into their balloons. The cords were cut at nine o'clock, and they floated into the air, keeping within 80 yards of each other. When they reached around 2000 feet, Le Pique shot first and missed. De Grandpre's shot punctured Le Pique's balloon. Le Pique crashed into a rooftop, and de Grandpre landed safely 17 miles from Paris (Baldick, 162).
Andrew Eberhard vs. Unnamed Spaniard - 16th century
I have to put a disclaimer for this one: I'm honestly not sure if this duel even took place. The story is just so absurd I thought it was a worthy inclusion. According to the English journalist Thomas Byerley, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II had an extraordinarily beautiful daughter named Helen. Two friends of his wished to marry her: Andrew Eberhard and a Spanish man whose name we do not know. Maximilian couldn't decide which of the two was worthier and he didn't want either of them to risk their lives, so he proposed an odd sort of duel. Whichever man could subdue his adversary and wrestle him into a sack would win Helen's hand. After over an hour of wrestling, Eberhard was able to gain the upper hand. He placed his rival in the sack and dropped it at the feet of the emperor (Meddings). As hilarious as this story is, I'm not even sure if it's true. I tried to find more information about the people involved and came up with very little. However, I found multiple sources that have the names of all 16 of Maximilian II's children, and none of them list a daughter named Helen. Perhaps the anecdote was referring to Maximilian's daughter Eleonore, and Byerley or someone transcribing his work made an error (Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor). Perhaps there's another source somewhere out there with a slightly different account of the incident. Whether it's true or not, I certainly thought this tale bizarre enough to be worth sharing.
General François Fournier-Sarlovèze vs. General Pierre Dupont de l'Étang - 1794-1813
Last but not least, we have my favorite story on the list. And yes, you did read those dates correctly. These men had an ongoing duel that lasted 19 years. It began in Strasbourg, where Fournier had challenged and killed a young man named Blum. A General Moreau was hosting a ball for the town and told Dupont not to let Fournier in. He did so, and Fournier challenged Dupont for the perceived insult. They fought three times in the following months, only injuring each other as they were of equal skill with a sword, and Dupont refused to fight with pistols. Not a bad idea since Fournier was a much better shot. Still, they were determined to continue their duel until one of them had obtained satisfaction. They even drew up rules pertaining to their contest in addition to the codes that already regulated duels. They were to meet every time they were within 100 miles of each other, if one of them is unable to travel the other must go to meet them, and their only exemptions from meeting were military duties. And so began the longest and friendliest duel in history. The two never met without a warm handshake and often conversed while they fought. They also exchanged letters constantly to arrange their meetings and offer sincere congratulations for promotions and other milestones. They might have gone on like that forever if Dupont hadn't decided to get married. He didn't want to be committed to this duel and potentially make his new wife a widow. The two met one final time in the woods and decided to use pistols to bring their duel to a definitive end. Dupont was victorious. He spared Fournier's life and the two parted ways (Baldick 165-168).
Works Cited
Baldick, Robert. The Duel: A History of Duelling. Chapman & Hall, 1965.
Holland, Barbara. Gentlemen's Blood: A History of Dueling from Swords at Dawn to Pistols at Dusk. Bloomsbury, 2003.
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