Who and Why? The Bladensburg Dueling Grounds
Here, in a beautiful little grass plot, surrounded by trees, forms made after the image of God, come to insult nature and defy Heaven[1]
An 1860 article attributed to The Philadelphia Ledger but printed across the country (California, Georgia, Minnesota, New York, et alia) names a dozen duels that took place at the infamous Bladensburg Dueling Grounds in Maryland. Arguably the most interesting aspect of the coverage is the commingling of a presidential candidate (Henry Clay), two commodores (Barron and Decatur), and multiple congressmen (A.T. Mason, W. Graves, J. Cilley, J. Randolph) with newspaper editors, midshipmen, clerks, and men with no noted occupation. One pair, Lega and Sega, were only identified by their gloves.[2] The presence of men of relatively low status indicates that the duel was not simply for the gentry.
With regards to motivation, Freeman’s writing cautions against the impulse to view the duel as a “ritual of violence” with the aim of death or injury. Rather, the duel was considered a complex display of bravery and the courage to risk life over dishonor—the response to a challenge was often more important than the duel itself.[3] Evidence for this is seen in the above example of Daniels and Johnson having coffee after their bloodless duel and in the duel between Clay and Randolph, which ended with a handshake and Randolph exclaiming “Mr. Clay, you owe me a coat.” That is not to say that bloodshed was never sought after, of course; dueling was a naturally dangerous and bloody affair. Some duels, as evidenced by the decision of Cilley and Graves to go beyond the customary second round for a fatal third exchange[4] and Mr. Key’s explicitly stated desire to kill[5], certainly seem to have been fought with bloodshed as the primary aim.
