Episode 12 - Abraham Lincoln ~ Famous President and Duelist

There are many ways to settle arguments and disagreements.  If the situation is strong enough, some in the past would challenge the offender to a fight to the death known as a duel.  

Generally, duels were between men but there have been some recorded between women.  It was considered cowardly to refuse a duel.  And in so called, polite and gentlemanly society, to be labeled as a coward was worse than death.

 In this episode I will tell the story behind the story of a chapter in the life our one of our famous presidents, President Abraham Lincoln.  President Lincoln was challenged to a duel because of a supposed insulting letter to a newspaper.

 I invite you to join me to hear the story behind the story of this interesting event in the history of our great nation.

References:

The Historical Marker Database (hmdb.org)

The Monument Lab (monumentlab.com)

I invite you to share this podcast with others. If you have interesting stories about historical markers you've discovered, or perhaps are in your area, please email me at: americanhistoricalmarkers@gmail.com.

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Safe Travels!

Transcript

Hello Friends,

 I’m your host Dave Laton and welcome to Signs of Our Time, Discovering America’s heritage, one sign at a time.

 This podcast is designed to provide the story behind the story found on America’s roadside historical signs and markers.  

 Did you know that President Abraham Lincoln was once involved in a duel?  Yes, a duel that could have ended his life well before he became our 16th president.  Some refer to it as “The duel that never happened.”

 This historical, although obscure event in President Lincoln’s life is memorialized on a historical marker found in Alton, Illinois.  Let’s look at the story behind the story.

Dueling didn’t always result in the loss of life.  It might not even end with someone being wounded. The main goal of a duel was to restore honor, not necessarily to kill or wound the opponent. Duels could end after one shot, or a minor injury.  Or, in some cases, just showing up willing to fight to the death was sufficient to restore honor.  

 This sets the background for the duel involving Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln, not yet our president, was challenged to a duel because he had supposedly written an insulting letter to a newspaper about a man named James Shields.  It seems the dispute was over banking laws in Illinois. It should be noted, however, that apparently Lincoln did not actually write the letter.  According to the history of the event, Lincoln’s future wife, Mary Todd and a political ally, Julia Jayne wrote the letter.  Here’s a quote from the letter. 

  “Shields is a fool as well as a liar. With him truth is out of the question; and as for getting a good, bright, passable lie out of him, you might as well try to strike a fire from a cake of tallow." 

 Wow, harsh words indeed!  

 While pistols were the most common weapon of choice in American duels, some chose different weapons if it gave them an advantage over their opponent.  Since Shields had challenged Lincoln to the duel, Lincoln had the honor of choosing the weapons.  So, he chose calvary broadswords.  He knew that with his superior reach, it would give him a significant advantage over Shields.  (By the way, there’s no mention in history that Lincoln was particularly skilled as a swordsman.  

 On the day of the duel, the two men faced each other on an island in the Mississippi River across from Alton.  It must be stated that Lincoln did not want to duel, and especially, he did not want to injure or kill Shields.  So, as they were waiting for the duel to begin, Lincoln swung his sword above their heads and cut through a nearby tree branch.  This demonstrated to Shields that Lincoln had a tremendous advantage with his reach.  So,  the two men wisely called a truce and death was avoided.  It is reported that later Lincoln and Shields shared jokes together at a local tavern. 

 A final chapter in this relationship occurred later during the Civil War.  Shields was a Brigadier General in the Army of the Potomac.  He was seriously wounded during a battle that was the only victory over the famous Southern General Stone Wall Jackson.  As a result, Lincoln promoted Shields to Major General thereby demonstrating that there were  no ill-feelings between them.

 The custom of dueling as a form of settling issues of honor between gentlemen declined in the late 19th century, partly due to increased public condemnation and stricter enforcement of anti-dueling laws.  Then by the early 20th century, it had largely become a thing of the past. 

We certainly are thankful that today disputes are settled in less deadly ways.  

 Well friends, there you have it.  A story behind the story from America’s historical signs and markers.  I hope you enjoyed this episode.  I invite you to subscribe and continue listening as we bring more episodes about the rich heritage of our great nation.

 Please share this podcast with others.  If you have interesting stories about historical signs and markers, email me at: americanhistoricalmarkers@gmail.com.  Maybe your story behind the story will be featured.

 I’m your host Dave Laton and thank you for listening, and safe travels! 

 References:

 ·       The Historical Marker Database (hmdb.org)

·       The Monument Lab (monumentlab.com)