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CHAPTBE VIII
THE CODE DUELLO—GEORGIA ONE OF THE FIRST STATES TO EMPLOY THIS
MODE OF ARBITRATION IN SETTLING DISPUTES BETWEEN GENTLEMEN—
ALSO ONE OP THE LAST TO ABANDON THIS CUSTOM—ORIGIN OF THE
DUEL—REASONS FOR ITS DOMINANCE IN GEORGIA, WHERE IT RULED
PUBLIC LIFE DURING THE ANTEBELLUM PERIOD—To DECLINE AN INVI
TATION TO THE FIELD OF HONOR MEANT OSTRACISM—IT OPERATED AS
A BAB SINISTER TO PREFERMENT IN POLITICS—THE EARLIEST DUEL ON
RECORD IN GEORGIA WAS FOUGHT BETWEEN BUTTON GWINNETT AND
LACHLAN MC!NTOSH DURING THE REVOLUTION—THEY MEET ON THE
OUTSKIRTS OF SAVANNAH—Two OTHER PATRIOTS FACE EACH OTHER
ON HORSEBACK—Gov. JAMES JACKSON, AN INVETERATE DUELIST—
His CONNECTION WITH THE YAZOO FRAUD EXPOSURE MAKES HIM A
MULTITUDE OF ENEMIES—DUEL WITH GOVERNOR WELLS—HE ALSO
FIGHTS ROBERT WATKINS AND THOMAS GIBBONS—COD. BENJAMIN
TALIAFERRO MEETS FRANCIS WILLIS ON THE FIELD OF HONOR.
NOTE : SAND BAR FERRY, A FAMOUS DUELLING GROUND.
Georgia was one of the first states of the Union to find the duel * an
effective instrument for the adjustment of differences between gentle
men, she was also one of the last states to abandon a custom, perhaps,
more honored in the breech than in the observance. At a time when
party strife was most intense and bitter, it was an almost daily occur
rence for men to cross swords or to exchange shots in personal encoun
ters, but everything was done according to prescribed form and with
punctilious regard for the Code of Honor. There was scarcely a public
man in Georgia who was not credited with at least one duel, fought
* ORIGIN op THE DUEL.—What is known as the Code Duello is supposed to have
originated in the judicial combats of the Celtic nations. Trial by battle—or wager
of battle—represented a crude form of justice to which the Lombards began to
resort as early as the year 659 of the Christian era and. which, subsequent to the
battle of Hastings, in 1066, was introduced into England by William the Conqueror.
But the general practice of duelling to settle affairs of honor between gentlemen
may be said to have commenced in 1527,. when Francis I, of France, issued a
challenge to Charles V, of Germany, directing him to name his own time and place
and to make his own choice of weapons with which to fight.
The affair seems to have grown out of an abrogated treaty, in consequence of
which the German Emperor sent a curt message to King Francis, through the latter 'a
herald, declaring him to be not only a base violator of public faith but a stranger to
the honor becoming, a gentleman. Incensed at this message, which he considered a
wanton insult, the impetuous French sovereign instantly sent back the bearer with
a cartel of defiance, in which he gave the lie to Emperor Charles and incidentally,
by way of royal precedent, laid the foundations for the modern duel.—"Georgia's
Landmarks, Memorials and Legends,'' Vol. II, pp. 1-2, by L. L. Knight.
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