A Congressional Duel and Massachusetts’ Reaction

This past Saturday marked the 180th anniversary of a fatal duel between two United States congressmen.  On February 24th, 1838, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, right outside the border of the District of Columbia, a duel between Representative Jonathan Cilley of Maine and Representative William J. Graves of Kentucky was held, which resulted in the death of Cilley after three rounds with rifles.  The trouble began when Cilley accused James Watson Webb, editor of the New York Courier and Enquirer, of taking bribes.  Webb responded to these accusations through a letter and asked Graves to deliver it to his detractor, who declined to accept it.  Further discussion between Cilley and Graves about the refusal worsened the situation and, although they had no known grievance against one another prior to this, Graves felt that his character was also under attack and challenged Cilley to a duel.  Three days after Cilley’s death a funeral, attended by President Martin Van Buren, was held in the U.S. House Chamber.

The Massachusetts General Court was horrified by the event and, in official statements, called the practice “savage, cowardly, and abominable” before amending the language to “immoral, unchristian, and unlawful.”  Massachusetts laws prohibiting duels and levying punishments on participants go back as far as the early 18th century, as evidenced in the following acts:

• 1719 “An Act for the Punishing and Preventing of Duelling”
• 1728 “An Act for Repealing An Act Entit[u]led ‘An Act for the Punishing and Preventing of Duelling,’ and for Making Other Provision Instead Thereof”
• 1784 “An Act Against Duelling”

A joint select committee was quickly formed in the General Court to review the matter and to determine what action, if any, should be taken.  The committee’s scathing report found that, despite most states having laws in place against dueling, one major problem was an overall “reluctance on the part of the public, to prosecute and convict … offender[s]” due to the sentiment of bravery and honor associated with it.  The report also pushed federal legislators to use their influence and “all reasonable exertions” to “procure the passage of a law by Congress” that would suppress the custom once and for all—with many states submitting similar petitions.  In February of 1839, after a lengthy debate in the U.S. Congress, a law was passed (Chap. 30) that criminalized the challenging or acceptance of duels in the District of Columbia; this law strengthened earlier 18th century laws in DC that merely banned the act itself.  As public opinion changed over time, dueling in the United States saw a decline during the Civil War era and eventually came to an end in the 1880s.

Other congressional duels:

• Spencer Pettis Representative of Missouri vs. Thomas Biddle, U.S. Army officer (August 26, 1831, both killed)
• David Broderick, Senator of California vs. David Terry, California Chief Justice (September 13, 1859, Broderick killed)

Further reading:

• Fatal Duel Between Members in 1838
• A Duel with Rifles
• Famous American Duels:  with some account of the causes that led up to them and the men engaged, by Don C. Seitz, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1929

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department