Part 13 (1/2)
Wise, Mr Crittenden, and Mr Menifee, two of his colleagues, and Dr Foltz his surgeon The attendants of Mr Cilley were his second, Mr Jones, Representative Bynu, and Dr Duncan as his surgeon The Committee's report then continues in these words:
”Shortly after three o'clock P M the parties exchanged shots according to the ter Mr Cilley fired first before he had fully elevated his piece, and Mr Graves one or two seconds afterwards Both missed It is to the credit of both the seconds and to the other gentlemen in attendance, than an earnest desire was then manifested to have the affair terminated, as will appear from the report already mentioned”
Mr Jones now inquired of Mr Wise whether Mr Graves was satisfied, to which Mr Wise replied: ”These gentlemen have co n so at Mr Graves's hands Colonel Webb's communication, or make some disclaimer which will relive Mr Graves froe is i, Mr Cilley can e of shots suspends the challenge, and the challenge is suspended for explanation” Mr Jones thereupon went to Mr Cilley, and after returning said:
”I a to receive the note fro to come from Colonel Webb, he meant no disrespect to Mr Graves because he entertained for hihest respect and the ; but that he declined to receive the note because he chose not to be drawn into any controversy with Colonel Webb”
The above not being satisfactory to Mr Graves, and Mr Cilley declining to e was renewed and the parties resued shots
Mr Graves fired first, before he had fully elevated his piece; Mr Cilley about two seconds afterwards They both ht from the motions and appearance of Mr Graves that he was hit The latter immediately and peree was here again, for the time, withdrawn and another unsuccessful atteht of as so soon to follow, it is painful to read that all this came about and continued to the bloody end, because Mr Cilley in substance refused to disclaie was for the reason that he did not consider hi so, he intended no disrespect to the bearer of the challenge, for whoh to us was dee renewed, the parties, after due observance of the formalities as before, confronted each other for the third and last ti loaded, the parties resuether Mr Cilley was shot through the body
He dropped his rifle, beckoned to some one near him, and said, 'I am shot,' put both his hands to his wound, fell, and in two or three minutes expired”
What a commentary all this upon ”the code of honor”! Upon what appears the shadow of a technicality even, two young nized ability, chosen representatives of the people, confronted each other in continued cohtest feeling of hostility toward the other! This duel, so utterly groundless in its inception and bloody in its ter Intense excitement followed the death of the laainst the horrible custo But the public sentiment that existed at the time must be taken into account before a too ready condeedy In announcing the death of Mr Cilley to the Senate, Mr
Willia race to himself, his fa officer of the Senate, a gentlee called upon e W Jones, for e, apparently in perfect health, and as active as if, for his exclusive benefit, the hands had been turned back three decades upon the dial He had been a delegate fro the present States of Iowa and Wisconsin, in the twenty-fifth Congress, when the sessions of the House were held in the Old Hall Upon the admission of Iowa as a State, he was chosen a Senator, a position he held by successive elections for ate, he had been the associate of John Quincy Adalas, Cass, Seward, Preston, Clay, Calhoun, and Webster He had personally known some of the men whose public life reached back to the establishment of the Governreat questions that have left a deep impress upon history As I listened to his description of the men I have named, and of the momentous events hich their na link between the present and the long past
But what interested otten old man before me, was the fact that he was the second of the unfortunate Cilley upon the ill-fated day at Bladensburg The conversation at length turned to that event, and strangely enough, he estion of ehest terentleifts, and of splendid pro years had not diret at the sad ending of an affair hich his own name is inseparably associated
The first duel between men of prominence in this country, was that of Gwinett and McIntosh The fact that one of the parties, button Gwinett, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence gives it historic interest He was one of the three delegates froress, and an earnest charated froe tract of land, and devoted hiricultural pursuits Less is known of hiners of the Declaration
In 1777, he became involved in a bitter personal quarrel with General McIntosh, an officer of the Revolution Deeply offended at his conduct, Gwinett challenged hiht with pistols at a distance of twelve feet, and Gwinett was killed He is buried at Augusta, Georgia, with his two colleagues in the Continental Congress
It is now an alotten fact that, but for the wise counsel of his superior officer, Nathaniel Greene, next to Washi+ngton the ablest of the Aenerals, would have been a party to a duel at a tireatly in demand Soon after his transfer to the southern ar that a declination upon his part would be misunderstood by his brother officers, Greene wrote General Washi+ngton a full account of the transaction, concluding: ”If I thought my honor or reputation would suffer in the opinion of the world, and entlemen, I value life too little to hesitate a e” The answer of one of the wisest of men possibly saved to our little army one whose loss would have been disastrous to his country at that critical ive it as my decided opinion, that your honor and reputation will stand not only perfectly acquitted for the non-acceptance of his challenge, but that your prudence and judg it; because if a coe of his public duty, he has a dagger always at his heart, and can turn neither to the right nor to the left without ton had the desired effect, and very probably saved General Greene to a brilliant career of usefulness and glory
One of theincidents of our Revolutionary history, is what is known as ”The Conway Cabal,” the atteton from the supreme command and substitute General Horatio Gates in his stead The latter was then in high favor as the hero of Saratoga and the capturer of the invading aroyne In this connection, the prophetic words of the deeply embittered General Charles Lee will be recalled On his way to take coned, Gates called upon Lee, then in disgrace and retireether in the British ar plantations in what is now Jefferson County, West Virginia When parting, Lee significantly remarked to this old comrade, ”Gates, your Northern laurels will soon be turned into Southern s”
The disastrous defeat at Camden soon thereafter terminated the military career of Gates no less effectually than the titon had terraceful retreat at the battle of Monmouth
The result of the ”Cabal” above e from Colonel Cadwallader to General Conhose name has come down to us associated with the conspiracy to supersede Washi+ngton by Gates
In an encounter which i his wound to be mortal, he called for pen and paper and didletter to Washi+ngton:
”SIR: I finda few rief for having written, said, or done anything disagreeable to Your Excellency
My career will soon be over, therefore justice and truth proreat and goodenjoy the love, esteem, and veneration of these States whose liberties you have asserted by your virtues”
Conway eventually recovered, entered the army of France, and died in its service
General Charles Lee was indeed a soldier of fortune A native of England, he held a co of Italy As the result of a duel in which he slew an Italian officer, he fled to Aress just at the beginning of the struggle for independence He was placed second in coton and was not without supporters for the coveted position of Co the eneton, and deeply resented the fact that his position was subordinate to that of the younger and less experienced officer, for whose ability he expressed great contempt He was a friend of Gates and one of the chief conspirators in the Conway Cabal His military career closed at the battle of Monht there is little doubt that he was then in treasonable correspondence with the ene deprived of his coed by Colonel John Laurens, one of the aides of the Coton The challenge was accepted, and the parties fought with pistols in a retired spot near Philadelphia Additional interest attaches to this duel froton's staff, was the second for Laurens
At the first fire Lee ounded, and then, through the interposition of Ha narrative has come down to us that, ”upon the whole, we think it a piece of justice to the two gentlely enerosity, coolness, and firht to characterize a transaction of this nature”
The last years of Lee's life were spent at his Virginia plantation
He died in an obscure boarding-house in Philadelphia, in 1782