List of duels in the United States

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List of duels in the United States (short, easy-to-understand version)

Dueling was once common in early American history, especially among politicians, military officers, and gunfighters. From the late 18th to the late 19th century, people in the United States fought many recorded duels. Some ended in deaths, others in serious injuries or draws. Over time laws and social norms changed, and dueling largely faded away.

Selected notable duels (highlights)

- 1777, Button Gwinnett vs Lachlan McIntosh (Georgia) — both wounded; Gwinnett died three days later.
- 1778, John Cadwalader vs Thomas Conway — Cadwalader’s shot hit Conway in the mouth; Conway survived.
- 1778, John Laurens vs Charles Lee — Lee wounded; Laurens unharmed.
- 1793, James Lamberton vs John Duncan — Lamberton killed Duncan in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
- 1801, Philip Hamilton vs George I. Eacker — Hamilton was killed.
- 1802, John Stanly vs Richard Dobbs Spaight — Stanly killed Spaight.
- 1804, Burr vs Hamilton — Hamilton was killed; Burr’s duel is one of the most famous in American history.
- 1806, Andrew Jackson vs Charles Dickinson — Dickinson killed; Jackson was wounded. Jackson later became president.
- 1811, George Poindexter vs Abijah Hunt — Hunt died from wounds.
- 1817, John Dick vs John Grymes (Louisiana) — both reportedly wounded; later events connected to Louisiana legal fights.
- 1817, Thomas Hart Benton vs Charles Lucas (Bloody Island, Mississippi River) — first duel left Benton wounded and Lucas killed in a rematch later that year.
- 1820, Stephen Decatur vs James Barron — Decatur was killed.
- 1823, Joshua Barton vs Thomas Rector (Bloody Island) — Barton killed.
- 1826, Sam Houston vs William A. White — Houston severely wounded White in Kentucky.
- 1827, Samuel Levi Wells III vs Thomas Harris Maddox — Wells injured; notable participants included Jim Bowie at the scene.
- 1831–1832, several duels on Bloody Island and nearby areas (Mississippi River region) involving figures like Henry Clay, Spencer Pettis, and others with mixed outcomes.
- 1832, Major J. T. Camp vs Sowell Woolfolk — Woolfolk killed near Columbus, Georgia.
- 1832, Philip Minis vs James Stark — Minis killed Stark in Savannah; later controversy about the duel’s legality.
- 1837, Albert Sidney Johnston vs Felix Huston — Johnston was shot in a duel.
- 1838, William Jordan Graves vs Jonathan Cilley — Graves killed Cilley; Congress later passed a law restricting duels in Washington, D.C.
- 1839, Leigh Read vs Augustus A. Alston — Read killed Alston; Alston’s associates killed Read later in 1841.
- 1842, Abraham Lincoln (then a legislator) vs James Shields — planned duel on Bloody Island, but the seconds intervened and the fight did not occur.
- 1847, Albert Pike vs John Selden Roane — draw; no injuries.
- 1847, R. Barnwell Rhett Jr. vs William H. Cooley — Rhett killed Cooley near New Orleans.
- 1852, John L. Marling vs Felix Zellicoffer — both survived their Nashville duel with injuries.
- 1853, William McKendree Gwin vs J. W. McCorkle — no injuries.
- 1856, Benjamin Gratz Brown vs Thomas Reynolds — Brown injured; Reynolds unhurt.
- 1859, David C. Broderick vs David S. Terry — Broderick was killed.
- 1862, Alfred M. Rhett vs William R. Colhoun — Colhoun killed; Rhett shot.
- 1863, Lucius M. Walker vs Marmaduke — Marmaduke mortally wounded Walker; Walker died the next day.
- 1865, Wild Bill Hickok vs Davis Tutt — Tutt killed; one of the most famous quick-draw gunfights in the American West.
- 1867, John Bull vs Langford Peel — Peel killed; Bull convicted of murder in state precedent.
- 1873, Rhett Cooley-like duels continued in the South; notable incidents included the Rhett-Cooley case in 1873.
- 1882, Luke Short vs Jim Courtright — Short killed Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas (quick-draw duel).

Important context

- Many duels happened in the 18th and 19th centuries and involved political disputes, personal honor, or battles for social standing.
- Some duels occurred on or near the Mississippi River’s Bloody Island (Illinois side) and other locations that became well known for such clashes.
- Over time, anti-dueling laws and changes in social norms helped end the practice in the United States.
- The list above is a small, representative sample from a much longer history; many other duels were recorded or reported in newspapers and historical sources.

Note: The original article this is based on is incomplete and contains many more entries. This version aims to provide a concise, easy-to-understand overview of some of the more notable duels in U.S. history.