Several Notable Kentucky Duels

Section 228, the “dueling clause” of Kentucky's Constitution, states:

Oath of Officers and Attorneys (title)

http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/legresou/constitu/228.htm

“Members of the General Assembly and all officers, before they enter upon the execution of the duties of their respective offices, and all members of the bar, before they enter upon the practice of their profession, shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best of my ability, the office of ____ according to law; and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus offending, so help me God.”” ~Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.

All of Kentucky's public officials must swear that they have been in a duel, or challenged another to fight a duel, or accepted a challenge.

Between 1790 and 1867, forty-one formal duels took place in the commonwealth.

Some notable Kentucky duels were:

The 1801 John Rowan-James Chambers duel was fought over who understood classical languages the best. John Rowan of Bardstown and Dr. James Chambers were playing cards at Duncan McLean's Tavern, drinking and gambling. John Rowan didn't know the classical languages—Latin and Greek—as well as James Chambers, and yet, Rowan's ego inflated his classical language skills. Rowan told Chambers that he wasn't in a position to dispute Rowan on Latin and Greek. But Chambers said au contraire. Chambers boasted that he was so skilled in Latin and Greek that he could compare his skills to the best of men.

“I'll be damned if you are” said Rowan.

“I'll be damned if I'm not”, returned Chambers.

“You're a damned liar,” said Rowan, and after Rowan called Chambers a liar, they came to blows. John Rowan was so drunk that he struck the wall of the chimney as often, perhaps oftener, than he struck the Doctor. Eventually, Rowan knocked his thumb out of place. Chambers called Rowan a coward, and Rowan shouted that whoever says so is “a liar, a fool, and a rascal.” Doctor Chambers said that he'd brandish him a coward in every newspaper in Kentucky.

So they dueled.

The duel was held on February 3, 1801 near Bardstown. Both combatants missed with their first shots. Both men fired again, and Rowan's second shot struck Chambers, wounding him severely. (Bibb's account says that Chambers was struck in the left side; other accounts state that the shot hit Chambers in the chest.) Rowan then offered his carriage to take Chambers to town for medical attention, and Chambers asked that Rowan not be prosecuted. Despite medical aid, Dr. James Chambers died the following day.

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The 1838 William Jordan Graves-Jonathan Cilley Duel

The 1838 William Jordan Graves-Jonathan Cilley duel wasn't even fought by the man whose honor had been insulted. William Jordan Graves of Henry County dueled with Jonathan Cilley of Maine. Graves was convinced by Webb to duel Cilly, but he wasn't the originator of the duel. Jonathan Cilley had called another man—James Watson Webb—a New York newspaper editor, “corrupt”, and that's what propelled Webb to call for a duel... er, get Graves to call for a duel.

Graves fatally wounded Cilley by shooting him through the femoral artery. Cilley, a congressman, bled to death on the field. Jonathan was buried in Elm Grove Cemetery in Thomaston, Maine.

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The 1842 James Webb-Thomas Marshall Duel

James Watson Webb didn't fight in the first duel he started, but he did fight in the second one he started. Webb had accused Thomas F. Marshall, a temperance activist, of being a former drunkard. This came at the tail end of a long standing antagonism, so Thomas F. Marshall called for a duel.

So therefore, at dawn, with pistols, in a field in Delaware, Webb fired the pistol into the air, not wanting to kill the congressman, and Marshall shot Webb in the hip. Then the duel was over.

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The 1819 Francis G. Waring-Jacob H. Holeman Duel

On July 4, 1819, during a 4th of July military procession near Peak's Mill Road, about 4 miles out from Frankfort, Jacob H. Holeman, an officer, stabbed Francis G. Waring's dog with his dress sword, when Waring's dog came running up to Waring while in procession. Jacob H. Holeman felt as if the dog messed up the perfect routine of the military procession, so he killed him on the spot with a quick thrust of his sword into the dog's chest cavity. After this, Waring and Holeman had a fistfight. Within a few days, Francis G. Waring challenged Jacob H. Holeman to a duel for spilling innocent canine blood.

Once Waring and Holeman were standing across from each other, with each other's pistols pointed towards each other, and with the shout of “Fire!”, both Webb and Marshall shot at the same time, to where it sounded like only one shot was fired. Holman's bullet went into Waring's right breast, straight through his heart, killing him instantly. Waring's bullet went into Holman's right hip, causing him to fall over. Holeman was carried to his home, and while he overcame the wound, Holeman was a cripple for the rest of his life.

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1842 Abraham Lincoln-James Shields Almost Duel

Abraham Lincoln, as an Illinois state legislature, was about to fight a duel with James Shields because he was insulted by a series of letters, written by either Abe, or Mary Todd (his future wife) and Julia Jayne, or all three.

In August of 1842, the Illinois State Bank went bankrupt and announced that it would no longer accept its own paper currency from private citizens looking to pay off debts. Gold and silver, which most citizens did not have, became the only acceptable currency. Shields, the State Auditor, sided with his Democratic party and supported the decision to close the bank. In the Springfield, Illinois Sangamo Journal, Simeon Francis, the editor, allowed Lincoln (or his wife) wrote the letter under the penname “Rebecca of the Lost Townships.”

“Rebecca” wrote:

“I've been tugging ever since harvest getting out wheat and hauling it to the river, to raise State Bank paper enough to pay my tax this year, and a little school debt I owe; and now just as I've got it, lo and behold, I find a set of fellows calling themselves officers of State, have forbidden to receive State paper at all; and so here it is, dead on my hands.”

“She” also wrote that James Shields was “overly pompous, a hypocrite, and a liar”.

“Rebecca” went on to taunt James Shields’ pursuit of women:

“His very features, in the ecstatic agony of his soul, spoke audibly and distinctly–“Dear girls, it is distressing, but I cannot marry you all. Too well I know how much you suffer; but do remember, it is not my fault that I am so handsome and so interesting.””

Rebecca also compared James Shields to “cat’s fur”, and was described as being as “mad as a march hare” among other insults. Eventually Rebecca has a fake conversation with Jeff, an Illinois farmer, and after Shield's declaration of not accepting state money is read aloud, Jeff explodes:

“I say–it-is-a-lie… It grins out like a copper dollar. Shields is a fool as well as a liar. With him truth is out of the question.”

Later on Rebecca predicts that Shields will challenge her with a duel:

“Jeff tells me the way these fire-eaters do is to give the challenged party the choice of weapons, which, being the case, I tell you in confidence, I never fight with anything but broomsticks or hot water, or a shovelful of coals or some such thing; the former of which, being somewhat like a shillelah, may not be so very objectionable to him.”

James Shields eventually gets the editor to disclose that it was Lincoln who was writing the letters, and so Shields demands of Lincoln “satisfaction”, i.e., a duel. Just prior to engaging in combat, the two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.

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Henry Clay, the drunk slave owning aristocrat, who transformed Daniel Boone's poor man's Kentucky in exchange for his aristocratic corrupt ways, participated in two duels.

Henry Clay's 1^st Duel:

On April 26, 1826, Henry Clay and John Randolph of Roanoke dueled at Pimmit Run, Virginia. Both were unhurt. Randolph insulted Clay over the latter’s support of John Q. Adams for president. Randolph called Clay a “blackleg” and pointed out the truth that Henry Clay was involved in a “corrupt bargain” with Adams. Clay hated the truth getting out, and so, he dueled.

1809 Henry Clay-Humphrey Marshall Duel: i.e. Henry Clay's 2^nd Duel

A far more ludicrous duel of Clay's was when he went up against a statesman named Humphrey Marshall of Frankfort. Both Clay and Marshall were both Kentucky State Representatives at the time. Marshall had served as a US Senator previously, and he was the first cousin to Supreme Court Chief John Marshall. They argued over the wearing of European clothing in the Frankfort legislature, and fought the duel in Indiana on January 19, 1809, just across the Ohio River from Shippingport, Kentucky.

Expectations of a confrontation between Marshall and fellow representative Henry Clay were high during the Frankfort legislative session, owing to tensions between the two dating back to Clay's defense of Aaron Burr during the Burr conspiracy. Clay's chair in the chamber was separated from Marshall's only by that of General Christopher Riffe, the representative from Lincoln County, who was described as “a burly German of almost gigantic size and herculean strength”. A few minor quarrels passed between Marshall and Clay early in the session, but the relative peace dissolved in December 1808 when Clay introduced a resolution calling for all members of the General Assembly to wear "homespun" garments as a means of encouraging local manufacturing and reducing British imports.

“The members of the General Assembly will clothe themselves in productions of American manufacture, and will abstain from the use of cloth or linens of European fabric until the belligerent nations respect the rights of neutrals by repealing such of their orders and decrees as relate to the United States,” Clay's Resolution read.

Although Clay typically wore finer European garments than Marshall, who usually wore homespun, for the duration of the debate on his motion, Clay wore simple homemade clothes.

“Mr. Clay, then dressed in belligerent cloth—British, I believe—declaimed most manfully and patriotically against the use of it,” Marshall responded.

Marshall regarded the measure as demagoguery and employed a tailor to make him a suit of the finest British broadcloth money could buy to wear on the House floor. Marshall strutted around the Frankfort Capitol in his British clothing, and Henry Clay was immediately pissed off. Henry Clay jumped up, and tried to spit in Marshall's face, which Marshall tried to return the favor. Then they started hitting each other, but General Christopher Riffe stopped them, and threatened to whip them both.

“Come, poys, no fightings here; I vips you both,” Riffe said, stopping the fight.

A physical altercation would have happened if is was not for Riffe's intervention. Shortly thereafter, Clay challenged Marshall to a duel, which he quickly accepted.

On the first shot, Marshall missed and Clay lightly grazed Marshall's stomach. Marshall missed again on the second shot, and Clay's pistol misfired. Marshall's third shot lightly wounded Clay in the thigh, while Clay missed Marshall entirely. Clay insisted that the two each take another shot, but Marshall declined on grounds that Clay's injury put him on unequal footing with his adversary, and the matter was ended.

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The 1806 Andrew Jackson-Charles Dickinson Duel in Logan County, Kentucky

Jackson fought 5 – 100 duels in his lifetime. In 1806, Andrew Jackson fought a duel with Charles Dickinson over an insult to his wife, and a charge that he cheated on a major high-profile horse race.

Andrew Jackson married John Donelson's daughter, Rachel, who was technically married to Lewis Robards, since the laws made it difficult to divorce in those days. Charlie Dickinson went around saying that Andrew Jackson was married to another man's wife. Jackson called Dickinson a worthless, drunken, blackguard scoundrel in a local Nashville newspaper, and Dickinson called Jackson an equivocater and a coward, and dared Jackson to a duel. Jackson ignored the first challenge, so Dickinson once more charged Jackson with being a worthless scoundrel, a poltroon and a coward. Jackson had enough of the “blackguard” abuse, and accepted the duel challenge from a fellow horse breeder and plantation owner.

Dueling was outlawed in Tennessee, so the duel took place across state lines, at Harrison's Mills on the Red River in Logan County, Kentucky, on May 30. The spot was about two miles from Adairsville. Jackson would wait and, if he was still standing, take careful aim at Dickinson. The obvious weakness of this strategy was, of course, that Jackson might not be alive to take aim.

Dickinson did fire first, hitting Jackson in the chest, and breaking two ribs. Jackson put his hand over the wound to staunch the flow of blood and stayed standing long enough to fire his gun. When Jackson didn't fall over, Dickinson exclaimed:

“My God, have I missed him?”

Under the rules of dueling, Dickinson had to remain still as Jackson took his one shot. Jackson's pistol stopped at half cock. Dickinson’s seconds claimed Jackson’s first shot misfired, which would have meant the duel was over, but, in a breach of etiquette, Jackson re-cocked the gun and shot again, hitting Dickinson in the chest. Dickinson then bled to death, dying that same night.

The expert Dickinson had aimed at Jackson's heart though the bullet had been slightly deflected by Jackson's choice of loose clothing on his lean frame, and careful sideways stance. The bullet broke some of Jackson's ribs, and had lodged inches from his heart. While Jackson could easily have fallen from such a wound, he said later, “I should have hit him if he had shot me through the brain.”

Even though Jackson fought, 5, 100, 103 duels, Dickinson was the only person he ever killed.

The doctors couldn't get the bullet out of Jackson, because it was lodged in too far, and so, with his foe's bullet forever in his chest, Jackson went on with his life. Andrew Jackson left politics and pursued his military career, gaining fame in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. The duel in Kentucky was a distant memory by the time Jackson re-entered the political arena. He became governor of the new Florida Territory in 1821, and then returned to Tennessee, where he was elected a U.S. senator in 1822. In 1828, at age 62, he won the presidency. He won re-election in 1832, defeating Kentucky's Henry Clay.

Ultimately, however, Dickinson's bullet may have done him in. He died in 1845 at the age of 78, and some historians have speculated that the cause was lead poisoning. This segment features a detailed re-enactment of the duel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuWrR-sQ2Ns

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Here's a list of some other Kentucky Duels, in no particular order, and some redundant (just notes):

September 22, 1826: Representative Sam Houston of Tennessee severely wounded General William A. White in a pistol duel near Franklin, Kentucky, over the patronage political appointment of the Nashville Postmaster.

On February 24, 1838, Congressman William Jordan Graves of Henry County, Kentucky (1805-1848) fought a duel with fellow congressman Jonathan Cilley of Maine and killed him. February 24, 1838: Kentucky Representative William Jordan Graves killed Maine Representative Jonathan Cilley in a pistol duel. Graves engaged in a duel at the Bladensburg dueling grounds on the Marlboro Road in Maryland with Congressman Jonathan Cilley in 1838. Graves was a stand-in for New York newspaper editor James Watson Webb, whom Cilley had called corrupt. Cilley was inexperienced with guns, and Graves was allowed to use a powerful rifle. A shot to an artery in Cilley's leg caused him to bleed to death in ninety seconds.

Randolph vs. Wilkinson; Randolph did not rise to every challenge. He refused to meet General James Wilkinson in a duel. Wilkinson, the founder of Frankfort, had an unsavory reputation due to his role in Aaron Burr’s treason plot and with his questionable dealings with Spain in the socalled “Spanish Conspiracy.” He demanded of Randolph that his honor be satisfied. The sharp-tongued Randolph had offended the general’s already prickly sense of honor in some of his remarks. When Randolph refused Wilkinson’s challenge the outraged general “posted” Randolph. “Posting” a person meant to try and publicly humiliate them. The denunciation of the individual would be printed in the local newspaper. Wilkinson declared Randolph to be a “prevaricating, base, calumniating scoundrel, poltroon, and coward.” In most instances such strong language would have been enough to cause an immediate duel. Randolph as unpredictable as ever, shrugged off the offense.

The 1801 Rowan-Chambers Duel. John Rowan (1773-1843), builder of “Federal Hill” (better known as “My Old Kentucky Home), fought a duel with Dr. James Chambers over an argument dealing with who had the best mastery of classical languages. Chambers was killed and Rowan was arrested and tried on murder charges. He won acquittal and later became a judge on the Kentucky Court of appeals.

Rowan was known throughout his life as an avid gamester. On January 29, 1801, Rowan joined Dr. James Chambers and three other men for a game of cards at Duncan McLean's Tavern in Bardstown.After several beers and games of whist, Chambers suggested playing Vingt-et-un for money instead. Rowan had determined not to gamble during this session of gaming, but impaired by the alcohol, he agreed.After a few hands, an argument broke out between Chambers and Rowan. The exact nature of the argument is not known. Some accounts claim it was over who was better able to speak Latin and Greek; others suggest that general insults were exchanged between the two men. A brief scuffle followed the disagreement. The duel was held February 3, 1801, near Bardstown. Chambers impugned Rowan's mastery of classical languages. Others state that Rowan was making derogatory remarks about Dr. Chambers' father-in-law, Judge Sebastian of Frankfort. In the heat of anger, Chambers grabbed Rowan by the collar and was struck by Rowan. Insulting remarks flew back and forth, erratic blows were exchanged, and separated by others, the two unsteady foes went home.

Not only Kentucky politicians evoked the Code Duello. Kentucky historian Richard Henry Collins (1824-1888) killed a man in a de facto duel in northern Kentucky.

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1790: The first recorded duel in Kentucky happened Aug. 1, 1790, two years before Kentucky became a state. It was fought in Danville between Capt. James Strong and Henry Craig. According to the Kentucky Gazette, "Captain Strong was mortally wounded; the ball entered his right groin and passed just below his left hip. Mr. Craig was wounded through the right thigh." The cause of the duel was not given.

1794: Gen. Thomas Kennedy of Garrard County and William Gillespie of Madison County fought at Paint Lick on Oct. 21, 1794. The reason for the duel was some sort of trouble over a business transaction. Gillespie was killed on the first firing. Kennedy escaped unharmed; the bullet passed through his clothes under his left arm, according to the Kentucky Gazette.

1815: William Henry and Lt. James Haydon met Feb. 14, 1815, on the big hill behind the state House in Frankfort. Each fired three rounds, but no one was injured. Having expended all their ammunition, the parties went to town but planned to return at 3 p.m. that day. However, friends on both sides brought about "an amicable and honorable compromise," according to the Argus of Western America, a Frankfort newspaper.

Dudley vs. Richardson.

It started over Dr. Drake v Dr. Dudley's arguments over how to teach medicine and how to run a hospital at Transylvania University. Drake wrote a piece that called Dudley “an ignoramus, bully and a liar”. Dudley responded by saying Drake tried to ruin the medical school at Transylvania U.

1845: Dr. J.D. Taylor of Harrodsburg and John M. Harrison of Danville fought in Garrard County on Sept. 6, 1845, with pistols at 30 feet. Harrison was shot through the body at first fire and died several days later. The duellists were brothers-in-law, and the cause of the affair "was a separation between Taylor and his wife, attributed by Taylor to misrepresentations on the part of Harrison," the Lexington Observer & Reporter said.

1867: Two Paris men, Isaac Harrison and Noah S. Alexander, met on an island in the South Licking River at Townsend Bridge on April 27, 1867. The island fell on a line between Bourbon and Harrison counties. Harrison challenged with pistols at 10 paces. Four shots were fired by each, but neither was injured. On the fifth round, Harrison was severely wounded in the hip; Alexander was slightly injured. Nevertheless, the Cynthiana News, reported, "They both shook hands and laughed over the affair with as much nonchalance as if they had been to a corn-shucking or attending a circus."

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/12/29/3009113_a-list-of-famous-duels-in-central.html

One of the corners of the property bought in 1818 was located on the "Lexington to Nashville Road" (now 31W). It was down this road, a part of the Cumberland Trace, that the travelers came. To take care of these travelers along the way there were stops where the travelers could refresh themselves or spend the night. Sandford Duncan operated such a place in his home. The 1822 tax list showed Duncan had a tavern license.

The location of the property was significant with reference to the boundary line between Kentucky and Tennessee and to the practice of dueling . There were two famous duels held at Lincompinch, an ancient dueling ground within the disputed triangle between Kentucky and Tennessee. Prior to his duel with General William White, Tennessee's General Samuel Houston "polished off his training" at the Sandford Duncan Inn.. Also several sources tell that Sandford Duncan acted as the referee between the two men. Then in an 1827 duel between Calvin M. Smith and Robert M. Brank (who stayed at the Duncan Tavern), both attorneys appearing in Maury County, Tennessee court, one defending a man charged with stealing a hog and the other prosecuting attorney. Smith had accepted a challenge from Robert M. Brank to fight a duel, which he did in the State of Kentucky. Mr. Brank was slain by Smith and was buried, at his request, a few hundred feet from the L & N turnpike (31W) in an unmarked grave. As a result of this duel Smith was indicted for murder. Since dueling had been illegal in both states for many years these two events led to the end of dueling in Kentucky and Tennessee.

http://www.kentuckytourism.com/sandford-duncan-inn/5278/

Lots of Kentucky Duels: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.35112104012283;view=1up;seq=16

In 1777 a group of Irishmen decided that the various rules and regulations of dueling be brought together in an updated manual. Gentlemen from Galway, Mayo, Rosecommon, Sligo, and Tipperary, created the now famous, Code Duello. Twenty-six rules are laid down as the basis for a civilized duel.

The Code explains in detail how an offense may be answered in an affair of honor. The way in which a challenge may be issued, the “seconds” chosen, and how weapons could be used, and how many shots could be fired were carefully noted. The etiquette of the Code often belied the end result of a duel—death or wounding of one or both of the participants.

The Code Duello

The Code Duello, covering the practice of dueling and points of honor, was drawn up and settled at Clonmel Summer Assizes, 1777, by gentlemen-delegates of Tipperary, Galway, Sligo, Mayo and Roscommon, and prescribed for general adoption throughout Ireland. The Code was generally also followed in England and on the Continent with some slight variations. In America, the principal rules were followed, although occasionally there were some glaring deviations.

Rule 1. The first offense requires the first apology, though the retort may have been more offensive than the insult. Example: A tells B he is impertinent, etc. B retorts that he lies; yet A must make the first apology because he gave the first offense, and then (after one fire) B may explain away the retort by a subsequent apology.

Rule 2. But if the parties would rather fight on, then after two shots each (but in no case before), B may explain first, and A apologize afterward.

N.B. The above rules apply to all cases of offenses in retort not of stronger class than the example.

Rule 3. If a doubt exist who gave the first offense, the decision rests with the seconds; if they won't decide, or can't agree, the matter must proceed to two shots, or to a hit, if the challenger require it.

Rule 4. When the lie direct is the first offense, the aggressor must either beg pardon in express terms; exchange two shots previous to apology; or three shots followed up by explanation; or fire on till a severe hit be received by one party or the other.

Rule 5. As a blow is strictly prohibited under any circumstances among gentlemen, no verbal apology can be received for such an insult. The alternatives, therefore -- the offender handing a cane to the injured party, to be used on his own back, at the same time begging pardon; firing on until one or both are disabled; or exchanging three shots, and then asking pardon without proffer of the cane.

If swords are used, the parties engage until one is well blooded, disabled, or disarmed; or until, after receiving a wound, and blood being drawn, the aggressor begs pardon.

N.B. A disarm is considered the same as a disable. The disarmer may (strictly) break his adversary's sword; but if it be the challenger who is disarmed, it is considered as ungenerous to do so.

In the case the challenged be disarmed and refuses to ask pardon or atone, he must not be killed, as formerly; but the challenger may lay his own sword on the aggressor's shoulder, then break the aggressor's sword and say, "I spare your life!" The challenged can never revive the quarrel -- the challenger may.

Rule 6. If A gives B the lie, and B retorts by a blow (being the two greatest offenses), no reconciliation can take place till after two discharges each, or a severe hit; after which B may beg A's pardon humbly for the blow and then A may explain simply for the lie; because a blow is never allowable, and the offense of the lie, therefore, merges in it. (See preceding rules.)

N.B. Challenges for undivulged causes may be reconciled on the ground, after one shot. An explanation or the slightest hit should be sufficient in such cases, because no personal offense transpired.

Rule 7. But no apology can be received, in any case, after the parties have actually taken ground, without exchange of fires.

Rule 8. In the above case, no challenger is obliged to divulge his cause of challenge (if private) unless required by the challenged so to do before their meeting.

Rule 9. All imputations of cheating at play, races, etc., to be considered equivalent to a blow; but may be reconciled after one shot, on admitting their falsehood and begging pardon publicly.

Rule 10. Any insult to a lady under a gentleman's care or protection to be considered as, by one degree, a greater offense than if given to the gentleman personally, and to be regulated accordingly.

Rule 11. Offenses originating or accruing from the support of ladies' reputations, to be considered as less unjustifiable than any others of the same class, and as admitting of slighter apologies by the aggressor: this to be determined by the circumstances of the case, but always favorable to the lady.

Rule 12. In simple, unpremeditated recontres with the smallsword, or couteau de chasse, the rule is -- first draw, first sheath, unless blood is drawn; then both sheath, and proceed to investigation.

Rule 13. No dumb shooting or firing in the air is admissible in any case. The challenger ought not to have challenged without receiving offense; and the challenged ought, if he gave offense, to have made an apology before he came on the ground; therefore, children's play must be dishonorable on one side or the other, and is accordingly prohibited.

Rule 14. Seconds to be of equal rank in society with the principals they attend, inasmuch as a second may either choose or chance to become a principal, and equality is indispensible.

Rule 15. Challenges are never to be delivered at night, unless the party to be challenged intend leaving the place of offense before morning; for it is desirable to avoid all hot-headed proceedings.

Rule 16. The challenged has the right to choose his own weapon, unless the challenger gives his honor he is no swordsman; after which, however, he can decline any second species of weapon proposed by the challenged.

Rule 17. The challenged chooses his ground; the challenger chooses his distance; the seconds fix the time and terms of firing.

Rule 18. The seconds load in presence of each other, unless they give their mutual honors they have charged smooth and single, which should be held sufficient.

Rule 19. Firing may be regulated -- first by signal; secondly, by word of command; or thirdly, at pleasure -- as may be agreeable to the parties. In the latter case, the parties may fire at their reasonable leisure, but second presents and rests are strictly prohibited.

Rule 20. In all cases a miss-fire is equivalent to a shot, and a snap or non-cock is to be considered as a miss-fire.

Rule 21. Seconds are bound to attempt a reconciliation before the meeting takes place, or after sufficient firing or hits, as specified.

Rule 22. Any wound sufficient to agitate the nerves and necessarily make the hand shake, must end the business for that day.

Rule 23. If the cause of the meeting be of such a nature that no apology or explanation can or will be received, the challenged takes his ground, and calls on the challenger to proceed as he chooses; in such cases, firing at pleasure is the usual practice, but may be varied by agreement.

Rule 24. In slight cases, the second hands his principal but one pistol; but in gross cases, two, holding another case ready charged in reserve.

Rule 25. Where seconds disagree, and resolve to exchange shots themselves, it must be at the same time and at right angles with their principals, thus:

If with swords, side by side, with five paces interval.

N.B. All matters and doubts not herein mentioned will be explained and cleared up by application to the committee, who meet alternately at Clonmel and Galway, at the quarter sessions, for that purpose.

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April 5, 2013. Drew Wilson, a Lynch City Policeman, shot Michael Blair multiple times after having a shotgun allegedly pointed at him. About 30 shots were exchanged. http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Crimetracker-officer-involved-shooting-in-Lynch-Ky-leaves-one-wounded-201758181.html http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/lynch-man-points-gun-at-police-officer-201720241.html

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William Chad Mattingly, 38.

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January 19, 2002. Campbell County.

Ellison, 34, suffered only minor wounds, although he was shot in the chest with a shotgun. He suffered abrasions on his chest and graze wounds to his head and upper leg. He was released from University Hospital Friday night. The suspect, who had not been identified as of Friday night, allegedly held up a bank in Paris, Ky., then fled north, shooting at pursuing officers and stealing at least four vehicles along the way, an FBI official said. No other officers were injured. Sgt. Ellison spotted the man driving a stolen pickup truck at about 3:30 p.m. on U.S. 27 near Moreland Drive. He pulled the vehicle over, but the driver came out with a shotgun and fired, striking Sgt. Ellison in the chest. Brandon Gross, 16, of Alexandria, who was standing between the car wash and the gas station, said police swarmed the area.

“The officers yelled, "Drop your gun! Drop your gun!' The man yelled back, "No, I'm not going to do it.' Then I heard two shots.” James Kirk, 46, of Shelbyville. Mr. Kirk fled in the pickup and shot the windows out of another Campbell County police cruiser but missed the officer behind the wheel. Mr. Kirk eventually shot himself when police from several departments surrounded him at a gas station. He was declared dead at the scene.

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BOWLING GREEN, KY (WSMV) -

The Kentucky State Police is investigating a shooting outside a Cabela's in Bowling Green.

A Bowling Green police officer shot a man allegedly trying to shoplift an AR-15 assault rifle, according to Trooper First Class Jonathan Biven. Biven said troopers received the call at 7:53 p.m. Saturday about an officer-involved shooting on Ken Bale Boulevard in Bowling Green. The man allegedly placed the rifle into his waistband, according to Biven. As an officer in a marked police car arrived on scene, the subject then began to run away. Biven said the man stopped, then reached into his waistline to pull out the rifle. The KSP spokesman said the police officer fired his service weapon, striking the subject in the lower backside. The suspect was flown to Skyline Medical Center in Nashville for non-life-threatening injuries. KSP is handling the investigation because this is an officer-involved shooting. Biven could not comment on whether the rifle was loaded or whether the subject had ammunition.http://www.wsmv.com/story/27623053/ksp-investigating-officer-involved-shooting-in-bowling-green-ky

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April 2, 2015. Florence, Kentucky. Boone County.

The subjects (to the King) involved in Thursday's shooting were both juveniles. The incident began around 1:30 a.m., when an officer out on patrol spotted them walking along Lacresta Drive and identified them as "suspicious individuals" (because of how they were dressed?).

The two 16-year-old boys initially cooperated with the officer (unnamed), who took one of the two into custody and found a rifle on him, said Florence Police Capt. Tom Grau. The second boy fled, however. Other officers who had by then responded chased the boy around the corner of a home, where he picked up a rifle from the ground. The 16-year-old "was given multiple verbal commands to drop the rifle but did not comply," Grau said

http://www.wlwt.com/news/teen-gunman-shot-wounded-by-florence-police-officer/32148144

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Last August, police were looking for a man in connection with the Aug. 12 slaying of Paul J. Barber, 21, who was fatally shot after several assailants forced their way into his Crawford Crossing apartment in the Pleasure Ridge Park area in an apparent attempt to steal narcotics, The Courier-Journal previously reported. At the time, police believed there were at least four suspects. They arrested Shakahakeen Boyd, 21, on Aug. 14 and charged him with murder, robbery, burglary and tampering with physical evidence. The next day, officers said they spotted another suspect in a car in the McDonald’s parking lot at Greenwood and Terry roads, police said at the time. When they approached the car, suspect Jevon Curry, 21, fired at them, police said. Officers fired back, striking him and a woman in the car, police said. The woman, who wasn’t a suspect in Barber’s death, was struck in the hand. It was unclear at the time where Curry was struck. Neither was critically injured.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2014/03/29/lmpd-officer-involved-shooting-second-seven-months/7055359/

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In another recent officer-involved shooting, two Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a suspect in two bank robberies after he allegedly threatened them with a knife. An internal investigation found that Deputies Ben Bryant and Lawrence Elery followed protocol when they shot Albert William Keyes, 53, on March 11, the sheriff’s office said.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2014/03/29/lmpd-officer-involved-shooting-second-seven-months/7055359/

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I'm October I smacked my son. I was so upset that I smacked him that I didn't notice the mark on his face, I sent him to school and cps came to my room after he got home. I refused to let anyone in my room (we were temporarily in a hotel) I ended up getting arrested and my son was placed with his biological father. Now mind you cps has not left me alone since 2012 over false accusations. They closed my case once only BC my son who has special behavioral needs went to luv with my brother o ly BC my brother didn't want him to go to long term treatment. My brother sent him home BC I wanted to see my son. My brother only had guardianship.. When my son came home he ot
Home it was Boone countys spring break and then the next week he had a virus, again cps was at my door BC he was not in school, I told her to get out but she refused to leave. So, again a case was opened bc I hadn't yet got him a medical card. My son already bowel issues and I felt he should go to school sick and possibly ha ing an accident BC of being sick. So my son was in northkey a couple times to do med changes and to get him situated. Cps was supposed to help with family preservation, I asked for help and he ended up being taken for me smacking him. Now, he was placed with his father and his father let me see him for the 2 hours that the court ordered. Then Dec 20th we went to my moms for our Christmas, BC my mom made him pay for his dinner after that night I hadn't seen him till Feb 15th. And up until April he refused to let me see my son. I kept saying something was wrong but no one would believe me, we went back to court where the gave me overnights on Saturdays. I went to pick him up with my husband and my sons biological father hid him .
I looked for my son for 24th hours. I filed three police reports called cps in Boone and butler county and my attorney. .. then on Monday I called and did a well child check at my sons school and they found multiple bruising on his legs and face. My Boone County worker then had to get permission from Frankfort to remove him from his father's home. And that they did. They placed him in foster care. Now I know there are worse cases out there. But I have and am doing everything I've been asked to do. I have supervised weekends. My husband is allowed to supervise. So c we went to court yesterday and they did nothing to my sons bio father and gave him supervised visits. Now he lives in Ohio and I was told that since I am moving to ohio my visits stop and I have to come to KY to visit my son. They said Hamilton County can do an inspection and I can get approved to have my weekends back. My case worker obviously doesn't know that his father lives in Ohio and she is letting his adoptive parents supervise... now I was told I wasn't allowed to take him across state lines unless I get approved or get a pass each week. My concern is they didn't make his dad do anything. No parenting class, no therapy, no evaluations nothing. Yet he beat the hell out of him. He is only 8 years old and nothing a child does deserves that punishment. When my son's bio father got divorced we both had to be supervised. NC we made a ligation against each other. I made sure I had someone to supervise, he was unsupervised and my son cried be he was so excited to be home. His dad has had little to nothing to do with him. As far as my child goes, I prayed ever since I was little that God would give me a boy and a little girl so there I no doubt that I want my kids. It was one time in 8 years and I feel like I've been robbed. What can I do, be I just want him home where is loved and wanted... can my son refuse his father's visits? What motions can I file? I'm so lost. Once we move they stop my visits. Any help would see gratefully appreciated. .. also thank you for taking the time to read this

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First, there's 31 year old Paula Gail Hall, who shot herself, when Rita was visiting Michael Beck, who was in jail over drugs (alcohol?), last Nov, 2014. http://www.wdrb.com/story/27511682/coroner-identifies-woman-found-dead-outside-breckinridge-county-jail

Then, this year, 2015, Nevin L. Shawver shot himself. But Judges made sure he had 3 warrants out for his arrest, for Menacing, Criminal Mischief, and Wanton Endangerment. I always found it odd, that as a culture, we are against assisted suicide, we put Kevorkian behind bars for years for doing it, and yet, when there's a suicidal person, cops always make it worse, if they dont just murder the man. Nevin L. Shawyer runs away, and right before cops get to him, he shoots himself. http://www.kentuckystatepolice.org/posts/press/2015/post4_pr05_13_15a.html

Then there's the Fort Knox Army Commander John Jonas's murder-suicide, where he took himself and his 11 year old daughter Tasha Jonas to the end a few weeks back in Vine Grove. http://www.wlky.com/news/police-to-escort-body-of-girl-killed-in-murdersuicide-to-airport/33039340

And murder-suicide in Feb 2015 http://www.k105.com/Police-release-details-of-Hardin-County-murder-sui/20914938

A suicide is selfish, but it also says that the person saw no hope for their future or situation. For their future or situation, there was no light at the end of the tunnel, so they just said fk it. Get folks some hope, some light at the end of their tunnel, and we'll see things change.

Why did Paula Hall, Nevin Shawyer, and

I'm sure there was a reason, but we aren't told the reason. When we find out the reason, then we can fix the situation. Until then, expect more bs to happen.

STDs are a concern because of hte HIV/AIDS outbreak in Indiana. How much longer until that shows up here? The best way to handle these situations is a preemptive measure. Preventive medicine costs less than ER medicine. But that's for folks who want to make things better. Some folks see all these poors as rabble who need to off themselves anyways, by gun or disease. A lil bit of love, compassion, empathy, opportunities, and empowerment... that's what's needed right now. Actual concern.

The world is split between those who care and those who don't. I care, but I see many who do not. This culture is sick. Some of yall need Jesus.

Big Brother loves me. The Empire is great, cops are great, corporations are people, we don't have a right to our own body, we're subjects, let's pollute, beat up our children, frack the world, fk the poor, and give banks all of our money. Hello America. I have arrived.

In Kentucky and Tennessee where the frontier had just recently vanished, formal dueling seemed preferable to the “rough and tumbles” of an earlier time. On the frontier men had settled their differences with knives, guns, fists, and teeth. Having two gentlemen try to wound or kill each other in an orderly fashion seemed an infinite improvement over unsupervised violence. Unfortunately for the peace of Kentucky’s citizenry, the formal duel had a less than gentlemanly alternative.

The street fight, with knives slashing and pistols blazing, became the way in which an insult could be avenged. Known as the de facto duel, this method of fighting constituted nothing but a free-for-all brawl. Opponents did not bother with the niceties of issuing a challenge or worrying about protocol. They would simply begin shooting or stabbing at their foe with bloodthirsty abandon. One reason that the de facto duel became so popular in Kentucky was to skirt the laws against formal dueling. As early as 1799 the Kentucky General Assembly enacted laws against dueling. Fines, along with a disqualification to hold public office for a period of time were imposed. Ambitious politicians dreaded the possibility of being barred from public office.

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The Judicial Conduct Commission temporarily suspended Steven D. Combs until further notice with pay as the investigation into the allegations continue. Combs faces 10 counts of official misconduct.

Combs is accused of calling a Pikeville city commissioner a "coke head," the mayor a "fish face," and the city manager "Dumbo." According to the charges, Combs also called a police captain and told him the next officer who pulled him over would get a "bullet in the head."

The Judicial Conduct Commission also charged that Combs presided over a case involving a business with which he had a financial relationship and engaged in improper political activities.

http://www.lex18.com/story/29339105/eastern-kentucky-judge-removed-from-bench