Colonel Barbier-Dufai and Captain Raoul de Vere
Napoleonic France was no stranger to violence. During the Reign of Terror people had been killed for their aristocratic birth, their religious or political beliefs, or just because they’d made powerful enemies. Serving in Napoleon’s army meant standing in line—if you were unfortunate enough to be an infantryman—and waiting for your enemy to unleash a volley of musket fire in your general direction. Serving as a cavalryman was little better, generally involving charging towards said musket fire, albeit in a slightly quicker manner.
Even during the Restoration life was considered cheap, and nowhere is this demonstrated more acutely than in the quarrel between Colonel Barbier-Dufai and Captain Raoul de Vere. These two men decided to duel to the death because the former had mocked the size, shape, and general appearance of the latter’s cockade (his hat ribbon, not that other thing you’re thinking). The comments were made on the streets near Paris’s Place du Carrousel and the two decided to settle the matter right then and there.
Barbier-Dufai and de Vere embarked upon a fencing match, but the younger de Vere was at a clear disadvantage as his rival was a trained swordsman. De Vere was disarmed no less than four times during the fight, but at its conclusion, he still wasn’t satisfied he’d received satisfaction. At this point a horse-drawn carriage passed them by, and the inspired combatants thought up a novel, and utterly insane, way to do battle.
Tying their left arms together, they got into the back of the stagecoach, armed with nothing but daggers and death wishes. With the doors locked, they then proceeded to stab wildly at one another while the coach completed two circuits of the appropriately named Place du Carrousel. Once the carriage had drawn to a halt, onlookers opened its doors to find de Vere lying decisively dead in the corner and Barbier-Dufai sat slumped beside him, barely breathing.
Barbier-Dufai might have won the day, but his victory could only be described as pyrrhic considering he’d been stabbed several times and even bitten. He still mustered the energy to announce, “At least, gentlemen, you will do me the justice to declare that I killed him fairly”, but unsurprisingly he ultimately succumbed from his wounds. Surprisingly he managed to hang on until the following day.