A Duel is On
Once Abraham Lincoln learned about the duel, he really felt the whole situation had gone too far. Abraham Lincoln was not much of a fighter and a duel was pretty much a live-or-die battle. However, Lincoln also knew that not accepting a duel was dishonorable. Therefore, he accepted the duel against James Shields. Because Lincoln was the one who was being challenged, Lincoln was able to select the conditions of the duel. And, of course, Abraham Lincoln was humorous and push a person’s buttons kind of person, he had fun with it. Lincoln came up with the most ridiculous set of conditions he could think of.
Because dueling was illegal in Illinois, one of Lincoln’s conditions was that they had to meet on an island across the Mississippi. Lincoln further stated that they had to meet at the bottom of a 12-foot deep pit with a piece of wood between them which neither one could cross. For the weapon, Lincoln picked the cavalry broadsword, which is a sword characterized by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. Lincoln later explained in his life that he did not want to die, which he believed Shields would have done if another weapon was used. Therefore, he picked the weapon that, because of his height, would give him the upper hand. Lincoln believed that with his height and the cavalry broadsword, the much shorter Shields would end the duel out of fear. However, Lincoln’s belief did not prove to be true.
The day of the duel, September 22, 1842, came and the opponents met at Bloody Island, Missouri. To several witnesses, Lincoln did not look like he normally did. One witness said, “I’d never seen him (Lincoln) look so long before making a joke, and began to believe he was getting frightened.” Lincoln, in an attempt to show Shields that this could be a fatal event to him, clipped off a piece of branch with his sword. Lincoln assumed this would make Shields turn around and run. However, this did not deter Shields and the duel was still on. The duel was about to begin when Colonel John Jay Hardin, a mutual friend of Lincoln and Shields, stepped in and helped the two men work it out verbally. Lincoln admitted to writing the letters in the Journal and apologized. The duel was then over.
But still, the jokes did not end there. When the boat came back to Illinois, many people were shocked to see what they assumed was a body lying on the floor of the boat. They wondered who the person in the red shirt was. However as the boat came closer to the crowd, they saw that this was just a board with a red shirt around it. Once the boat stopped, both James Shields and Abraham Lincoln stepped off to a pleased crowd. The two remained friends for the rest of their lives.
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