Gazette and sentinel., 1860-02-18
Jackson's Duel with Dickinson.

lawyer Ol tennessee, was Killed by Gen.
jackson. III 1906.
Dickinson's second won the choice Of
position, and Jackson's the Office Of Civ
ing the word. The a%ustere Overton con
sidercd the giving of the word a matter
Of grca; Importance, and he had already
determined how lie would give it, if the
lot fell 10 him. The eight PAGES were
measured III, and the men placed. Both
Were perfectly collected. All the po-
likeness Of such occasions were very
strictly and elegantly performed. Jack
son was dressed III a lose frOck coat,
buttoned carelessly over his chest, and
conccaling in some degree the extreme
slendcrncss of his figure. Dickinson
was the younger and handsomer MAJ of
the two. But Jackson's tall, erect fig
ure and the still demcaDOr, it is said,
gave him a most superior and command
ing air, as he stood under the tall pop
lars on this bright May morning, silent
ly awaiting the moment Of doom.
Are you ready said Overton.
Il am ready" replied Dickinson.
81 am ready" said Jackson.
The words were no sooner pronounced
thar Ovegtcn, with u sudden shout,
cried, using his o~ld-country pronuncia-
ton, "Fere :"
Dickinson raised his pistol quickly
and fired. 0verton, who was looking
with anxiety and dread at jackson, saw
a puff Of dust fly from the breast Of his
coat, and saw him raise his left arm and
place it tightly across his chest. He is
surely hit, thought 0verton, and in a bad
place, too: but no, he does not fall
Erect and grim as fate he stood, his
teeth c~lenchcd, raising his pistol. Over
ton glanced at Dickinson. Amazed at
the unwonted failure of his aim, and apt
palled at the awful figure and face be-
fore him, Dickinson had unconsciously
reCOiled a pace or two.
Great God~ he falterod, have ]
missed him =
A"Baak to tue marx, SIR" shrieked
0verton, with his hand upon his pistol.
Dickinson recovered his composure,
stepped forward to the peg, and stood
with his eyes averted from his antago-
mist. All this was the work of a mo-
ment, though it requires many words to
tell it.
General jackson took deliberate aim,
and pulled the trigger. The pistol
neither snapped nor went off. He look
ed at the trigger, and discovered that it
had stopped at half cock. He drew it
back to its place. and took aim q second
time. He fired. D~ickinsOn's face blanch-
! ed; he reelcd; his friends rushed toward
| him, caught him in their arms, and gen
tly seated him on the ground, leaning
against a bush. His trowsers REDEEM
ed. They stripped off his clothes. The
blood gushed from his side in a torrent
And, alas ! here is the ball, notnear the
wound but above the opposite hip, just
under the skin. The ball had passed
through the body, below the ribs. Such
q wound could not but be fatal.
Overton went forward and learned the
condition of the wounded man. Rejoin
ing his principal, he said "He won
want anything more OF you, General,
and conducted him from the ground
They had gone a hundred yards, Over
ton walking on one side Of jackson, the
surgeon on the other, and neither speak
ing a word, when the surgeon observed
that one of Jackson's shoes was full o
blood.
"My God I! General Jackson, are yo,
hit ?" he exclaimed, pointing to the blood
"0h, | believe, replied jackson, "tha
he has pinked me a little. Let's look a
it. But say nothing about it there,
pointing to the house.
He opened his c2at. Dickinson's ain
had been perfect. He had sent the bal
precisely where he supposed Jackson
heart was beating. But the thinness Q
his body and the looseness Of his Goa
combining to deceive Dickinson, the baI
had only broken a rib or two, and rake
the breast-bone. 1t was a somewha
painful, bad-looking wound, but neithe
severe nor dangerous, and he was abl
to ride to the tavern without much ii
convenience. Upon approaching tn
: house, he went up to II of the negr
women who was churning, and aske
: her if the butter had come. She said
was Just coming. He asked her fo
: some butter milk. While she was ge'
ting it for him, she observed him fu
lively open his coat and look within j
S She saw that hts shirt was soaked wit
a blood, and she stood, gazing in blan
horror at the sight, dipper in hand. Ii
caught her eye, and hastily buttoned b
5 coat again. She dipped out a qual
G measure full of butter-milk, and gave
to him. he drank it off at a draughr