Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1876-01-13
An Incident of the War.
A Remarkable Duel Between the
Commanders of a Rebel
and q Federal
GnnTf


1868, l witnessed a duel be-
tween Captain Jones, COM
manding a Federal scout, and
Captain Fry, commanding a
Rebel scout, in Greene county,
East Tennessee. These two
men had been fighting each 9TH
er for six months, with the for
tunes. of battle in the favor of
one and then the other. Their
commands were camped on ei-
ther side Of Lick Creek, Il large
and sluggish stream, too deep
to ford and too shallow for
ferry boat; but there a bridge
Ispanned the stream for the ben
eft of the travelling public. :
Each Of them guarded this
bridge, that communications
should go neither north nor
Isouth. as the railroad track had
been broken up months before.
After fighting each other for
several months, and contesting
! the point as to which should
hold the bridge, they agreed to
fight a duel, the conquerOr to
hold the bridge mdisputed for
the time being. Jones gave
the challenge, and Fry accepted.
The terms were that they should
fight with their navy pistols at
twenty yards apart, deIibcI a'c-
ly walking toward each other,
and firing until the last cham
Der Of their pistols were dis
charged, unless one or the 9th
er fell before all the discharges
were made. They chose their
seconds, and agreed upon reb-
el surgeon Gas he was the only |
one in either command) to al
tend them in case of danger.
Jones was certainly a fine
looking fellow, with light hair
and blue eyes, five feet ten
inches in height, looking every
inch the military chieftain. =
He was a man that soldiers |
would admire and ladies regar-
ded with admiration. l never
saw a man more cool, deter
mined, and heroic under such
circumstances. l have read Of
the deeds Of chivalry and |
knight-errantry in the middle a.
ges, and of brave men embalm-
ed in modern poesy; but, when
] saw this one man Jones come
to the duclists' scratch, fighting
not for real or supposed wrongs
to himself, but, as he honestly
thought, for his country and the
glory of the flag, l could not
help admiring the man, notwith-
standing he fought for the free
dom of the negro, which | was
to.
Fry was man full six fee
high, slender, with long, wayy,
curling hair, jet black eyes,
wearing a slouch hat and a gray
suit, and looking rather the de-
mon than the man. There was
ferocious about him;
but he wore that self-suf1icient
that said: Il will
kill you.' Without a doubt, he
was brave, cool and collected,
and although suffering from a
terrible flesh wound in his left
arm, received a week before, he
manifested no symptoms of dis
tress, but seemed ready fa: the
fight.
The ground was stepped off
by the seconds, pistols loaded
and exchanged, and the princi-
pals brought face to face. -
shall never forget that meet
ing. Jones, in his military,
boyish mood, as they shook
hands, remarked that
A soldier braves death for fancitul wreath,
When in glOry's romantic career.
Fry caught up the rest of the
and answered by say
ing:
Yet he bends Ger the foe when in battle
laid low,
And bathes every wound with a tear.
They turned around and
walked back to the point des- s
ignated. Jones second had {
the word "Fire;" and, as he
slowly said "One-twO-threc ,
-frcp' they simultaneously
turned at the word "One," and i
fired. Neither was
hurt. They cooked their pis-
tolls, and deliberately walked
each other, firing as s
they went. At the fifth shot, :
Jones threw up his right hand,
and, firing his pistol in The air,
sank down. Fry was in the /;
act of firing his last shot, but {
To.oo ell .;IontIx, l0w