Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-02-24
OLD HICKORY.
Gen. JacksOn'S Duel with Charles
Dickinson.

The duel between Jackson and Dick
inson took place on Friday, the 18th
of May, 1896, on Red river, in Logan
County, Ky. It grew out of a dispute
concerning horse race, which had
been arranged between Gen. Jackson
and Capt. Joseph Erwin, the father
in-law of Dickinson, who was also in
terested. All the parties resided in or
about Nashville, Tenn. For some
reason the race did not come off, and
Erwin paid forfeit.
Shortly afterward Gen. Jackson
heard that Dickson had, on the day of
the expected race, INDUCED in some
disparaging illusions toward Mrs.
Jackson. Parton, in his account of
the duel. in the Life of jackson, y
does not explain the nature of these
illusions, but | have been informed by
Il relative of Mrs. Jackson, gentle
man of high character, still living, that
she was present, in her carriage, on the
track, to witness the race, and when
the forfeit was declared, she remarked
with an air of pardOnable eXultatiOn,
to some of her friends, that
"Traxton (the Generals horse)
would have left Plowboy Capt. Err
wins horse) out of sight" This was
repeated to Dickinson, who, being
somewhat excited by his losses, and
under the influence of liquor, rejoined
Yes, about as far out of sight as Mrs
jackson left her first husband when
she ran away with the General. !"
It is here necessary to explain that
Mrs. Jackson, nee Donelson, had first
married a Mr.. Richards, of Mercer
county, Kentucky. The marriage
proved unhappy, and a separation en-
sued, Mrs Richards returning to heI
parental home in Tennessee. After
some time it was reported and gener.
ally believed that Robards had APP
piled to the Legislature Of Virginia
of which Kentucky was then part, toI
a divorce on the ground Of his wite's
abandonment, and that it had beer
granted. Feeling at liberty to form
another alliance, Mrs. Robards mar.
ried Jackson, then rising young law
yer of Nashville. 1t subsequently
franspired, however, that the divorce
had not been granted, but the Virgins
LEGISLATURE had merely passed bill
empowering the Kentucky courts, upon
proper proof, to grant it. RObards de-
laypd any further action for seveTa
sears. and not until after the SECOND
marriage of Mrs. Richards, when hC
iiled petition in the Mercer Court
asking for n divorce on the ground Of
her Living in adultery with one An
drew Jackson and upon this GROUND
the divorce was allowed. And thus,
SAYS the biogFapher of jackson, the
most ehaste of women and one of the
few irreproachable public men of his
day. are recorded adulterers.
When Dickinson's remarks on the
race track were repeated to Jackson ht
Immediately called upon him, and in
auired if he had made it. Dickinson
replied that he might have done so
bat if he had he must have beer
drunk, and apologized. This removed
all ill-feeling on the part of jackson
and they separated In a friendly man
ner.
Unfortunately, Dickinson was too
much ia the habit of getting drunk anc
losing the control eft his tongue
Shortly afterwards, in a tavern IN Nash.
vile, he again spoke slightingly Of Mrs
jackson. and the circumstance was
NUlE GuuN ~ tU ~ l-GI uuSbduu- 3 mel {
is the authority of the late General
Houston for saying that Jackson call,
ed upon Captain Erwin, and advised
him to exert his influence with hi:
Sou-in-law, and induce him to restrain
mis- speech aud comport himself like q
gentleman in his cups. Il wish nc
quarrel with him, said he but he Is
used by my enemies WhO are urging hin
70 pick quarrel with ne. Advise hin
10 stop. From this time forward
there was no good will between tlse
two men. and the sense Of resentment
IN jackson $ bosom needed but a spark
to klndie into a consuming blaze. he
was at this period one of the most con-
spicuous characters of Tennessee. lie
had served in Congress both as Re
preventative and Senator; had been i
Supreme Judge of the State, and was
then a Major General of its militia
He was in his fortieth year. Dickin-
son was much younger, scarcely twenty
ave. a lawyer by profession, OF good
family aud connections, somewhat dis
sipated in his habits, aud rather recS-
less when under the Influence of drink
He was reputed to be tbs best shot In
Tennessee.
There was at the time another young
,ttorney in Nashville, an intimate
friend of Dickinson. who had recently
emigrate from Virginia, Thomas
Scam by name. 1t happened that he
MS concerned in some way in the
Tackson horse race. He held con-
.,arrat;on with the former touching the
ae,tIament of the forfeit, which he un-
Sar4ook 70 relate to Dickinson. Jack
son Was asked for an explanation OF
s ~ ~ Swann. He did it very promptly
Gu Gu ~ an aeiuq Swami "a id liar.
~ M pi IotteT demanded a retrachon ofthe
d ! r. . epithet, with the inhmatlon