Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-07-23
AUGUST BELaaONTS DUEL.
why He Kdmps Like Army Of the Poto-
Veteran
IGecil Whig.

why He Limp. Like an Army of the Poto-
mae Veteran
lGecil whig.l
A somewhat sanguinary affair hap
pened near this town nearly forty-one
years ago in which the well-known
banker and Democratic politician, Au-
gust Belmont, was one of the prominent
participants. On Wednesday evening.
August 25, 1871, two parties of men, in
carriages, drove up to the two hotels of
the town. There was. says the chronicle
of the day, :" an apparent strangeness in
their actions" and the wiseacres of the
town were at their wits end to determine
the object of their visit About twelve
o'clock a conference was held between
representatives OF the two parties,
numerous inquiries III the meantime
having been made as to the distance to
the Delaware line and other questions
asked, indicating that duel, OF at least
some hostile encounter, was In contem.
plation between these mysterious gentry
Late in the night, or rather early IN
the morning, they left the town, driv-
ing directly east They were followed
by some citizens of the village, whose
curiosity had induced them to watch
their movements, but were not overtaken,
and no one, it seems, resident in E1kton
was an eyewitness TO the duel, which
occurred at an early hour on the morn
ing of the twenty sixth, on Grey's Hill,
about one mile east of the town. As it
afterward proved, the principles in the
affair had taken assumed names, one of
them being addressed as Moore the
other us Goldsmith. In reality, how
ever, they were Mr.. August Belmont, of
New York, the american agent of the
! Rothschilds, and who has since figured
| very prominently as "a New York Demo-
| cratic politician, and Mr. William Hay
| ward, of South Carolina. They had
| been together residents OF the American
| Hotel, III New York, and the quarrel
seems to have originated In "love af-
fair" Hayward's brother stated at the
time that b lmonts intimacy with a
lady had been resented by Hayward,
and the former having spoken OF the
latter III terms not particularly comph
mentary, Hayward bad struck Belmont
whereupon the latter had challenged
him to mortal combat. Intent upon
| blood, they had arranged duel, to be
| fought upon the classic soil OF Della
ware, and for that purpose had taken
carriages dt W h1o e1tiNCn "
E.kton, intending to meet upon the
field Of honor by sunrise, just over the
Delaware line.
As it turned out, however, they did
bot drive far enough east, and the soil
ri Grey's Hill, i'll Cecil County, was
redeemed with the blood of the Hebrew
banker, and which in later years, the
execution of Swift, the murderer of
Kllhour, rendered more notorious. A
gentleman named Lake acted as second
TO Belmont, and Mr.. Purdy served Hay
ward in similar capacity. Arriving
upon the ground, the principals were
placed by their seconds, and upon the
first round Mr.. Belmont was shot in the
hip. One fire, it seems, was sufficient
to appease the wounded feelings of these
chivairous gentlemen, and Mr.. Belmont
was borne bleeding to his carriage. At
MORALLY wounded.
Taking to their carriages the sanguin.
AIRY Southerner and the Hebrew were
driven to Wilmington, Elkton, not then,
uor since, SO far as we know, having
been honored by the presence of either
| VI these barbaric~ gentlemen.