Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-11-18
ANDREW JACKSON'S DUEL.
Comic Incident - Its Cause
Never Made Public.

Never made PUBIC.
A Newbern, N. c., letter to the
j Philadelphia Times says: James Parton,
in his biography of Andrew jackson,
makes mention of duel fought by Gen.
eral Jackson with Waightstill Avery at
Jonesboro, Tenn, in the last century
I His account, however, is very meagre,
and does not accord with the version of
the affair as told by descendants and
relatives of Colonel Avery, many of
whom still live in Burke county, N. c.
In a foot-note to page 1852, chapter ID,
volume |, Parton says: "There was a
Ecomic incident connected with this duel
that General Jackson would not tell.
Ia gentleman once mentioned the duel to
him. who told you about it?' asked
the President, laughing. General
Adair.' Did he tell you what hap
oened on the ground? p No Well,
Ehen, shan't, replied the General, still
Laughing"
The .scomic incident" to which Gen.
eral jackson alluded, and which he re-
fused to relate, is what is understood to
have caused the duel, and is said never
10 have been made public. What it
was and how it occurred has been re-
lated to me several times as follows:
In August, l7SS, Col. Waightstill
Avery and Andrew Jackson were attend
nq court in Jonesboro, in what is now
East Tennessee. At that time Tennes-
lee was still a part of North Carolina,
Ind Jonesboro was the seat of one of the
karee districts courts held for the then
IhvSStern District of North Carolina. The
town is now the county seat of Washing
Ion county, Tennessee. jackson had
but recently been called to the bar at the
Nine of the duel, and was about twenty
(bne years of age. Col. Avery was much
I1lder. The two gentlemen were oppos-
ing counsel in case under trial, in
which Jackson, it is said, felt that he had
Int little chance for success. In a spirit
of mischief, probably, he determined to
attempt little diversion rather unusual
in court of law.
Col. Avery sometimes rode the circuit
of his courts, which embraced most of
w Western North Carolina and a portion
of East Tennessee, on horseback, carry
ING in pair of capacious saddle bags
more immediate wants. One thing al.
wavs carried therein was a copy of
Racon's "Abridgment," one of the stand
ard law.books of those days. Jackson
was aware that Col. Avery was in the
habit OF carrying this book, and on the
dav for trial, before their case was called,
he went to Col. Averys saddle.bags, took
ont the copy of Bacon's "Abridgment"
and substituted for it piece of bacon of
about the same size, wrapping it up as
the book had been to prevent suspicion.
In the course of the trial Col. Avery,
having an occasing to quote an authority,
sent for his book. The package was
hronoht to him, and when unwrapped,
lo, q aaitch of bacon" stood revealed to
Court and jury.
Avery was o man of great dignity of
character and bearing, who could i'll
brook liberty of any kind, least of all
IN n,.rstemp pt 10 make him appear ridicu-
1ns. Turning to jackson, he charged
Inn with what had been done, and de.
nounced him for his act in most unmeas.
ured terms. Jackson was stung to the
ouick but apparently controlled himself
sufficiently not to attract attention to
what he did in response to the rebuke.
Taar;no a fly-leaf from law book he
wrote challenge, which, unobserved,
,sssed across the table to Col. Avery,
ana which was promptly accepted. The
folIow;nq is an exact copy OF the orig
;naI challenge, which Is still in the pos,
~. ession of the Avery family and from rom
f. N