The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-25
KILLED FoRTY-Two.
A Gallant Soldier and His Duel in
Defense of Dixie's Women.
From the Hartwell (Ga.) Sun.


From the Hartwel (Ga) Sun
On Tuesday had pleasant call from
Col. L. M. Allen, iof Benson county, Arkan-
sas. Col. Allen has been to Nor tn Caro-
lima looking after his interests there,
and came to Hartwell to visit some of his
old friends and war comrades. Col.
Allan is quite a character and played an
important part in the late war; in fact,
his experience then and Immediately
afterward, if put in print, would read
like romance with a great deal of trag-
edy thrown in. Before the war Col.
Allen was clerk of the court Of
and was quite wealthy. When
the war began he volunteered
in the company commanded by Capt.
John Peek, now a respected citizen of
Hartwell, and was the drummer In the
short space of one year he was appointed
colonel of the Sixth North Carolina regi-
ment by President Davis for gallant con-
duct, and we had the pleasure of looking
upon this precious document, of which
Col. Allen is justly proud. The colonel
is modest gentleman and is slow to tell
of his exploits but Mr. Waites Proffitt,
who was with him in the war, assures us
that in the border warfare on the line
of Tennessee and North Carolina, Col.
Allen slew with his own hands forty-one
of the enemy, receiving in return a severe
wound. This warfare was in the bush
whacking or guerilla style, and was be-
tween the natives of secession and anti
secession proclivities. The loss of life in
these fratricidal fights in the county of
Madison, which was Sparsely settled, was
over 200 men. After the war that sec
ton became too hot for comfort and Col.
Allen went west.
The following incident, occurring in
1885, in which Col. Allen was one Of the
principals, will give an idea of his valor,
southern womanhOod. IL was published in
the papers at the time, but may not have
been read by many Of our readers
Col. Allen was sitting at a hotel table
in Phoenix, Ariz., conversing with a CAPT
talist who had an idea of investing in the
SOUTH and pointing out the south's nat
ural advantages and resources. At a
seat hard by was a mineral expert from
New York, who began, without any sort
of provocatiou, TO villify the south. de-
claring that southern men were, as a
whole, lazy, good-for-nothing, thriftless
set, devoid of anything that goes to make
up true manhood. Col. Allen paid
no attention TO these remarks,
which were leveled at him,
and continued his conversation with
the capitalist. The New Yorker, whose
the camel's back that broke it. He said,
in coarse, brutal language, that the
women of the south were no good; that
the, best Of them were less virtuous than
a New York prostitute Quick as light
ming Col. Allen hurled his cup Of hot
coffee in Dill's face, following it up with a
sugar bowl and caster. This resulted
in a challenge 20 mortal combat
from Dill, which was promptly &C
cepted by Col. Allen. The duel was
fought ia Mexico. At the word
both principals fired. Din dropped 10 the
ground, shot through the body, the ball
entering at his right nipple, and in five
minutes he was dead. Col Allen was
shot through the lower abdomen and hip
From this wound he is somewhat Grip
pied. They fought al sixty feet with a.
caliber Colts pistols. Col. Allen says he
has never felt any conjunction Of con
science for killing this wanton traducer
Of the noble women Of the south.
Col Allen Is ~ years Of age, and with
the exception OF his wounds Is hale and
hearty.