The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-11-02
FAMOUS DUEL RECALLED
VOW YOUyG WIGFALL FELL ON
TIE FIELD.
a, Affair Of Hoser Between South Caro-
linz studsnts--A Mothers Fatefs1 jour
nsy 70 the Dusiiinx Grounds.

EDGEFlELD, =. T., OCT. @i.--Mr. JAM ny
n Bacon's lecture on Anecdotes and re
sniniseences OF Early Edgefleld.' DEW
cred In the Opera House here re"
days ago, Was a masterpiece OF pathos
md hurnor, wit and merTiment ihciuen'
and accident. romance and ,, hIsaoi ~,
Among many others he told the following
pathetic story Of once famous duel' %
Illustrative OF old-time Sonihern, a. es' MOT a.
and the consequent death blow 10 ~ iuo l.lr
e's heart II is reproduced IN MS own
simple and eloquent words: 49,. co,,,,,
In the year 1szs there was H s IN tne sobIe
gentle youth from Edgebeld, OF Daey
eighteen years. His name Was haihp Hen
WigfaIL The Wigfall family had Ihen
lived IN Edgeneld only four years. 1hey
were rich, HuguenOt people oil the p 'D, I'm
~ =, Thomas and st. Dennis, In Charles-
Ion district where they butt an Eplsc9-
nal church OF brick, which Is sun stahd-
In lS3D old Durand Wigfal bought
summer nome in Edgeb@d, where ne , nieu
IN isB His widow, gehte' si nishH ~,
and devOtedly piOus "oHah' WI -
with three sons and one daughter, 1aiiP-
den being the eldest. This lady was the
paternaJ grandmother OF my SISTER. .,.o
Al college Misunderstanding arose
between Hampden WlgiaiI anu H TSa, IL
mate friend. young Cogsdale, Of oha am,
Ton. another very noble young man
only nineteen years OF age, Inc HIsunH
derstauding turned out 10 be aDSoiuleIy
trivial but the lie was passed. anu
an those days Of extremely strained en-,
valry and honor no reconciliation cOuIH
be effected. The Code Duelc theh
Teigned in It's most absolute ana plu11
less power. The man who was challenged
10 fight duel and even waycred one sec
ond in accepting II was forever socially
damned, branded, ostrariZcd Forever ana
ever Young Nlglhh chahehRru yo"hS
COgsdale 10 meet him IN mortal combat
The boy Of eighteen challenged the boy
OF nineteen. whom he loved ana VINO
loved him.
They met with all the forraltics-the
seconds the doctors, and the inevitable
negro attendant-at San Bar Ferry, near
Augusta, before that and since the most
noted duelling ground In America. Mrs.
Wigfall. the widowed mother, and my
old grandmother who had also been
widow for two years went 70 Augusta
ST. Mrs. Wigfalis carriage to be near
the scene and await the result. The
mother was more dead than alive and
bOTdCTcd on actual lunaCY.
The duel was 10 take place at sundown
Of a summer day. At o'clock in the
afternoon. having sent their carriage on
before to prevent suspicion. my grand
mother and Mrs Wigfall Crept out Of
General GlascOcks house I'm Augusta,
travelled down the South Carolina shore
Of the river on foot and hid themselves
IN thick wood not two hundred yards
from the scene Of the duel They could
hear the sounds, bat could see nothing,
The carriage had been driven by my
grhndmothcrs old cOachman, Uncle
Wait,' and by his side. on the lofty old
fashioned dickcy seat. sat Matilda the
negro waiting maid. The carriage could
not enter the wood. so II waited on the
outskirts. one hundred yards Oft.
Hampton Wigfall fell at the first fire
killed Instantly. The mother rushed fran
ticaly TO the scene. The seconds and
doctors were terribly surprised Such a
thing was unheard OF as a woman near
duel And when the mother threw her
self upon the body Of her child she threw
herself also upon the body Of his unhappy
lfl.4HaE4 Toll IL
away from his seconds. had rushed TO the
body, thrown himself PROSTATE upon the
earth by II. wound his arms around II
and was Nohhng ont like n little child
and IN tones Of unuttcrablc anguish
on, haiqmio, llammio Hammic?" as
" trying - awak" IN" dead boy.
My graldu,th' has often told me
That IN cry If the SLAYER vas ten thCuS-
and times more hcartrcudiug than even
IN, cry Of the mother And then fol-
lowed scene Of Christian fortitudo and
thrlHii1n 'pdll perhaps UNI Xamplcd in
all history, The hitherto wild mother
calmly uuWoupd the AIMS 81 young Cogs-
Gale. and. riiiug him up. kissed him ten
derry or The forehead and said. with
COmmiugled pity and fcTvOT. '"GOd be
with You, my child, tod b. with you!
You viii noel Him more than J will, fOr
/ viii soon o. with Him, I win soon be
WIN my Goa and with my child And as
the seconds led the weeping boy away
she cried ont 10 him wTipging her hHuds
God Doe with YOU, my chilu. In Heaven
Iammio and l viii pray for you II
was now quit" nightfall. and the twilight |
fingered upon the sIdda-t picture that
Was ever seen uu sea cor shore.
Ia the meantime the wrctched mother
had overheard the words we must wait !
for the coroner" Creeping up to my |
grandmother she whispered i'm tones OF |
terrible agony No coroner must touch !
tie body Of my child" and then. with |
what WAS seen afterwards to be wo- !
mans and mothers cunning, she went |
twenty paC"s away. whittier the sec DudS,
the doctors, General GlascoCk and the |
negroes had an Withdrawn, 10 leave hes |
somewhat alone with her dead and beg |
Ecd them al TO retire for enc hour To the |
ferry. q half mile away. that she Nigh. |
pray beside the body of her child know |
ing her 10 Ice a woman of deepest and |
purcst piety thGy quickly Departed, |
every one of them, e. the ferry
IA soon as they were fairly out of |
SIGHT although fran and slender wo- |
man. she lifted the body of her dead boy |
IN her arms and bore IT without Shak- |
ing or staggering or resting a moment !
To the carriage at the skirt Of the wood. |
The carriage was an immense old-fash- |
toned round-bodicd coach. My grand |
mother ana Matilda followed her closely. |
pressing up I'm fact to her very shoulders /
10 catch her If she should fall. But she |
did not waNcr moment, ana as the |
carriage came I'm view. she ran vigorous |
" towards IT, This was "a mother bear |
ing her dead child away from what she |
considered the profaning touch of tn |
coroner.
Delivering the dead body into the arms I
of Matilda and the Coachman She enter !
"a the carriage and seated herself in |
corner of the back scat. my grand !
mothc.' followed her and took the oblique |
front corner. Then Uncle Watt and Ma !
tilda lifted in the dead body. The moth !
or received the head upon her bosom, |
while the legs rested upon my grand |
mothers lap. and through the fifteen |
miles home In the warm, black summer |
night thus they travelled. Home was |
reached at midnight, and the bcrcaVed |
mother laid herself upon her bed. and |
with her dead hoy on her bosom.
ON TIE morrow the cor ucT cid comply !
with the legal formalities but the moth !
,r never knew il. She buried her boy |
standing At mis- grave without uttcring a |
cry, and then she went back 10 her bed |
only to leave it. as she had said on the |
fatal field, 10 go home to her God and |
her boy Young COgsdalC, nineteen |
years OF age. left college and left the |
state. In his thirtiCth year, unmarried, |
with snow-whitc hair, he died in |
Newark. y. j., never. II is said, having |
stniled since the hour OF the duel
Charleston News and Courier.