Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-07-22
DUEL|NG IN THE NAVY
The Tragic Affair That Put an
End to the Practice.
A MIDSHlPMAN'S CHALLENGE.

u Wss Accepted by the Ls~ysr. and
the Battle Was Fought In osia~ars.
Cad Fate 81 the Tive Prinsipals Ia the
unfertvnats Msstins.
That settlement Of Quarrels BY appeal
to the code Of honor was no longer -
BE- the uHwritteu law sf the American
navy was determined By q duel In
which william Miller, Jr., Philadsl-
phia lawyer, was slain in Q personal
AGAR fought along the northern circle
q Delaware. The man whe dred the
fatal shot was Nidshiyman Charles G.
Hunter, and the encounter took place
along Naaman's creek IN the Afternoon
Of Sunday, March n, 1850.
singuiariy enough, neither Miller,
who lest his Mfe, nor Hunter, who kill.
ID him, was principal In the original
quarrel that led to the meeting on the
bank Of the little creek In Delaware.
Neither had seen the other until q few
hours before the challenge was sent
and accepted.
Simply a misshot In q game Of bill
lizards played ut Third and Chestnut
streets. Philadelphia, led to the tragedy
that plunged two homes into sorrow
and imbittered the life Of the man
whose pistol shot causelessly shed hu-
| man blood.
Henry Wharton Griffith and r. Dill
lon Drake, prominent society men of
Philadelphia, played the game Of bill
| lizards, and Griffith made the misshot
| which called forth taunt from Drake,
who was Immediately struck in the
face with cue by Griffith. A chal-
ienge to a duel was sent by Drake, but
Grfath declared that the challenger
was beneath his notice and that he
would not demean himself socially by
conserving to meet him.
Then followed long and wordy war
fare in which each posted the other as
a coward. Lieutenant Duryee of the
United States navy was called to make
an effort to settle the dispute and 1t
was then that Miller, the lawyer, and
Hunter, the midshipman, became in
volved in the quarrel. In the heated
discussion Hunter accused Miller of
publishing q confidential letter, and a
challenge was at once sent by the mid.
shipman and accepted by the attorney
1t was decided that the duel should
be fought early on Sunday morning OF
March p, but it was nearly 10 O'Clock
before carriages containing the princi
pals, seconds and surgeons left house
that stood on Chestnut street above
Sixth. The presence of the company
excited some suspicion at Chester
where the party stopped for lunch, bu
they hurried down the post road, tie(
their horses close to the highway ant
proceeded 200 yards behind clump o.
trees that would shield them from OBJ
servation.
As the sun was setting two pisto
shots rang out simultaneously as on,
of the seconds counted Zone, two, thre'
-firew Hunter stood unframed as tn
ball from his opponents pistol strucl
at his feet, but Miller cried out tina
he was shot, placed one hand on hi
breast and fell with a bullet lynn
close to his heart. In a few minute
he died, while pale and anxious face
: watched the convulsive breathing o
the dying man.
Gentlemen said Hunter, 81 had n
enmity against this man. I neve
heard of him until two days ago. LIE
, those whose quarrel embroiled him
responsible for his death"
, After a hurried consultation it wa
decided that the midshipman shout
. leave the state at once, and he wa
> driven rapidly to New Castle, Del
where he boarded a boat for New Yor
p. and rejoined the navy. In order
). hide the tragedy it was decided to wa
n until dark and take Miller to Philade
n phia in a carriage.
y Seating the dead man between then
two seconds held him in an uprigt
\ position on the long journey to Phil;
delphia. News of the duel had reache
q Chester, and a crowd Of men stood 6
Third street bridge to intercept th
!. carriages. The first buggy containe
: the surgeon, and, as his explanatio
was satisfactory, he was permitted
!. proceed. The dead man in the secon
- carriage was driven through the crow
without the ruse being detected, an
10 at midnight the body was placed in
house In Walnut street, where Wig
- was kept by the seconds, who dram
20 heavily to support them in the terrib
strain under which they had bee
- placed.
y Millers father said that he held 1
= malice against Hunter, but the mi
- Ehipman, who was suspended for
year for punishment, was haunted
the specter of the dead man lying {
the bank of Naaman's creek, slain
his hand, and died a prematurely o
I man after lonely life, shut off fro
all hope OF preferment in the navy. f
- was buried by the newspaper men
"a New York, who erected tombstol
H. over his grave.-Philadelphi Ledger
- Mentally.
"You have been abroad, haven't ye
q