The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-06-21

The haunted dueIing field Of old
Bladensburg is soon To pass without
the ken of the young generation, The
laughter OF children VIII echo where
once musket and pistol cracked and
the bright flowers Of the suburban
gardens will blossom on the ground
once crlmsoned 10y the blood Of some
Of tt1e 11attott1s sf'estest--4sat 4=s. la
dueiing field Of Bladensburg is 20 be
cut up and sold as building lots, and
II "spooks'' there be, as the supersti-
tious residents Of the netghbOrhood
claim, then they viii have 10 seek
shelter in some other spot.
THE ground borders Il small brook
and is about fifteen acres in extent.
fiat and low, and covered with weeds
grass. vines and an occasional cedar.
TWAS convenient to VI ashingtofF
close enough TO Biadensbure, Md. for
n nights lodging, and easy Of escape
from legal authority on either side
of the District line.
More than fifty hostile meetings
took place on the banks Of this lone
~ and melancholy brook-some IA
tai. some bloodless The first victim
was Edward Hopkins. of Maryland. an
ensign OF infantry. He fell early IN
1914.
Famous Fatal Dueis.
Two duels were fought ON the
ground that were especially desper-
perate. One was between General
Mason, senator from Virginia, ana
Colonel Mccarty, from the same
State. Although they were cousins
they had a violent tilt at the polls III
Ieesburg, Va Mason challenged Nc
Carty.s vote and McCarty at once
challenged Mason's life. Mason at
frst declined. was called coward.
and then determined to die. II heed
be, to refute the charge.
Neither would consent to terms. In
which tN.re was the least escape from
death for the other, They proposed
to leap from the capitol dome toSeth-
err and fight on the way down. or 10
fight on a barrel of powder to be ig-
nited by slow fuse, but objections
were raised by their seconds. They
finally agreed to fight with muskets
charged with buckshot and al ten feet
distance.
The parties spent the night pre-
vious to the battle In what Is now
known as the George Washington
house at Rladensburg. AT o'clock
on the morning of February, g., lSls'
they repaired to the field of honor.
The citizens of Bladensburg congre-
gated in a snowstornl to -xvitness the
event. The weapons were chosen,
ground measured. choice decided, an
tayonists placed. seconds and surgeons
at hand, word was given, both nred
simultaneously Mason fell dead and
MeCarty was badly wounded.
Decatur Barron Fight.
The other notorious meeting WAS
the onesthat made the ground famous
forever 1t was fought by James Bar
ron and Stephen Decatur. Botn were
prominent in the navy, but Decatur
was the .hright and shining star,
the pride of the service. and when
he fell the nation sorrowed and grey
cd. This duel is said to have been
caused solely by gossip and SANDER,
and came off without formal email
lenge from either party.
Commodore Decatur was nemper
OF the court martial and voted TO
suspend Barron in 1907 for allowing
the crew OF the British ship Leonard
10 board and search the frigate Cnes-
apeake, which Barron commanded
Commodore Decatur opposed every
application in after years that
barron made for restoration IN
rank. and although 1t is SAID
Decatur acted the part OF true man
at the court martial and SUBSEQUENT
ly. nevertheless Barron naturaiy
considered him his enemy. Some
>nna reported that Barron had been
challenged to combat bysuecatur. De
catur denied the report ana Wrote.
Il do not think that the fighting 'or
duels under any circumstances can
raise the reputation of any man, and
have since discovered that IT Is not
even an unerring criterion OF personal
courage"
An Insulting Letter.
From this report insults and cor
respondence accumulated. The fol-
lowing is an extract from. a letter
OF Barron to Decatur. dated Novem-
Der 10, 1919. the original Of which IS
In the possession Of Mrs. Janey hope
MARI. Of Virginia: n
you acknowledged that you had
formed and expressed an opinion un-.
|favcrable to me. and yet your con-
acfonce Wa made ~ such pltabie ma