Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1916-12-28
DUELS IN THE Navy
They Were Frequent and Deadly
From 1899 to 1886.
HONOR WAS THEN A FETISH,
In Those Days Challenge Was Held te
Be Sort Of Diploma For Naval Men:
and the Victims of the Field of Com
bat Were Lauded as Heroes.


J bat Were Lauded as Heroes.
The number of United States naval
officers killed in duels in the half cen
fury from 1893 to 184S was two-thirds
the number of officers who lost their
lives in the naval wars Of the United
States in that same period.
In the eighty-two duels which were
fought in that period thirty-six men
were killed, of whom thirty three were
naval officers. Of those who were not
killed in those naval duels one-half
were wounded.
In those days Of the old navy the
duel was held to be sort Of indis-
pensable diploma for the naval officers.
Men were sensitive as to their honor,
as to the necessity of it's defense.
Duels were fought between officers
high in rank and more often between
the midshipmen. The commissioned
officers dealt with these affairs of
honor" between the youngsters with
pompous solemnity.
Verses were printed upon their vic
tins in the literary journals of the day,
and their relatives caused epitaphs in
the Johnsonian style to be placed upon
their tombs. Occasionally duels as
sumed the character almost Of an In
ternational incident, and sometimes
they became small wars.
Early in the war with Tripoi Off
GERS became involved in quarrels
among themselves and with the Off
GERS of the British navy who were on
service in the Mediterranean. In 1919
the Americans and the British officers
who were connected with the garri-
son at Gibraltar fought duels so fire.
quently that the governor prohibited
the harbor to American ships.
Those old time middies were exceed
ingly bellicose. They were very jeal-
Gus of their rank. They had their own
exalted ideas as to the meaning of the
terms gentleman" and "officer;" there
fore many sanguinary duel was pre-
cipitated by causes the most trivial.
What nowadays would Be considered
q practical joke then became an affair
Of ten PAGES with pistols.
Once a MILDLY amused himself by
sprinkling letter that another MILDLY
was writing Thereupon the letter
writer sprinkled the waistcoat Of the
offender with the contents Of the ink
bottle. A few days later the two faced
each other in duel.
That the number Of deaths and seri-
Gus wounds in these duels was so great
is not surprising in view Of the fact
that the distance between the COM
batants measured about thirty feet.
A marksman Of fair ability could hit
his adversary at that distance with
out much trouble If his nerves were
steady. In some cases the distance
was much less. In the cambridge
Cochran duel it was twelve feet. In
another duel the pistols almost touch
ed, and both combatants were killed
at the first shot.
The largest number Of the duels
which were fought in the United States
took place in the neighborhood Of Nor
folk, of New York and Of Bladensburg,
which is near the city Of Washing
ton. But duels were also fought on
Castle island, in Boston harbor; at New
Orleans and in various other places.
It was at Weehawken that Comma
dore Oliver II. Perry fought his duel
with Captain John Heath. There were
grounds abroad also which in the ma.
ture Of the circumstances saw many
OF these naval encounters - for in
stance, Rio Janeiro, Valparaiso, Port
Mahon and in various places in the
Mediterranean and in the East Indies.
These naval duels were most fire.
quent between the years 1899 and
1896 The best known Of them all
probably was that between Decatur
and Barron in 1920. This year marks
the beginning Of the slow decline Of
the practice, and the last Of the duels
In the old navy Of which there is q
record took place In 1850.
Pistols were not always used, but
the sword was sometimes resorted to-
as, for instance, in what was practical
~ the first Of the duels in the United
States navy. This took place in 1779.
The combatants were Captain P. K.
Landais and Captain D. N. Cottineau,
both Frenchmen, who were In COM
mand Of vessels under John Paul Jones
at the battle with the Scraps. Jones
found evidence Of INSTRUMENTATION upon
the part Of Landais in that engagement
and accused him Of firing Intentional
~ into the Bonhomme Richard. There
ensued a bitter quarrel, and In an in
qutry made by Benjamin Franklin
Cottineau gave testimony that caused
Landais to issue challenge. The duel
came of in Holland, and as Landa1s
was a skilled swordsman he wound
ed Cottineau severely. - Philadelphia
Press.
Didn't Know Mckinley.
nnco whom William McKfnlov woo