10 Ridiculous Gentleman’s Duels Fought Over Nothing

Ward Hazell and Listverse present 10 Ridiculous Gentleman’s Duels Fought Over Nothing.  It’s hard to imagine a time where dueling was legal and even crazier when you consider some of the rules (Check out what rule was broken in the duel between Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson).  At any rate, here are three of my favorites and my summaries of why (check out the Listverse article for full details)…

Alexander Hamilton And Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were two of our Nation’s Founding Fathers. They were both patriots having  fought in the American Revolution. Burr was Vice President and Hamilton the first Secretary of the Treasury. The two men disliked each other so when Hamilton was to have said something unflattering about Burr and refused to apologize a duel with pistols was arranged.

Hamilton fired first and missed.  Some believe that Hamilton, “as was customary for a gentleman, deliberately missed. Burr, on the other hand, whether by accident or design, shot Hamilton in the stomach, tearing through his internal organs and paralyzing him. Hamilton died 36 hours later.”

Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson
In 1806, Andrew Jackson challenged Charles Dickinson to a duel after Dickinson insulted Jackson’s wife and called Jackson a “poltroon and a coward.”

Dickinson was no stranger to duels and chose pistols.  Dickinson fired first striking Jackson and breaking two of his ribs.  Jackson’s gun misfired, so he recocked it and shot Dickinson dead.

Here’s where it gets crazy.  Dueling rules required each man to fure ar the same time.  If one man fired first the second man should fire in the air and not take time for a deliberate shot! “Though there was some unpleasantness over the issue, Jackson was never charged with murder. He was troubled with pain from the injury for the rest of his life, but it did his career no harm, as he went on to become the seventh president of the United States.”

Monsieur Granpree And Monsieur Le Pique
In 1808 Monsieur Granpree discovered his mistress having an affair with Monsieur Le Pique.  The men agreed to a duel to settle the issue… they would fight from balloons in the air.

After a month of training, each man entered his balloon with a blunderbuss and a second.  A crowd had gathered to watch this most unusual duel.  The balloons lifted into the air and the restraining cords cut.  The duel was on.

Le Pique fired first but missed. Granpree’s shot struck the balloon and as you can imagine, things went downhill quickly for Le Pique.  “Le Pique and his second were “dashed to pieces”…  when his balloon shredded and fell to the ground.