Chatham County GaArchives History .....Savannah Duels - Chapter XII 1923 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 25, 2004, 10:19 pm CHAPTER XII. THE TATTNALLS. CONGRESSMAN AND COMMODORE EDWARD F. TATTNALL'S CHALLENGE TO A SPANISH OFFICER—WOUNDED IN ARM IN DUEL SERVES ON A COURT OF HONOR—ACTS AS SECOND FOR JOHN RANDOLPH OF ROANOKE IN HIS MEETING WITH HENRY CLAY— JOSIAH TATTNALL WOUNDS OFFENSIVE BRITISH OFFICER—CALLS AN ENGLISH SECOND TO SHARP ACCOUNT FOR HIS ACTS—TOGETHER THE BROTHERS LIE UNDER THE OAKS OF THEIR BOYHOOD HOME, BONAVENTURE. Distinguished as a lawyer and public man, another Savannahian of this period occupies a unique place in the annals of duelling- as the second in one of the most remarkable meetings under the code between two men of the highest prominence in national affairs, the meeting in which the principals were Henry Clay, then Secretary of State, and John Randolph of Roanoke, that most unique of Virginians. Reference is made to Col. Edward Fenwick Tattnall, son of Governor Josiah Tattnall, and brother of the famous Commodore Tattnall. Tattnall, who was born at the plantation home of the family, Bonaventure, near Savannah, in 1788, partook by inheritance of brilliant and sterling characteristics of his family. As a young- man he displayed unusual ability at the bar and the possession of qualities of a genial, courageous and high-principled manhood that drew wide attention to him as one of Georgia's gifted and prominent sons. Soon after the second war with Great Britain began, Tattnall received an appointment as captain in the 43d Regiment, United States Army, and was stationed on the St. Mary's river. When the British forces invaded Georgia in December51814, he was located at Point Peter. In one of his letters written from Savannah at that time, Ebenezer Jackson, an officer of the Revolution, who had removed from Massachusetts and settled on Whitemarsh Island, told of the bravery of Capt. Tattnall in an engagement with the enemy. Said he: "The British landed on Cumberland Island and after-wards' took Point Peter and St. Mary's. The garrison, which consisted of one hundred and fifty regulars, made good their retreat after a handsome affair in which Edward F. Tattnall commanded a charge, in which he displayed the most intrepid conduct. He seized the gun of a wounded man of his command and shot dead the British officer who commanded the force opposed to him. At the same time Captain Tattnall was wounded in the arm severely. He was, however, brought off." It was through Capt. Tattnall that there came to Savannah its first news of the great American victory at New Orleans, he having received it through a British bomb ship that put in at St. Mary's. Through him also came the information that the British forces would next probably be used against Savannah, leading to feverish preparations here for their reception. Only the news of the signing of the treaty of peace checked the design of Admiral Cockburn and other British commanders to try issues with the hastily gathered forces that defended this city. Whilst Capt. Tattnall was at Point Peter the Spanish officer on Amelia Island gave a ball to the merchants and their families. The place attracted to it at that time many persons on account of the facilities which it offered for carrying on trade, says Governor Gilmer, to whom we are indebted for this incident in the life of the Savannahian. "The officers at Point Peter were invited. The ball was opened offensively to the Spanish commandant by the omission to place his wife at the head of the first dance. Spanish soldiers' were ordered into the ball room, accoutred with their full complement of arms, and commanded to disperse the company. The utmost alarm prevailed among the ladies and their husbands. Some hid in one place and some in another. Capt. Tattnall and Lieut. Holt defended themselves as they could, whilst they made for the seashore, where they had left the boat, in which they passed the strait from Point Peter, with a squad of four soldiers. With these soldiers they returned to the ball room, drove the Spanish officer and his men from the house, collected the affrighted company, and attempted to resume the dancing, but the spirit of jollity was gone and the party dispersed. "On the next morning Capt. Tattnall sent a challenge to the Spanish commander. Upon his declining to fight he made a representation of his1 conduct to the Governor of Florida, who put his inferior into chains and sent him to Old Spain to be tried for cowardice." Resuming the practice of law in Savannah, Tattnall, when twenty-eight years of age, became Solicitor General of the Eastern Circuit, holding the office a term. He then resumed the practice of his profession and represented the county in the General Assembly. At this time he fought one duel, at least, doubtless an issue of the acrimonious politics of the day, when the Clark-Crawford feud dominated the public life of the state. With whom he fought no printed record appears to tell. In his sketch of Robert Rutherford, in "The Bench and Bar of Georgia," Miller prints a letter from Major Joel Crawford, in which he tells of Seaborn Jones, afterwards Congressman, challenging Gen. John Scott, of the state militia. Scott announced his willingness to fight with broadswords, a weapon uncommon to Georgia duellists. Jones was disinclined to meet Scott with such weapons and Rutherford, his brother-in-law, assumed to relieve him of the duty. Going to Gen. Scott Rutherford said: "Gen. Scott, you must fight Jones with pistols or adopt me as the swordsman," and gave him one hour in which to decide. According to Crawford's account, Scott or his friends got busy in bringing about an armistice and a court of honor. By the latter the difficulty was peaceably adjusted. "Col. Edward F. Tattnall, then with his arm in a sling from just fighting a duel," was one of the court," wrote Crawford, and added, "All the court, I think, were of the legislature." In 1820 Tattnall was a candidate for a seat in Congress. At that time the representatives at Washington were not elected by districts, as now, but all of the voters balloted for their preferences among the candidates, the seven highest winning. The popularity of Tattnall throughout the state is shown in the fact that he ran second only to John Forsyth, and far distanced the others in the race. He was an earnest and eloquent advocate of the principles of his party and a most forceful speaker in opposition to the tariff policy of Clay and his associates. His formal speeches and running debates in the House show his thorough grasp of the subject and the fact that he was a formidable opponent to those who were espousing the "American tariff system." Tattnall served in the 17th, 18th and 19th Congresses, 1821-27. It was in 1825 that the unexpected call came to him to act as second for John Randolph, a duty in which he acquitted himself, as in all the affairs of life, in the most admirable manner. All know of the political bitterness that existed between the great Kentuckian and the erratic though brilliant Virginian. Attacks in the newspapers on Randolph were imputed by him to President John Quincy Adams and his Secretary of State. The opportunity came to flay them in the debate in the Senate on the sending of representatives from the United States to the Pan-American Congress at Panama. This was a pet project of Clay's and Adams claimed the presidential prerogative to send special ministers from this country without senatorial approval. Randolph denied such a right and attacked it. In the course of his satirical and ofttimes bitter remarks, Randolph indulged in that ferocious allusion to Adams and Clay as "The coalition of Blifil and Black George —the combination, unheard of till now, of the Puritan with the blackleg." Clay was furious. Only a short time before he had condemned duelling as a relic of barbarism. Now he challenged Randolph without delay. The Virginia Senator accepted the challenge and selected the Savannahian as his second. Tattnall had fought one or more duels, had acted in a court of honor, was versed in the code, was a gentleman of the highest standing. Gen. Jesup acted as Clay's second. In calling on Ran-dolph the general remarked that no one had the right to question Randolph out of the Senate for anything he said in debate in that body, unless he, Randolph, voluntarily chose to waive his privileges as a senator. Never, Randolph replied, would he shield himself under such a subterfuge as pleading his privileges as a senator of Virginia, and stated that he held himself amenable to Secretary Clay. But for his relationship to Mrs. Randolph Senator Benton, of Missouri, would have been called in as second. To Benton Randolph confided his intention not to fire at Clay. Tattnall was in ill-health at the time, practically confined to his room, but he came at once to his friend and arranged with Gen. Jesup the terms of the meeting. "A duel in the circle in which Randolph belonged," wrote Senator Benton, in his "Thirty Years View of the United States Senate," was an affair of honor, and high honor, according to its code, must pervade every part of it." For a week Jesup and Tattnall sought to arrange an accommodation, but to no purpose. On April 8, the parties met on the bank of the Potomac, within the state of Virginia. "If he fell," said Benton, "Randolph chose Virginia soil as the ground to receive his blood." "There was a statute of Virginia against duelling within her limits, but, as he merely went out to receive a fire without returning it, Randolph deemed that no fighting, and consequently no breach of her statute." The day before the duel, Senator Benton called on Clay. Mrs. Clay was present and her sleeping child was in the room. Referring to this visit when he met Randolph the morning of the duel, the Virginian quietly remarked: "I shall do nothing to disturb the sleep of the child, or the repose of the mother." On the eve of the meeting Tattnall came to see his principal. Accompanying him was Gen. James Hamilton, of South Carolina. The Savannahian had been told that Randolph was determined not to fire at Clay. The second was opposed to any such procedure. "Mr. Randolph," said Tattnall to him, "I am told you are determined not to return Mr. Clay's fire. I must say to you, if I am only to go out to see you shot down you must find some other friend." General Hamilton told of this in a letter to a friend after the affair. After some conversation the South Carolinian induced Tattnall to allow Randolph to take his own course. Randolph said smilingly, "Well, Tattnall, I promise you one thing, if I see the devil in Clay's eyes, and that with malice prepense he means to take my life, I will change my mind," a remark, Hamilton said, intended to propitiate the anxiety of the Savannahian. At his bank Randolph secured nine pieces of gold. In the event of his death these were to be given three each to Tattnall, Benton and Hamilton, to make seals to wear in remembrance of their Virginia friend. The count was to be quick after receiving the word "Fire." As Randolph had no intention of firing, the short interval between "fire" and "stop" meant nothing to him. With Clay it was otherwise. Unaccustomed to the pistol, as he was, he expressed the fear that he could not fire within the brief time limit. Gen. Jesup mentioned this to Col. Tattnall. "If you insist upon it," replied the Savannahian, "the time must be prolonged, but I should very much regret it." Fortunately Clay did not insist, nor his second, and the original agreement was adhered to. Col. Tattnall won the choice of position, which gave to Gen. Jesup the delivery of the word. Randolph asked Jesup to repeat the words, as he would speak them. While he was doing this Randolph's pistol went off, the muzzle to the ground. Instantly he turned to the Savannahian: "I protested against that hair trigger," said he. Col. Tattnall took the blame to himself for having himself sprung the hair, says Benton. Another pistol was furnished. On the first exchange of shots, Randolph's bullet struck a stump behind Clay, while Clay's bullet knocked up the earth behind Randolph. Efforts at mediation failed. As Benton told of the duel, "Clay said, with that wave of the hand with which he was accustomed to put away a trifle, 'This is child's play,’ and required another fire. Mr. Randolph also demanded another fire." Randolph, Benton says, regretted that he had fired at Clay. He had been vexed by the accidental discharge of his pistol with its possibilities of misconstruction, and by a statement Tattnall had made to him that it had been proposed to give out the words more deliberately, so as to prolong the time for taking aim. This information, Randolph said in a quick note to Benton, led to the thought that Clay had determined "by the use of a long preparatory caution by words, to get time to kill me. May I not, then, disable him? Yes, if I please." But Tattnall had been misinformed, and so Randolph was laboring under a misapprehension. Randolph, however, had aimed low, he stated to Benton, so as to avoid any chance of killing Clay. "I would not have seen him fall mortally, or even doubtfully, wounded, for all the land that is watered by the King of Floods and all tributary streams," said the Virginian as he returned to his position and again faced the Kentuckian. Clay's second bullet passed through Randolph's coat, very near his hip. Randolph raised his pistol in the air and discharged it. "I do not fire at you, Mr. Clay," said he, and advanced and offered his hand. As Clay met him and grasped his hand, Randolph said with a smile: "You owe me a coat, Mr. Clay," and Clay replied, "I am glad the debt is no greater." The parties left the field, as Benton said, "with lighter hearts." At supper that night, when Randolph, Tattnall, Benton and Hamilton gathered, Randolph took the nine gold pieces from his pocket. "Gentlemen," said he, "Clay's bad shot shan't rob you of your seals. I am going to London and will have them made for you," which he did. And so it was that two Savannahians acted as seconds in two of the most noted duels in American history—Pendleton for Alexander Hamilton in his meeting with Aaron Burr, and Tattnall for John Randolph of Roanoke in his meeting with the great Henry Clay. Carl Schurz, in his life of Henry Clay? makes the pertinent comment: "Randolph's pistol had failed to prove that Clay was a 'blackguard' and Clay's pistol had also failed to prove that Randolph was a 'calumniator'; but according to the mysterious process of reasoning which makes the pistol the arbiter of honor, the honor of each was satisfied." As mentioned, Congressman Tattnall was the older brother of Commodore Josiah Tattnall, hero of the dramatic Pei-Ho river incident with its "Blood is thicker than water" explanation of his valorous aid for the British in their extremity. Both men were of the same unflinchingly courageous type of manhood, never encroaching on the rights of others and permitting no violations of their own sense of dignity and honor. In the old navy duels were almost a matter of course, so it is not surprising that one is found to the Commodore's credit, nor that he stood ready at all times to defend his country's honor as well as his own, when men of another flag became offensive. Jones tells of two incidents of this kind in his "Life and Services of Commodore Tattnall," growing out of the employment of a number of former British naval officers with the Chilian navy, then preparing to invade Peru, still a dependency of Spain. This1 was in 1818. The American victories over the British ships in the war but recently ended still rankled in the breasts of the English officers and seamen and their feelings gave rise to violent expressions. As Jones puts it: "Despite his early English education, and the affection he cherished for his English relatives, Lieutenant Tattnall would not, with his love of country and her flag, brook the slightest reflection upon the conduct of the young Republic or her adherents during the late contest upon sea or land. The language and conduct of one of Lord Cochrane's officers proving offensive in this regard, a challenge ensued, which resulted in a quick duel with pistols, Tattnall's antagonist retiring from the field with a bullet in his shoulder." Some months later the Macedonian, on which Tattnall was an officer, was once more in the port of Valparaiso. There was a recurrence of the former situation. The American officers refrained as much as possible from going ashore because of the disagreeable tendencies of the English officers in the improvised Chilian navy. One night, though, the Savannahian accompanied Midshipman Richard Pinckney, of South Carolina, and some others to a party at a hotel. A number of the English officers were among the guests. In a heated argument Pinckney denounced Lord Cochrane, a personal quarrel ensued with an Englishman, Pinckney challenged him and an immediate meeting was agreed upon. "Armed with heavy ship's pistols and swords," says Jones, "the principals accompanied by their seconds proceeded to the sea beach. The moon was at full and the night was cloudless. Hundreds had assembled to witness the meeting. Pinckney having given the challenge, his antagonist named the distance, ten paces. It was arranged that the principals should wheel and fire. "The requisites being all adjusted, the principals took their positions. At that critical moment one of the English officer's seconds advanced and stated that as1 his friend had heard that Pinckney was a dead shot he declined fighting at ten paces, but would fight at five paces. "Pinckney's friends insisted that the duel should proceed upon the terms as agreed upon, and in accordance with which the principals had already been posted. To this the friends' of the Englishman stoutly objected, and, amid the growing confusion, there appeared no alternative save an acquiescence in the murderous proposition. "At this juncture Lieutenant Tattnall walked up to the Englishman's second who had interrupted the proceedings and said to him: " 'You are a coward and a scoundrel, and have made all this difficulty. Now you shall first fight me at five paces.' "This settled the controversy. The fellow backed down, asked Tattnall's pardon, and said his friend would fight Mr. Pinckney at the distance of ten paces as named. "The duel proceeded. Several shots were exchanged. The clothing of both principals was cut and the Englishman wounded. The ammunition being exhausted, and the police threatening interference, a reconciliation was brought about." But for a time it looked as though the Savannahian would not leave Chili without either having a dead or wounded Englishman to his credit, or himself being marked up as a victim of the code. Other English officers indulged in comments that were far from pleasing to the Georgia officer. So, to bring it to a head, the message went from Tattnall to the antagonistic Britons that "If his course had in anywise displeased them he would be most happy to fight them of all grades, from the cockpit to the cabin door." And to let the Chilians understand their position properly, when a corvette rah up the American flag under the British one day there was a boat load of brawny American tars under Tattnall's orders alongside in a few minutes and the American flag was soon at the topmast. Yet this was the same gallant American who, in 1859, forty-one years later, came to the rescue of the disabled British ships in their dire distress on the Pei-Ho river and won the plaudits of his own countrymen and the English thereby. It falls to the lot of few men to have their names immortalized by connection with a phrase that promises never to die. That was the rare fortune of Tattnall. Whenever one hears the expression, "Blood is thicker than water,” memory reverts to the Savannahian who used it on that memorable occasion. There was a sharp wrench of the heart strings when the call of Georgia caused a severance of the ties that bound Tattnall to the old navy. For a half century he had served under its flag in many seas and in many dangerous' lines of duty. During two wars, those of 1812 and with Mexico, he had battled under the Stars and Stripes against his country's enemies. Numerous and dear were the personal associations that had come in the course of those many years of fellowship with the brave seamen gathered from all parts of the common land. But Tattnall, an old man of sixty-six, even though hale and hearty, took his place unhesitatingly with the South, placed himself unreservedly at her disposal, and rendered her the same gallant, faithful and unselfish service he had given to the nation (before the sectional separation had come. Referring to this the morning after Tattnall's death, Editor Thompson, of the "News," said: "In an interview with the leaders of the Confederate movement the Commodore expressed his decided aversion to such a contingency as a collision of arms between the North and the South, and declared that he would not for the world fire the first gun which was to precipitate the war. In the event of a collision, however, he said that his sword was at the service of his State." Tattnall was governed by the same thought that inspired R. W. Habersham, then the United States District Attorney, to give as1 his toast at the dinner on St. Patrick's Day. 1827, this sentiment: "My native State of Georgia. If the mother who has nurtured us be wrong, we are bound to side with her; and if she be right, we should deserve contempt if we took part against her." This sentiment, in one form or another, came to the front whenever Georgia's vital interests seemed to clash in those early days with the authority of the Federal union. Edward F. Tattnall died in 1832 and was buried in Bonaventure, where a monument erected to his1 memory by the Savannah Volunteer Guards, of which he had been the commander for a number of years, was unveiled on Washington's Birthday, in 1834. Gov. Gilmer, who had served in Congress with Tattnall, said of him: "His spirit was the essence of chivalry. He preferred death to the slightest coloring of dishonor. He risked his life, and was near losing it several times, that he might be considered above wrongdoing." The inscription on the high obelisk over his grave tells of the deep regard of his comrades of the Guards: SACRED To the Memory of EDWARD FENWICK TATTNALL who died in Savannah on the 21st day of November, 1832 aged 44 years. This Monument was Erected by the Savannah Volunteer Guards, which Corps he for a period of Years Commanded, as a tribute of affection for his qualities as a Man, a Soldier and a Patriot. Munera parva quidem sed magnum testanter amoren His more famous brother, whose services in both the old American and the Confederate navies made him one of the most distinguished Georgians' of his day, died in Savannah in 1871, at the age of seventy-six. A eulogist in the "Republican" wrote: "His remains repose in the ancestral acres of Bona-venture by the side of his chivalrous brother. He will sleep under the shade of those immemorial oaks, planted by his remote progenitors'. Those noble old trees, renowned so long for natural beauty, will acquire henceforth a new significance and a richer glory. Spared by the storms, saved by holy dedication from human desecration, cherished and cultured by the rains and the dews of Heaven, they shall now fulfill their destiny when, with new dignity and glory and majesty they stand the faithful, unswerving, watchful sentinels who guard all the approaches to the tomb of Tattnall." On the surface of the tomb three laurel wreaths enclose the dates' which tell of the wars in which he served his country: 1812, 1847, 1861, with an extended sword connecting them. On the sides of the tomb are these inscriptions: COMMODORE JOSIAH TATTNALL, U. S. & C. S. N. BORN NEAR THIS SPOT NOV. 9th, 1795. DIED JUNE 14th, 1871. Erected by Admiring Friends To the Memory of a Grand Manhood and an Exalted Character Without Fear and Without Reproach. To few Georgians, or to any others, has it been given after well spent lives that added new lustre to the fair fame of their native city, to rest beneath the great trees of the old home where their boyhood had been passed. No tombs in Bonaventure should awaken a greater interest or revive prouder memories among Savannahians than those of the two Tattnalls. Additional Comments: From: ANNALS OF SAVANNAH SAVANNAH DUELS AND DUELLISTS 1733-1877 BY Thomas Gamble COPYRIGHT 1923 REVIEW PUBLISHING & PRINTING COMPANY SAVANNAH, GEORGIA File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chatham/history/other/gms416savannah.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 25.4 Kb