History: Blood and Honor: Duel On The Cane, 1839, Natchitoches Parish La Source: The Old Natchitoches Parish Magazine, Volume I, pages 1-7 Many thanks to Old Natchitoches Parish magazine for giving permission to the LaGenWeb to use this great article!!!!! Old Natchitoches Parish Magazine is published once a month and you can pick up your copy at local stores in Natchitoches or order a subscription. Back issues can also be ordered. Old Natchitoches Parish Magazine contains history, humor and culture of Northwest Louisiana. This magazine is a must have and must read!!!!!!!!! ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** NOTICE NOTICE I, General Francois I, General Pierre E. Gainnie, have had my Bossier, given the insult honor insulted by the To my word and honor by words of General Demand satisfaction on Pierre E. Bossier The field of honor (Dueling notices, like the ones above were commonly posted in the newspaper and public places to announce the intentions of the offended party/ies during this period. On a beautiful fall day in 1839, two men stood facing each other. They stood 40 paces apart, each holding a rifle. In moments one would die. Blood would spill the banks of the Cane River and once again a man would pay with his life for an insult to southern honor. In Natchitoches Parish, a man's honor was a way of life BLOOD AND HONOR: DUEL ON THE CANE by Terry Isbell On a beautiful fall day in the year 1839, two men stood facing each other on the savanna behind what would become Cherokee Plantation They stood 40 paces apart, each holding a rile. In moments, one of these men would die. Blood would spill on the banks of the Cane River and this bloodshed would lead to eleven more during this over the next two years. A few weeks previously, General Francois Gainnie, a prominent whig, and General Pierre E. Bossier, a prominent Democratic Congressman, had exchanged heated words about politics at a social event. After the exchange, Gainnie placed a notice in a Natchitoches news-paper, alerting the community that he had insulted Bossier. Bossier responded with a notice of his own, proclaiming his restraint at General Gainnie's rash words in front of ladies. Urged on by Whig friends, Gainnie then placed notices stating that given the provocation, General Bossier either had to challenge him, or "assume that odium, to which death is preferable" that is, be branded a coward. Bossier had no choice but to challenge Gainnie to a duel. As the challenged party, General Gainnie had the choice of weapons, and his anger was so great, that he insisted on deadly rifles. The duel was delayed for several days while his seconds tried to convince him to switch to swords or even pistols, but he would not change his mind. Both men's seconds, fanatical whigs for Gainnie and fanatical Democrats for Bossier, drew up the rules of engagement and arranged the time and place for the duel, 9:00 a.m. on Sept 18th, behind the house at the Emile Sompayrac Plantation. This was a neutral place, chosen for privacy. At the agreed upon time, the men and their seconds met. Both Gainnie and Bossier were prepared to die to satisfy honor. One would. ln the old South in general and in Louisiana in particular, duels of honor were a common way of dealing with social problems. There were well known duels in all the Southern states, but for sheer numbers, no state could match Louisiana. Louisiana was widely known as a place where the men were touchy about personal honor. Travelers to the state were often warned that due to the popularity of duels, "a visitor should be careful of what he says and what society he keeps". Another warned that in New Orleans, the "rage for dueling is as at such a pitch that a jest or smart repartee is sufficient clause for challenge." During the heyday of dueling in Louisiana (1800-1860), New Orleans held the crown as the queen city of dueling. It was reported that New Orleans saw as many duels as there were days in the year. Diaries and journals from the period indicate as many as 3 duels a day were fought, many under "The Oaks" at the foot of at the foot of Esplanade Street. For years, the term "meeting under the oaks" was another way to refer to dueling. Natchitoches, however, had it's share of duels as well. Favorite dueling spots for Natchitoches' gentlemen were down river along the Cane or on the banks of Sibley Lake. While dueling was fairly common in Louisiana, the formal duel, with seconds and rigid codes of behavior, was an event found mostly in the long settled towns of New Orleans and Natchitoches. At that time, there was a widespread belief that a man didn't go to the courts with a personal issue, but took care of it himself. In the rural areas, however, this usually took the shape of a knife fight, or more rarely - a gunfight, which occurred immediately after the insult or challenge. Only in the more "civilized" places was there a rigid code attached to a process where two men try to kill each other. Duels were popular In the South for many reasons. Originally, duels began as a way to settle personal differences outside of a court of law. Throughout the South, there was a lack of adequate laws to deal with personal issues. Where laws did exist, they were inefficient, police presence almost or nonexistent, and judges often corrupt. Louisiana courts did not prosecute slander or libel, so once General Bossier the "field of honor" was the only recourse. Another reason for the popularity of the duel was the influence of the English and French aristocracy. Many Southerner's were of English or French ancestry and while few were actually of aristocracy, they were all aware of the rigid class system, which has been closed to them or their parents. They knew all about the aristocratic "gentleman" status. With a little luck and a couple of good cotton crops he might achieve it. He could be a gentleman, with the manor house and a "title," usually Colonel or General, to prove it. Along with the status, came the rigid gentleman's code of behavior, and at the center of this code was the concept of honor. While he might not have a royal title, the Southerner could have honor, and he would defend this honor in duels. Even those Southerners with more ambition than achievement, soon saw the duel as a way of enhancing his status. Only gentlemen dueled, and so if he dueled, then he was a gentleman. The problem was that unlike the European aristocrats, the Southern gentlemen didn't know how to duel. This lack of knowledge led to such deadly "refinements" as the use of shotguns or, as in the Gaienne/Bossier duel, rifles. Books containing the Irish or French dueling codes were very popular in the South, particularly the Irish code as it encouraged the use of pistols. The French encouraged the use of the sword, and except for a few prominent New Orleans residents educated in Paris, the majority of Southerners simply didn't know how to use one. In 1838, John Wilson, an ex-governor of South Carolina ushered in the golden age of Southern Due's by writing The Code of Honor; an American instruction book for conducting duels. Wilson carefully spelled out the acceptable reasons for a duel, the process of the challenge, the duties of the seconds, and what would be considered honorable behavior by the duelists. He also required seconds to make every attempt to reconcile the two duelists before the actual duel. Schools to train "gentlemen" for dueling sprung all over the south. As would be expected, New Orleans had the greatest number of these schools, which promised to train gentlemen in both weaponry and the codes. The reasons for a challenge were numerous and ranged from an innocently intended comment to a publicly delivered blow. Most challenges, however, came from three sources: women, insults to personal honor or politics. Women were the cause of a lot of duels in the South. Southern women had long been placed on a pedestal relative to their Northern sisters. Chivalry played no small part in the gentlemen's code and any slight towards a lady called for an instant challenge. For example, slights to this wife Rachel led to some of Andrew Jackson's fourteen duels. For many a Southern woman, having men duel over her was the ultimate proof of her desirability, and such a woman often encouraged rivalry between suitors hoping these rivalries would result in a challenge. Often they did. One observer wrote that "Men were lashed into frenzies by the habits of flirtation practiced by only too many of the fascinating belles". Southern women also had notions of honor. One Mississippi wife told her challenged husband that he must duel because she would "rather be the widow of a brave man than the wife of a coward". Another Southern wife whose husband was ill when challenged informed the seconds that if her husband was too ill to be there, "I will take his place". Slights to personal honor were numerous. Insinuations that a man had lied, or insults to his family or his physical appearance, or questions about his status as a gentleman could all lead to challenges. While a private insult could result in a duel, many insults were made publicly in an effort to goad a challenge. Newspapers and window posters were the way in which many an insult was delivered. For example, in 1809 this notice appeared in the Savannah Republican: "I hold Francis H. Welman a Liar, Coward and Poltroon. John Moorhead." In the Gainnie/ Bossier duel, the insults and replies all appeared in the local press. Politics probably caused the largest number of Southern duels, or more appropriately, arguments about politics. Southerner's liked their politics hot and their spirts strong and this combination was often fatal. The Gainnie/Bossier duel was a classic political duel. Both men were prominent representatives of their political parties, indeed General Bossier was an elected official. By all reports, both of these two gentlemen were normally calm and level headed. Indeed, neither had ever challenged to, or fought a duel before. However, the year 1839 was a particularly heated year in local politics and that fall, when Gaienne and Bossier discussed politics at a social event, they became equally heated in their argument. This heated discussion would result in the death or wounding of 12 men. No matter what the cause of the challenge, it had to be answered. Those who, out of either cowardice or principle, refused to answer a challenge to duel were shunned by society. Dueling was, however, a complicated dance of death, and a man could refuse a challenge for some reasons. For example, a man could refuse to duel without fear of being snubbed by society if the challenger was of a lower social status, those men should be beaten with a cane or horsewhipped. A man could also refuse if the reason for the challenge was thought to be trivial by the community, or if one or both of the parties was "in wine,", (drunk), at the time of the insult. Drunkenness though, was not considered a full excuse and upon sobering, an apology to the injured party was expected. None of these factors applied in the Gainnie/Bossier duel. The two duelists were of equal status as both men held the rank/title of General, and both owned plantations on the lower Cane. In addition, in the heated political climate of the times, the reason for the duel was not considered trivial, and while it was probably that both men were served spirits at the social event where the original words were spoken, the newspaper notices and eventual challenges took place over several sober days following the party. There was no reason for Gainnie to refuse Bossier's challenge and as Gainnie had challenged Bossier to challenge him, it was very unlikely that he would. Before the morning meeting on the Cane, General Gainnie had informed his wife that if he lived, he would send a messenger on a white horse to tell her the news. If he died, the messenger would be riding a black horse. Both horses stood waiting that morning. The seconds "prepared the ground" by inspecting and loading the rifles. They then reviewed the rules of engagement with the two men, placed them 40 paces apart (120 feet) and handed them their weapons. After a question of "Are you ready?", the second shouted "Fire" followed by a count of "one, two three". Both duelists had agreed that they would fire only in the space of that count. Gainnie immediately fired, but missed. Bossier fired. His bullet passed through Gainnie's arm and into his heart. He sank to the ground dead, his lifes-blood pooling under him. The messenger slowly mounted the black horse and rode to give General Gainnie's widow the news of her husband's death. The news of this duel traveled throughout a parish already split into two warring political groups. The death of the popular Whig General further inflamed these groups and the next two years would see numerous duels between friends and supporters of the two Generals. For example, as a direct result of the Gainnie/Bossier duel, W L. McWilliams was killed in a duel by George Williams; M. Busy killed Sylvester Rachal but then was killed himself a week later by Sylvester Rachal, Sylvester's brother; Breville Perot and Jack MeNaulte, Gainnie's overseer, killed each other in a duel at Magnolia Plantation, which led to Hypolite Bordelon killing the brother of McNaulte, who declared that Bordelon could have prevented the duel between his brother and Perot; and Sylvester Bossier, who had been one of Bossier's seconds, killed Alexis Adlee in a sword duel, as a result of an argument over the outcome of the Bossier-Gainnie duel. These and other duels, eleven in all, resulted from a few ill-advised political comments at a Natchitoches social event. Events such as these, with spiraling bloodshed, helped fuel the calls to ban dueling. Despite support for the ban by many in South, particularly preachers and newspaper editors, dueling would persist as a Southern institution until, along with so many other Southern institutions, it was swept away by the Civil War. Modern warfare, with its' wholesale slaughter, redefined the meaning of personal honor for the Southern gentleman. It simply didn't seem honorable anymore to kill another over small slights. Dueling became a romantic historical event, and no longer would Natchitoches gentlemen meet to protect their honor by spilling blood on the banks of the Cane. ************************************************************************ Better to die ten thousand deaths than wound my honor______Joseph Addison Propriety of manners and consideration for others are the two main characteristics of a gentleman..._________-Benjamin Disraeli