Bladensburg Dueling Grounds is a small spit of land, a fraction of its original size, along

Dueling Creek Dueling Creek is a tributary of the Anacostia River in southern Maryland in the United States, located in the town of Colmar Manor. The Bladensburg Dueling Grounds on the creek was a favorite spot for duels in the 19th century, and was the site ...

, formerly in the town of

Bladensburg, Maryland Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from Washington, D.C. History Originally called Garr ...

, and now within the town of Colmar Manor, just to the northeast of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Dueling Creek, formerly known as '"Blood Run" and "The Dark and Bloody Grounds", is a tributary of the

Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Ch ...

, which was formerly, called the East Branch Potomac River. From 1808 the grove witnessed approximately fifty duels by gentlemen, military officers, and politicians, settling "affairs of honor". A formalized set of rules and

etiquette Etiquette ( /ˈɛtikɛt, -kɪt/) can be defined as a set of norms of personal behavior in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviors that accord with the conventions and ...

, the ''

code duello A code duello is a set of rules for a one-on-one combat, or duel. Codes duello regulate dueling and thus help prevent vendettas between families and other social factions. They ensure that non-violent means of reaching agreement are exhausted and ...

'' was usually enforced by the duelers and their seconds. The exact number of duels and the names of all the participants who fought at Bladensburg may never be known because surviving records are obscure, the events are not well documented - and dueling was illegal. Following the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, dueling fell out of favor as a means of settling personal grievances and declined rapidly; the last known duel was fought here in 1868. Bladensburg was said to have a notorious reputation due to its association with the dueling grounds, becoming a tourist attraction due to its bloody history.

Notable duels

*In 1808, U.S. Representative

Barent Gardenier Barent Gardenier (July 28, 1776 – January 10, 1822) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a United States representative from 1807 to 1811. Biography Barent Gardenier was born in Kinderhook, New York, on July 28, 1776. He ...

of New York, fought a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

with U.S. Representative George W. Campbell, from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, resulting from opposition by Gardenier to the presidential administration of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

backing a

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with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Gardenier challenged Campbell, and their duel was notable as being the first to be fought on what became the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds. Barent Gardenier was wounded but subsequently recovered and won reelection. * In 1819, Colonel John Mason McCarty killed his second cousin, General

Armistead Thomson Mason Armistead Thomson Mason (August 4, 1787February 6, 1819) was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817. Mason was also the second-youngest person to ever serve in the US Senate, at the age of 28 and 5 months, even though the age requirement f ...

. McCarty was haunted for years by his experience after surviving the

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

duel. * Naval hero Commodore

Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...

was mortally wounded, in 1820, by Commodore

James Barron James Barron (September 15, 1768 – April 21, 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Quasi-War and the Barbary Wars, during which he commanded a number of famous ships, including and . As commander of the frigate , ...

. Where Decatur and Barron dueled is no longer included, within the boundaries of the current Dueling Creek Park. * In June 1836, 22-year-old Daniel Key, the son of

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry" which was set to a popular British tune and eventually became t ...

, was killed in a duel with a fellow

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* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

John Sherbourne over a question regarding

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speed. * Congressman

Jonathan Cilley Jonathan Cilley (July 2, 1802 – February 24, 1838) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress, and died as the result of a wound sustained in a duel with another Congressman, ...

, a representative from Maine, was a reluctant participant. In February 1838, Cilley was killed by Congressman William J. Graves of Kentucky. Graves was a

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for New York newspaper editor James Webb, whom Cilley had called corrupt. Cilley was inexperienced with guns, and Graves was allowed to use a powerful rifle. A severed

artery An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

, in the leg of Cilley, caused him to bleed to death in ninety seconds. This duel prompted passage of a

Congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...

act of February 20, 1839, prohibiting the giving or accepting challenges to a duel within the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. * General A. Galletin Lawrence, U.S. Minister to Costa Rica and Baron Kusserow, Secretary of the German Legation, fought a bloodless duel in 1868, being the last recorded duel fought at the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds.

References

* Hauck, Dennis William, ''Haunted Places, The National Directory'' * Holland, Barbara, ''Gentlemen's Blood: A History of Dueling from Swords at Dawn to Pistols at Dusk'' * Thompson Mason, Armistead, ''The Bladensburg Dueling Ground'' (''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'')

External links

*
Dark and Bloody Ground
* * * * * * {{cite web , url= http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=3613 , title=Dueling Grounds Historical Marker , work=The Historical Marker Database , year=2012
"Beyond the Battle: Bladensburg Rediscovered" exhibit at the University of Maryland, College Park
Dueling in the United States Geography of Prince George's County, Maryland Bladensburg, Maryland History of the United States Congress