Missouri on one side and Illinois on the other… The Mississippi River runs through the middle of these two states. There was a tiny island in the middle of the Mississippi near St Louis, Missouri, and at one point of time this US island had become a hotbed of illegal activities.

The island was formed by the sedimentation of the Mississippi over many years. However, this island was not a part of either Missouri or Illinois, and the Rule of Law did not exist there 200 years ago. Hence, the residents of the two states, who used to indulge in illegal activities, frequented the island. From cockfighting and wrestling to smuggling, all sorts of illegal activities used to take place on this island. Later, it was named Bloody Island.

Bloody Island was infamous for another reason. Duels were organised on this island. As Missouri and Illinois declared the duel illegal, the inhabitants of the two states chose this lawless island for this purpose. Duel, a formal type of fight with guns or other weapons, was a common practice to decide an argument between the two men. As per the rules, everything, including the place of the duel, which weapons were to be used and even from what distance, etc., was determined in advance. Both the persons used to reach Bloody Island ahead of the event, and get engaged in a duel in front of spectators. The presence of a doctor at the battle site was also mandatory. According to the rules, a duel could not be stopped unless one or both sides perished. And, if both sides were satisfied with the duel, then the fight would be stopped at that moment.

The first recorded duel took place on Bloody Island in late December 1810 between Attorney James Graham and Dr Bernard G Farrar, the first American physician to practice in Mississippi. The dispute arose when Graham accused Lieutenant John Campbell, a friend of Dr Farrar, of cheating at cards, prompting the physician to step forward in defence of his friend’s honour. The encounter left Graham severely wounded, and he succumbed to his injuries.

Bloody Island hosted its second recorded duel on August 12, 1817, involving two prominent St Louis Attorneys – Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Lucas. The duel was triggered by a bitter land dispute between the two attorneys, who had exchanged heated accusations and insults. The escalating tension prompted Lucas to challenge Benton to a duel. On August 12, Benton fired the first shot, hitting Lucas in the throat. However, Lucas’ shot merely grazed Benton’s knee. As Lucas failed to stand for a second round, the duel was halted for the time being.

Despite pleas from friends urging reconciliation, the two men remained steadfast. Several weeks later, Lucas had made sufficient recovery and arranged a rematch. The second duel between them was held on the morning of September 27 (1817). Benton aimed with deadly accuracy, shooting his rival through the heart. Lucas succumbed within minutes, marking the tragic end of their dispute. Later, Benton served as a Senator for Missouri for nearly three decades (from 1821 to 1851). He also became the first Senator to serve five terms. A number of duels took place on this island of Mississippi in the 19th Century.

As the Mississippi River silted up toward the state of Missouri, the island increased in size. However, it gradually sank toward Illinois. In 1837, Captain Robert E Lee, a US Army Engineer, devised and established two dykes, one diverting the current from the Illinois shore past Bloody Island, and the other directing the water toward Duncan’s Island. As time passed, Duncan’s Island and the shoals below St Louis gradually disappeared, and Bloody Island was joined to the Illinois shore, merging with the mainland.

In spite of no longer being an island, duels continued to take place in this infamous piece of land. It hosted the last recorded duel on August 26, 1856, and the event is known as the Duel of the Governors. It was organised to settle a long-standing political dispute between Benjamin Gratz Brown, the Editor of The Daily Missouri Democrat, and Thomas Caute Reynolds, a St Louis Attorney. Although Reynolds emerged unhurt, Brown was shot in the leg and limped for the rest of his life. While Reynolds was appointed as Confederate Governor of Missouri in 1862, Brown became the Governor of Missouri in 1870. The Duel of the Governors was the last known duel on Bloody Island.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das