United States Senator David C. Broderick and California Chief Justice David S. Terry fought a duel here in the early morning of Tuesday September 13, 1859. Broderick's firearm discharged prematurely into the ground, forcing him to stand while Terry shot and wounded him. Broderick died three days later. The affair marked the end of dueling in California and was the last notable duel in the United States. The public was largely revolted by what they perceived as an assassination of the anti-slavery Senator Broderick by the pro-slavery Terry, solidifying California’s loyalty to the Union during the Civil War. Senator Broderick occupied the position to the southeast, while Judge Terry stood at the position to the northwest, and spectators occupied the hill to the north.
