The Duel That Never Happened

An island in the Mississippi River across from Alton was the site of one of Abraham Lincoln's less celebrated adventures. Sixteen years before the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln was challenged to a duel by James Shields. On September 22, 1842, the two met on the island to settle an affair of honor after Shields, enraged by a sarcastic article supposedly written by Lincoln, demanded justice. As the challenged man, Lincoln chose cavalry broadswords. While waiting for the duel to begin, he used his sword to cut off a branch high overhead, making his advantage in height obvious, and the matter was settled peacefully. Afterwards, Lincoln and Shields shared jokes at a tavern on the Alton levee. Local newspapers harshly condemned the duel and called for legal action against both men. The article that provoked the challenge had actually been written not by Lincoln but by Mary Todd and Julia Jayne. During the Civil War, Shields served as a general in the Union Army, and Lincoln later spoke glowingly about his service.

Alton, Illinois · United States