Hamilton Cochran (1898–1977)

An overview of a custom that is now socially condemned and illegal, but once was an accepted part of American culture; the Code Duello. In addition to relating the accounts of the more infamous duels (Decatur vs. Barron, Hamilton vs. Burr), Cochran covers a number of 'typical' encounters of honor, including some near-duels that were settled prior to an exchange of shots (blades, etc.). Gentlemen's duels, frontier duels (which included a close encounter between Abraham Lincoln and James Shields), pirate duels, and out-and-out brawls which were hardly duels. Includes contemporary opinions about cowboys which is not at all flattering. Appendices have a copy of the Code Duello as drawn up in 1777 at Clonmel Summer Associates and prescribed for general adoption throught Ireland; variants of the Code were used in England and the Continent, as well as the Americas. An interesting sidenote of history that had some dramatic effects.… (more)