The Duel: The Congressmen's Duel of 1838

By Wayne Soini

The Congressmen's Duel Everyone knows Aaron Burr dueled Alexander Hamilton. As portrayed in the recent hit musical, their famous confrontation in Weehawken is the only duel most Americans know of. But there was once a duel between two Congressmen... When John Cross of Thomaston Maine is elected to Congress he heads off to Washington leaving his wife and two young sons behind. A patriot wanting only to serve his country, he strives to learn the ropes, tirelessly making the rounds of Capitol Hill, the White House, and even the naval ship yard. After meeting men such as Senator John Calhoun, President Martin Van Buren, former President John Quincy Adams, and British Ambassador, Sir Hugo Hunt, Cross becomes an envied insider. One day, Cross stands up and speaks out boldly in the House of Representatives. His opponents mark him as an enemy to be silenced. Fanned by a Southern cabal headed by Senator Henry Clay, a minor disagreement between Cross and Representative Robert Grove of Kentucky leads to a deadly challenge. Cross and Grove meet in a Maryland field one winter afternoon. Compelled to fight by the inflexible gentlemen's code duello, the two men face one another with rifles at eighty paces. The shots fired that afternoon echo to the present day.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1530732336
• ISBN13: 9781530732333
• Release Date: March 2016
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 294 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"