Political Duel, Marker C-39
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 35° 06.656 W 077° 02.406
18S E 314075 N 3887249
Among gentlemen, matters of honor were sometimes settled by pistols and this was the case here where a popular former Governor and Congressman was killed in a duel by his successor in Congress. This duel so outraged the legislature that dueling resulting in death was made a capital offense.
Waymark Code: WMFTQ
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2006
Views: 34
The first native-born governor, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr. (above right), was born in New Bern, NC in 1758. Spaight served as aide de camp to Governor Richard Caswell when he was a colonial army general. Spaight served several years in the state House of Commons, in the national Continental Congress, and at the federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. In 1792, he was elected governor and served three terms.
In 1798, Spaight was elected to Congress. His support of issues while in Congress and in the years following did not find favor with John Stanly (above left), a native of New Bern and Spaight's successor in Congress. Stanly challenged Spaight to a duel. The duel was held on September 5, 1802, and Spaight was mortally wounded on the fourth discharge.
The Spaight-Stanly duel prompted the North Carolina legislature to pass a law declaring the survivor (and his second) of a duel, in which the opponent was killed, to be subject to hanging "without benefit of clergy."
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