Marmaduke–Walker duel

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Coordinates: 34°50′34″N 92°07′27″W / 34.84278°N 92.12417°W / 34.84278; -92.12417
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John S. Marmaduke
John S. Marmaduke
Lucius M. Walker
Lucius M. Walker

On September 6, 1863, near

Governor of Missouri. Union forces captured Little Rock later in the campaign, after the Battle of Bayou Fourche
.

Background

Main articles: John S. Marmaduke and Lucius M. Walker
Marmaduke–Walker duel is located in Arkansas
Brownsville
Brownsville
Little Rock
Little Rock
Helena
Helena
class=notpageimage|
Map showing significant locations in the leadup to the duel

3rd Confederate Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Shiloh,[4] where he was wounded; this caused him to miss several months of combat. He was promoted to brigadier general on November 15, 1862.[2] Marmaduke returned to fight in the Battle of Prairie Grove, and in 1863, led two raids into Missouri and fought at the Battle of Helena in Arkansas.[4]

Battle of Farmington. Walker developed a poor relationship with Braxton Bragg,[6] the commander of the Army of Tennessee,[7] and Bragg did not trust Walker's generalship.[8] He was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department, where he reported for duty in March 1863. He fought in the Battle of Helena, commanding a cavalry brigade.[9][10]

During the fighting at

Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes issued his overall report for the battle, he wrote that Walker failed to protect Marmaduke's flank and did not provide a good reason for this,[12] while Marmaduke blamed Walker for his failure to capture his objective.[13] These events at Helena led to animosity between Walker and Marmaduke.[11]

Duel

A revolver photographed on a gray background
A Model 1861 Colt Navy revolver, the type of weapon used during the duel

In July 1863, Union Major General

John W. Davidson along the way. With his men wracked by disease, Steele decided to move to a location considered to be healthier, while sending Davidson to cross the Arkansas River with his cavalry. On August 23, Price had Marmaduke join Walker's force; Walker took command as he was above Marmaduke on the seniority lists.[15]

Davidson's men drove Marmaduke's command back in

Bayou Meto River. Despite this victory, the Confederates withdrew to a position less than 5 mi (8.0 km) from Little Rock that night.[15] Marmaduke had wanted to meet with Walker during the fighting at Bayou Meto, but did not want to leave his troops during a battle, so he asked Walker to come to the front. Walker neither came nor replied, which angered Marmaduke. He asked for a transfer from under Walker, planning to resign if his request was declined; Price granted the transfer request.[17] Two days after the Bayou Meto fight, one of Marmaduke's aides reportedly stated at Walker's headquarters that Marmaduke claimed he had "won the fight at [Bayou Meto]", as well as claiming that Walker "had acted the damned coward". Despite another one of Marmaduke's aides claiming that the statements had not been made, Walker believed that they had.[18]

Walker asked Marmaduke for an explanation of the comments.

nearsighted.[27] Marmaduke's second was Moore, and Walker's was Crockett.[28]

That night, Price learned of the planned duel, and ordered the two officers to remain at their headquarters for the next day. Walker did not receive the order, and Marmaduke ignored it.[28] The duel took place on the morning of September 6, at a farm 7 mi (11 km) from Little Rock and north of the Arkansas River.[29] Both men's first rounds missed, but Marmaduke's second shot hit Walker, whose weapon discharged while he fell. Crockett declared the duel over, and he knelt by Walker, who told him he was dying.[30] The shot had hit Walker's right kidney and embedded in his spine, paralyzing him from the waist down. A doctor pronounced the wound mortal, and Walker was transported back in an ambulance brought by Marmaduke, which reached the city at about 10:00.[31] Walker died the next day.[32] Price had Marmaduke and both officers' seconds arrested,[33] with Marmaduke's arrest being for murder.[34] However, with the campaign ongoing and Marmaduke's subordinate officers asking for his release, Marmaduke's arrest was canceled and he was placed in command of Price's cavalry.[29] All charges against Marmaduke were later dropped.[34] The duel and its results caused Confederate morale to deteriorate[22] and led to a poorer relationship between Marmaduke and Price.[35] According to the historian Diana Sherwood, this was the "last duel of note" that took place in Arkansas.[36] The details of the duel were not completely reported until Crockett published his account in the late 1880s.[18]

Aftermath

On September 9 and 10, Davidson pushed three cavalry brigades across the Arkansas River, and Steele moved his men along the north bank of the river on September 10. At 11:00, Price pulled his troops back across the river, and began to evacuate the city. Marmaduke fought the

Governor of Missouri in 1884, and served until his death in 1887.[39] A commemorative plaque was erected at the site of the duel in 2015.[40][41]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Confederate army used the effective date of promotion to a rank to decide who was senior when two generals had the same nominal rank. The man whose date of promotion was earlier was considered to be senior to, and so able to give orders to, the other.[5]
  2. ^ Variously stated to have been Model 1861 revolvers[20] or Model 1851 revolvers.[25]

References

  1. ^ Warner 1987, pp. 211–212.
  2. ^ a b "John Sappington Marmaduke". American Battlefield Trust. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  3. ^ Kennedy 1998, pp. 19–20.
  4. ^ a b Warner 1987, p. 212.
  5. Encyclopedia Virginia. Archived
    from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  6. ^ Warner 1987, pp. 321–322.
  7. ^ Warner 1987, p. 30.
  8. ^ Bender, Robert Patrick (November 24, 2020). "Lucius Marshall (Marsh) Walker (1829–1863)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  9. ^ Warner 1987, p. 322.
  10. ^ Bearss 1961, p. 260.
  11. ^ a b DeBlack 1994, pp. 79–81.
  12. ^ Huff 1964, pp. 36–37.
  13. ^ Watts 1999, p. 52.
  14. ^ DeBlack 1994, pp. 89–90.
  15. ^ a b c DeBlack 1994, pp. 90–92.
  16. ^ Huff 1964, p. 37.
  17. ^ Huff 1964, p. 38.
  18. ^ a b c Trimpi 2010, p. 185.
  19. ^ a b DeBlack 1994, p. 92.
  20. ^ a b c LeMasters 2002, p. 51.
  21. ^ Watts 1999, p. 54.
  22. ^ a b c Huff 1963, p. 231.
  23. ^ Sherwood 1947, p. 189.
  24. ^ Bowks de la Rosa, M. V. (September 10, 2015). "Marmaduke–Walker Duel". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  25. ^ a b Christ 2010, p. 174.
  26. ^ Huff 1964, pp. 41–42.
  27. ^ Steward 2000, p. 194.
  28. ^ a b Huff 1964, p. 43.
  29. ^ a b Huff 1963, pp. 231, 233.
  30. ^ Watts 1999, p. 55.
  31. ^ Huff 1964, p. 44.
  32. ^ Welsh 1995, p. 226.
  33. ^ Huff 1964, p. 45.
  34. ^ a b LeMasters 2002, p. 56.
  35. ^ Castel 1993, p. 156.
  36. ^ Sherwood 1947, p. 196.
  37. ^ DeBlack 1994, pp. 93–94.
  38. ^ Huff 1964, p. 46.
  39. ^ Huff 1964, p. 48.
  40. Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived
    from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  41. ^ "Civil War Markers and Memorials". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. June 25, 2021. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

Sources

34°50′34″N 92°07′27″W / 34.84278°N 92.12417°W / 34.84278; -92.12417

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