Lincoln's Sword Duel Truce

In September 1842, Abraham Lincoln publicly insulted State Auditor James Shields in a series of pseudonymous letters. Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel in Missouri, where the two men confronted each other at Bloody Island. Lincoln, wielding a broadsword, cut a branch overhead to demonstrate his reach, and the men agreed to a truce; he later refused to ever discuss the affair again.

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