Bladensburg Dueling Grounds | |
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Type | County park and state historic site |
Location | Dueling Creek Natural Area, Colmar Manor Community Park, Colmar Manor, Maryland, United States (formerly, the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds, in Bladensburg, Maryland) |
Coordinates | 38°55′30.6″N76°56′25.4″W / 38.925167°N 76.940389°W |
Created | October 15, 1966 |
Owned by | Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation |
Duration | 1808-1868 |
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Participants | Barent Gardenier vs. George W. Campbell (1808) John Mason McCarty vs. Armistead Thomson Mason (1819) ContentsStephen Decatur vs. James Barron (1820) Daniel Key vs. John Sherbourne (1836) Jonathan Cilley vs. William J. Graves (1838) A. Galletin Lawrence vs. Baron Kusserow (1868) |
Casualties | |
Barent Gardenier, wounded Armistead Thomson Mason, killed Stephen Decatur, mortally wounded Daniel Key, killed Jonathan Cilley, mortally wounded |
Bladensburg Dueling Grounds is a small spit of land, a fraction of its original size, along Dueling Creek, formerly in the town of Bladensburg, Maryland, and now within the town of Colmar Manor, just to the northeast of Washington, D.C., United States. Dueling Creek, formerly known as '"Blood Run" and "The Dark and Bloody Grounds", is a tributary of the Anacostia River, which was formerly, called the East Branch Potomac River. [1]
From 1808 the grove witnessed approximately fifty duels by gentlemen, military officers, and politicians, settling "affairs of honor". [2] A formalized set of rules and etiquette, the code duello was usually enforced by the duelers and their seconds. The exact number of duels and the names of all the participants who fought at Bladensburg may never be known because surviving records are obscure, the events are not well documented - and dueling was illegal.
Following the Civil War, dueling fell out of favor as a means of settling personal grievances and declined rapidly; the last known duel was fought here in 1868.[ citation needed ]
Bladensburg was said to have a notorious reputation due to its association with the dueling grounds, becoming a tourist attraction due to its bloody history. [2] [3]
1838 (MDCCCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1838th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 838th year of the 2nd millennium, the 38th year of the 19th century, and the 9th year of the 1830s decade. As of the start of 1838, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) from Washington, D.C.
Colmar Manor is a town located in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 1,404. As the town developed at the beginning of the 20th century, it assumed a name derived from its proximity to the District of Columbia—the first syllable of Columbia and that of Maryland were combined to form "Colmar". Colmar Manor was incorporated in 1927.
Cottage City, officially the Town of Cottage City, is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,335. Cottage City is a small, quiet community lying between Eastern Avenue, Brentwood, Colmar Manor, and the Anacostia River. Cottage City was developed, beginning in 1870, under the name of "The Highlands". The area was incorporated in 1924 as Cottage City.
Armistead Thomson Mason was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 to 1817. Mason was also the second-youngest person to ever serve in the US Senate, at the age of 28 and 5 months, even though the age requirement for the US Senate in the constitution is 30 years old. He was the son of Stevens Thomson Mason.
Joshua Barney was an American naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank of commodore in the United States Navy and served in the War of 1812.
The Battle of Bladensburg, also known as the Bladensburg Races, took place during the Chesapeake Campaign, part of the War of 1812, on 24 August 1814, at Bladensburg, Maryland, 8.6 miles (13.8 km) northeast of Washington, D.C.
Maryland Route 450 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 30.19 miles (48.59 km) from U.S. Route 1 Alternate in Bladensburg east to US 50/US 301 and MD 2 near Arnold. MD 450 forms a local complement to US 50 from near Washington, D.C. through Annapolis. In Prince George's County, the highway is a four- to six-lane divided highway that serves Bladensburg, Landover Hills, New Carrollton, Lanham, and Bowie. In Anne Arundel County, MD 450 connects Crofton with Parole and Annapolis with the portion of the county east of the Severn River. The highway serves as one of the main streets of Annapolis, including the state capital's historic core, and is the primary vehicular access to the U.S. Naval Academy.
Jonathan Cilley was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine. He served part of one term in the 25th Congress, and died as the result of a wound sustained in a duel with another Congressman, William J. Graves of Kentucky.
William Jordan Graves was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky.
William Mason McCarty was a Virginia lawyer, plantation owner, and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives and Virginia Senate, as well as Secretary of the Florida territory and Acting Governor in the absence of Territorial Governor William Pope Duval.
Raspberry Plain is a historic property in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Leesburg. Raspberry Plain became one of the principal Mason family estates of Northern Virginia, and was rebuilt in the early 20th century. It currently operates as an event site, hosting weddings and other special events year round.
Thomson Francis Mason was an American lawyer, planter and politician who served as the Mayor of Alexandria, D.C. between 1827 and 1830, and as a justice of the peace for many years and briefly in the months before his death as a judge of the Washington, D.C., criminal court.
Selma is a historic property and former plantation in Loudoun County, Virginia, near Leesburg. Selma is best known as the residence of Armistead Thomson Mason, a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1816 through 1817.
Dueling Creek is a tributary of the Anacostia River in southern Maryland in the United States, located in the town of Colmar Manor.
The Anacostia Tributary Trail System (ATTS) is a unified and signed system of stream valley trails joining trails along the Anacostia tributaries of Northwest Branch, Northeast Branch, Indian Creek and Paint Branch with a trail along the Anacostia River, set aside and maintained by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.
Henry Slicer was an American Methodist minister who served as Chaplain of the Senate for three separate terms.
George Rust was Virginia plantation owner, soldier and politician. During the War of 1812, Rust helped defend Baltimore, Maryland, and rose to become a general in the Virginia militia, as well as the civilian superintendent of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry.