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.
From 1808 the grove witnessed approximately fifty duels by gentlemen, military officers, and politicians, settling "affairs of honor". 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.
Richard Somers was an officer of the United States Navy, killed during an assault on Tripoli during the First Barbary War.
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.
William Bainbridge was a Commodore in the United States Navy. During his long career in the young American Navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. He commanded several famous naval ships, including USS Constitution, and saw service in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. Bainbridge was also in command of USS Philadelphia when she grounded off the shores of Tripoli, Libya in North Africa, resulting in his capture and imprisonment for many months. In the latter part of his career he became the U.S. Naval Commissioner.
Armistead Thomson Mason, the son of Stevens 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.
Joshua Barney was an American Navy officer who served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and as a captain in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank of commodore in the United States Navy and also served in the War of 1812.
Old Saint Paul's Cemetery is a cemetery located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is noted for the several important historical figures that are interred in its grounds.
The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake Campaign during the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814, at Bladensburg, Maryland, 8.6 miles (13.8 km) northeast of Washington, D.C.
Barent Gardenier was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a United States representative from 1807 to 1811.
Jesse Duncan Elliott was a United States naval officer and commander of American naval forces in Lake Erie during the War of 1812, especially noted for his controversial actions during the Battle of Lake Erie.
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.
Dueling Creek is a tributary of the Anacostia River in southern Maryland in the United States, located in the town of Colmar Manor.
Being the site of military battles, deadly duels, assassinations, untimely deaths, and other associated tragedies, there are a number of reportedly haunted locations in Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States.
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.
Stephen Decatur Jr. was a U.S. naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the United States Navy who served during the American Revolution; he brought the younger Stephen into the world of ships and sailing early on. Shortly after attending college, Decatur followed in his father's footsteps and joined the U.S. Navy at the age of nineteen as a midshipman.
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.