The History of Bloody Island

The history of the United States is much like that of other, older, countries. It is riddled with strange customs, laws, crimes and outdated ways of handling things-like duels. Duels were once a way of handling disagreements in the United States, some of honor, some political and some both. Bloody Island on the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Illinois was once a place where such battles for honor were held.

Sometime around the turn of the 19th century, a sand bar was growing in the Mississippi River next to St. Louis, Missouri. The sand bar eventually grew large enough to be considered an island and it even became densely wooded. It became known as Bloody Island. At its largest, Bloody Island was about 1 mile long and 500 yards wide.

Because Bloody Island lay in the river between Missouri and Illinois, it was unclear which state or town help jurisdiction there. The matter was never settled, so Bloody Island became a lawless place. Men met up there to conduct illegal activities out of the reach of the law. It was a place for gamblers to meet up and win or waste their money. It was also a place where many duels were held. Dueling was not illegal at the time. However, participants had to follow strict rules. It was much easier just to get it done on Bloody Island and eliminate the risk of facing murder charges.

One of the first well-known duels to take place on Bloody Island was that of a lawyer named Charles Lucas and a lawyer named Colonel Thomas H. Benton. The two had insulted each other during and after a trial in St. Louis. Their transgressions against each other grew to the point that they felt they had to defend their honor. They met on Bloody Island at 6am on August 12, 1817. Each man fired one shot. Benton suffered a minor leg wound, and Charles suffered a grievous neck wound.

Charles Lucas survived the duel only to face Benton on Bloody Island again three months later. Charles Lucas was shot in the chest. He died shortly thereafter.

Another well-known duel occurred on Bloody Island only a few years later. This one between the United States District Attorney Joshua Barton and Thomas Rector. Joshua Barton insulted General William Rector, Thomas' older brother. In his brother's absence, Thomas felt it necessary to defend his honor. He challenged Barton to a duel. The pair met on Bloody Island at 6pm on June 30, 1823. Thomas Rector was the victor. Joshua Barton was killed.

In 1830, a Missouri Congressman named Spencer Pettis insulted the President of U.S. Bank, Nicholas Biddle. Nicholas' brother, Major Thomas Biddle then assaulted Pettis while he lay ill. Pettis then challenged the Major to a duel. They met on Bloody Island at 5 pm on August 27, 1830. The duel resulted in both of their deaths.

The last duel to occur on Bloody Island and possibly the last in all of Missouri took place between Benjamin Gratz Brown and Thomas C. Reynolds. The men had insulted each other's honor and decided to attempt to kill each other, as men of the time were wont to do. They met for the first time on Bloody Island on August 26, 1856. They were unable to decide on the terms of their duel, so it was cancelled. They finally dueled on Bloody Island a year later. Reynolds shot Brown in the leg and the duel was over. It is now known as the "Duel of the Governors" because both lived to become governors.

In 1830, Bloody Island, another nearby island and some shoals, had become so big as to create shipping issues in St. Louis. In 1938, none other than Robert E. Lee was brought into a project to divert the flow of water and deepen the water on the St. Louis side. It was decided to construct two dykes. These helped rid the area of shoals and deepen the Mississippi outside of St. Louis. Since that time, Bloody Island has become connected to the mainland. It is now known simply as "The Island."

Sources

Moore, A.W., Bloody Island, retrieved 9/28/10, eslarp.uiuc.edu/ibex/archive/guidebook/bloody island.htm

Dueling in 19th century Missouri, retrieved 9/28/10, sos.mo.gov/archives/education/duelling/political-duels.asp