TO THE PUBLIC / [caption title, followed by 15 paragraphs of dense text, printed in four columns, each separated by a thin rule]. Signed in type at the end "B.B. Simmes."
Avoyelles Parrish, LA [printed in Alexandria or Opelousas, LA?]: The author, 1839. Printed broadside, 15 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches, the single headline printed in a large display type (half inch tall). Bennett B. Simmes, a native of Maryland and one of the wealthiest men in the state of Louisiana before the Civil War, being informed that a printed statement, "the object of which is the vituperation and abuse of the undersigned," was circulating in New Orleans, occasioning Simmes to deliver a caning to its author, New Orleans physician W.T. Brent, on their next meeting, expecting Brent to demand satisfaction; as described here, the challenge came and a place and time was agreed upon for a meeting, but Brent did not appear. Simmes proceeded to ridicule Brent for his cowardice and after some months Brent left the area; included with the statements from Simmes are supporting letters from his seconds and others familiar with the proceedings. Simmes was the founder of Simmesport, Louisiana, in Avoyelles Parish and served a number of terms in the state senate, chairing a committee deliberating on the status of wetlands in the late 1850s; Brent was serving as secretary to the Lafayette, Louisiana, Board of Health by 1848. Not in Hummel. Apparently not recorded on OCLC. Short tear in upper margin (not touching text), else a fine copy. (#5697). Item #58894
"Duelling was a social practice common in various sections of the United States for a century prior to 1870 ... it lost favor in the North after the Revolution, but spread in the ante-bellum South, motivated by a growing planter class, French and Spanish influences, and an individualism which soon developed a high code of honor ... duels were waged over differences of opinion, real or fancied wrongs, or insults. Arrangements usually were carried out with respect to the code, whether it was the English, the South Carolina, or the New Orleans covenant ... the practice embraced all classes ... among the famous duelling grounds were 'Duelling Oaks,' New Orleans [reports indicate that as many as ten duels were held 'under the oaks' on one Sunday in 1839] ... most of the states of the young republic eventually decreed a challenge a breech of peace ... in the latter part of the [19th] century public opinion and ridicule brought an end to a deadly and senseless custom" (Encyclopedia of American History).
Price: $4,500.00