Friday, May 16, 2008

Today In History: Button holed.

Button Gwinnett, delegate from Georgia to the Second Continental Congress, signatory to the Declaration of Independence, and the man after whom the biggest swath of Atlanta's suburban sprawl is named, was as conscious of his honor as most gentlemen of his era.

When his biggest political rival began to publicly heckle him over a failed military expedition to British East Florida, Button challenged him to a duel. On this date in 1777, Button and Lachlan McIntosh met for grass before breakfast in the hamlet of Thunderbolt, Georgia. Gwinnett winged Gen. McIntosh in the leg, but in turn was shot in the hip and died of gangrene three days later.

4 comments:

  1. "Good. Hell, he needed kilt. Now where the dickens is my fried Mars Bar?"

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  2. now that's a funny title...well, not to button...(shit, death from gangrene is three days? who knew?)

    jtc

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  3. umm, i guess is three days kind of works, but that should have been in three days...jtc

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  4. I've often wondered if we should bring back dueling. Might be a good way to thin the herd. Could solve some social ills as well.

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