Satisfaction

By Mike Simmons

“I will have satisfaction!” Those words were often heard as the reason for two men to duel it out. Today, it often occurs on the spot. The more traditional men “take it outside.” Sometimes fists are used, sometimes knives, and sometimes firearms.

In the old days, however, duels were fought differently than today. When a man’s reputation was besmirched, he would call out the offender to meet him at a place and time in the future. At the agreed-upon time, the two would meet, each accompanied by a second, to make sure the killing was fair. The challenger – the guy that was offended – had to allow the challenged to choose the weapon. It could be any weapon, but swords and pistols were the most popular. The distance was stepped off, and the two would either enter into a swordfight, or take aim and shoot. But neither could duck and weave…that wasn’t honorable. The loser would, of course, be carried off for burial and the winner would be carried off to jail – smart…

In Pensacola, duels were often fought at the “Dueling Oaks,” located on the west side of Graffiti Bridge, amongst the lovely live oak trees, between Gregory and Belmont Streets – on the Wilder property. Local residents used to say that it was “A beautiful location at which to be killed.”

Legend says that, when Andrew Jackson came to Pensacola on one of his trips, a lieutenant of his was involved in a duel at Dueling Oaks and was killed. That was one of the reasons why Jackson didn’t like our town.

After the Civil War, a local newspaperman, William Kirk, challenged ex-confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory, a Pensacolian and attorney, to a duel. Each time they tried, though, the Pensacola Police showed up and stopped it.

In the early 1800s, the practice of dueling was outlawed, but “gentlemen” continued in the tradition. In the late 1800s, however, the railroad was laid through the middle. That ended the practice at Pensacola’s Dueling Oaks, but it didn’t end the practice…it still exists today.

The April 1, 1837 edition of the Pensacola Commercial posted: Satisfaction – A Paris paper said that a duel was lately fought between a barrister and a merchant. The rain fell in torrents, but being men of spirit, the two combatants took off their coats and fired twice at each other without hitting, when the matter was settled. In a fortnight, afterwards, both died of inflammation of the chest.

You gotta admit, there is still something masculine about standing face-to-face and dueling it out with a blade or gun…or even fisticuffs. Today, most manhood challenges take place on the golf course or, worse still, in front of the video game screen. The two men “play” at mortal combat…oh, come on! That’s embarrassing!