Stiles/Akin
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2016
- Location
- Atlanta, Georgia
Retract! Or I will cut your damned throat!"
"Never! Cut!"
Francis Cone and Alexander Stephens during their battle
On this day in 1848 Judge Francis Cone, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from Greene County, attacked Alexander H. Stephens, current member of the United States House of Representative and future vice president of the Confederate States, with a knife, nearly killing him.
The dispute had arisen over Stephens' success in tabling and effectively killing the Clayton Compromise. At this time, the issue of slavery in American territories was of paramount importance. It was not clear whether slavery was inherently legal, inherently illegal, or legally unspecified in the territories, nor was it clear which political organs - popular conventions or Congress - ought to regulate it within the territories.
The Clayton Compromise, devised originally by Delaware Whig Senator John M. Clayton, would have immediately outlawed slavery in the territory of Oregon, in keeping with the wishes of the territorial government there, and prevented the territorial governments of New Mexico and California from acting on the issue of slavery unilaterally. It would also allow appeals pertaining to slavery originating in territorial courts to be heard by the United States Supreme Court, which would then determine the status of slavery in the territories.
The Compromise was extremely popular among Southern Democrats, who believed that the United States Supreme Court would eventually find that slavery was necessarily permissible in the territories under the concept of the right to enjoyment of property. They believed that the introduction of slavery into the territories would eventually ensure the formation of new slave states to counteract the rise of "free soil" states, which might someday threaten the legal protections afforded slavery in the United States Constitution.
The Clayton Compromise passed the Senate and after stalling in the House of Representatives seemed poised to pass there as well. Stephens, however, in concert with a half dozen other Southern Whig defectors, managed to table the Compromise and effectively kill it.
Stephens, himself a lawyer by profession, believed that the issue of slavery in the territories ought not to be settled ultimately by the Supreme Court. He also felt that the Southern Democrats were setting themselves up for a fall: in Stephens' opinion, the Supreme Court would most likely find that slavery was illegal in those territories formerly held by Mexico, as Mexico had abolished slavery. The formerly Mexican territories were, in Stephens' opinion, the only territories suitable for plantation-style slavery, and therefore taking the route of allowing the Supreme Court to decide the issue would not produce any new slave states to balance the new free states.
Despite Stephens' efforts to explain his opposition to the Clayton Compromise, he was labeled a enemy of the South by many Southern Democrats and some members of his own party, the Whigs. Cone, a Democrat and friend to Stephens from when they had both been lawyers, was reported to have gone so far as to call Stephens a traitor. When Stephens was told this, he said that he did not believe that Cone would ever say such a thing, but that if he had, Stephens would be obliged to slap him for it.
Stephens later met with Cone personally and asked him about the charge; Cone said that he had never called Stephens a traitor, and the two parted with their friendship intact, Stephens jokingly noting that his threat to slap anyone who called him a traitor still stood.
Word of the exchange soon spread amongst certain Whigs, who framed the encounter as Stephens having gotten the better of Cone and shamed him. Goaded by this mockery, Cone publicly demanded that Stephens retract his threat to slap Cone. Stephens replied in a private letter that his statement had not been targeted at Cone personally and in no way reflected poorly upon him, as Cone himself had stated that he had not called Stephens a traitor, but the pair encountered each other in public before the letter arrived.
On September 3rd, Stephens and Cone met on the steps of the Atlanta Hotel, sometimes called the Thompson Hotel, located on Pryor Street between Decatur Street and Wall Street. Cone again demanded that Stephens withdraw his threat to slap him, and Stephens reiterated that he would only slap Cone if Cone dared to call him a traitor, a charge which would be both insulting and a lie.
Cone was infuriated, and he angrily shouted that in fact he believed that Stephens was a traitor. Stephens took off his riding glove, slapped Cone in the face, and prepared for Cone to issue a formal challenge for a duel; if Cone did not do so, Stephens intended to offer his glove as a sign of his own challenge. The enraged Cone, however, drew a dagger and immediately began to slash at Stephens, cutting him several times before pinning him on the ground.
Stephens, it should be noted, was chronically ill,frail, and reported to weigh just over one hundred pounds. Cone, on the other-hand, was stocky, muscular, and nearly twice Stephens' weight. Nevertheless, when Cone threatened to slit Stephens' throat unless he recanted, Stephens refused. Cone viciously began to stab Stephens and attempted to slit his throat, but Stephens caught the blade in his hand and held it at bay.
The struggle had almost immediately attracted a crowd and within a few moments Cone was pulled off of Stephens, who was rushed away to receive medical attention. Stephens' wounds were grievous and many feared he would die, but he made a miraculous recovery and returned to his public obligations within two months, although for the rest of his life he had trouble writing with the hand he had used to fend off the dagger, which had been horribly managed.
Cone immediately regretted his rash action and begged for Stephens' forgiveness. Stephens accepted his apology and was glad to renew their friendship. Stephens also refused, despite public pressure, to press charges against Cone, who was nevertheless required to pay the City of Atlanta a fine of $1000 for disturbing the peace. The two remained friends and Stephens even spoke at Cone's funeral in 1859.
Image: The Atlanta Hotel from a series of photographs taken by George N. Barnard during the Federal occupation of Atlanta. Because of its proximity to the railroads, the hotel was destroyed under Sherman's orders before the Federals left Atlanta in November of 1864.
"Never! Cut!"
Francis Cone and Alexander Stephens during their battle
On this day in 1848 Judge Francis Cone, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia from Greene County, attacked Alexander H. Stephens, current member of the United States House of Representative and future vice president of the Confederate States, with a knife, nearly killing him.
The dispute had arisen over Stephens' success in tabling and effectively killing the Clayton Compromise. At this time, the issue of slavery in American territories was of paramount importance. It was not clear whether slavery was inherently legal, inherently illegal, or legally unspecified in the territories, nor was it clear which political organs - popular conventions or Congress - ought to regulate it within the territories.
The Clayton Compromise, devised originally by Delaware Whig Senator John M. Clayton, would have immediately outlawed slavery in the territory of Oregon, in keeping with the wishes of the territorial government there, and prevented the territorial governments of New Mexico and California from acting on the issue of slavery unilaterally. It would also allow appeals pertaining to slavery originating in territorial courts to be heard by the United States Supreme Court, which would then determine the status of slavery in the territories.
The Compromise was extremely popular among Southern Democrats, who believed that the United States Supreme Court would eventually find that slavery was necessarily permissible in the territories under the concept of the right to enjoyment of property. They believed that the introduction of slavery into the territories would eventually ensure the formation of new slave states to counteract the rise of "free soil" states, which might someday threaten the legal protections afforded slavery in the United States Constitution.
The Clayton Compromise passed the Senate and after stalling in the House of Representatives seemed poised to pass there as well. Stephens, however, in concert with a half dozen other Southern Whig defectors, managed to table the Compromise and effectively kill it.
Stephens, himself a lawyer by profession, believed that the issue of slavery in the territories ought not to be settled ultimately by the Supreme Court. He also felt that the Southern Democrats were setting themselves up for a fall: in Stephens' opinion, the Supreme Court would most likely find that slavery was illegal in those territories formerly held by Mexico, as Mexico had abolished slavery. The formerly Mexican territories were, in Stephens' opinion, the only territories suitable for plantation-style slavery, and therefore taking the route of allowing the Supreme Court to decide the issue would not produce any new slave states to balance the new free states.
Despite Stephens' efforts to explain his opposition to the Clayton Compromise, he was labeled a enemy of the South by many Southern Democrats and some members of his own party, the Whigs. Cone, a Democrat and friend to Stephens from when they had both been lawyers, was reported to have gone so far as to call Stephens a traitor. When Stephens was told this, he said that he did not believe that Cone would ever say such a thing, but that if he had, Stephens would be obliged to slap him for it.
Stephens later met with Cone personally and asked him about the charge; Cone said that he had never called Stephens a traitor, and the two parted with their friendship intact, Stephens jokingly noting that his threat to slap anyone who called him a traitor still stood.
Word of the exchange soon spread amongst certain Whigs, who framed the encounter as Stephens having gotten the better of Cone and shamed him. Goaded by this mockery, Cone publicly demanded that Stephens retract his threat to slap Cone. Stephens replied in a private letter that his statement had not been targeted at Cone personally and in no way reflected poorly upon him, as Cone himself had stated that he had not called Stephens a traitor, but the pair encountered each other in public before the letter arrived.
On September 3rd, Stephens and Cone met on the steps of the Atlanta Hotel, sometimes called the Thompson Hotel, located on Pryor Street between Decatur Street and Wall Street. Cone again demanded that Stephens withdraw his threat to slap him, and Stephens reiterated that he would only slap Cone if Cone dared to call him a traitor, a charge which would be both insulting and a lie.
Cone was infuriated, and he angrily shouted that in fact he believed that Stephens was a traitor. Stephens took off his riding glove, slapped Cone in the face, and prepared for Cone to issue a formal challenge for a duel; if Cone did not do so, Stephens intended to offer his glove as a sign of his own challenge. The enraged Cone, however, drew a dagger and immediately began to slash at Stephens, cutting him several times before pinning him on the ground.
Stephens, it should be noted, was chronically ill,frail, and reported to weigh just over one hundred pounds. Cone, on the other-hand, was stocky, muscular, and nearly twice Stephens' weight. Nevertheless, when Cone threatened to slit Stephens' throat unless he recanted, Stephens refused. Cone viciously began to stab Stephens and attempted to slit his throat, but Stephens caught the blade in his hand and held it at bay.
The struggle had almost immediately attracted a crowd and within a few moments Cone was pulled off of Stephens, who was rushed away to receive medical attention. Stephens' wounds were grievous and many feared he would die, but he made a miraculous recovery and returned to his public obligations within two months, although for the rest of his life he had trouble writing with the hand he had used to fend off the dagger, which had been horribly managed.
Cone immediately regretted his rash action and begged for Stephens' forgiveness. Stephens accepted his apology and was glad to renew their friendship. Stephens also refused, despite public pressure, to press charges against Cone, who was nevertheless required to pay the City of Atlanta a fine of $1000 for disturbing the peace. The two remained friends and Stephens even spoke at Cone's funeral in 1859.
Image: The Atlanta Hotel from a series of photographs taken by George N. Barnard during the Federal occupation of Atlanta. Because of its proximity to the railroads, the hotel was destroyed under Sherman's orders before the Federals left Atlanta in November of 1864.
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