Dueling With The Sword And Pistol: 400 Years of One-on-One Combat [Paperback]

Paul Kirchner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

Researching memoirs, trial transcripts and period newspapers, Paul Kirchner has uncovered a wealth of eyewitness accounts of deadly duels - many translated into English for the first time. More than 60 encounters with the sword or pistol are covered, including horseback duels, bowie knife duels, suicide duels and profiles of such notorious duelists as "Fighting" Fitzgerald, Aaron Burr and Benito Mussolini.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Kirchner has been a writer and illustrator for more than 25 years. His work has appeared in publications ranging from Marvel comics to the Wall Street Journal to Paladin author Jeff Cooper's books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 468 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581604580
• ISBN-13: 978-1581604580
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,397,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author's Comments, March 11, 2006

By 

Paul Kirchner (Hamden, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dueling With The Sword And Pistol: 400 Years of One-on-One Combat (Paperback)

This book is the result of what I can only describe as my obsessive interest in dueling. To produce a book that I felt would be useful to serious students of the subject, as well as interesting to the casual reader, I sought out the most detailed accounts of duels I could find, most of them first-person or eyewitness accounts that had never before been reprinted. From these I chose examples that were the most dramatic, or that illustrated some particular quirk of the practice; between duels that were too similar, I included only the more interesting example. In all I cover more than sixty encounters with the sword or pistol, the earliest in 1547, the last in 1958. I also discuss the definition of the duel, the meaning of honor, dueling weapons and techniques, the rules of the duel, multiparty duels, and duels to first blood, as well as such oddities as the "secret thrust," the duel between women, the suicide duel, and the duel with one loaded pistol. I devote special chapters to horseback duels, the German Mensur, and bowie knife duels. I conclude with profiles of lifelong duelists Peter Drake, Alexander Keith McClung, and Benito Mussolini, as well as of the most notorious duelist of all, George Robert ("Fighting") Fitzgerald.

The section on sword duels contains detailed accounts of: Jarnac vs. La Châtaigneraie; Duel of the Mignons; Lord Bruce vs. Sir Edward Sackville; Roger de Rabutin vs. M. de Busc; The Duels of Sir John Reresby; Duke of Hamilton vs. Lord Mohun; Lord Byron vs. William Chaworth; Richard Brinsley Sheridan vs. Capt. Thomas Mathews; William Whately vs. John Temple; The Quadruple Duel of Gen. Fernando Fernandez de Córdova; Thimécourt vs. Poulaga; Baron de Deukhaus vs. M. de Bonnhart; Henri de Pène vs. Courtiel and Hyenne; Mr. Dillon vs. Duc de Gramont-Caderousse; M. Ollivier vs. M. Feuilherade; Giovanni Nicotera vs. Francesco Lovito; Aurélien Scholl vs. Comte Albert de Dion; Señorita Marta Duran vs. Señorita Juana Luna; The Rothschild-Lubersac Affair; and Euginio Pini vs. Athos di San Malato.

The Section on Pistol duels contains detailed accounts of: Sir Jonah Barrington vs. Richard Daly; William Barrington vs. Robert Rollo Gillespie; Duke of York vs. Col. Charles Lenox; Lt. Col. Charles Lenox vs. Theophilus Swift; The Duels of Col. Henry Hervey Aston; Lt. Col. Robert Montgomery vs. Capt. James Macnamara; Aaron Burr vs. John B. Church; Philip Hamilton vs. George I. Eacker; Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr; Capt. John Swiney vs. Capt. Thomas Corbett; Thomas Moore vs. Francis Jeffrey; Lt. Benjamin Heazle vs. Lt. Joseph Francis Delmont; The Duels of Vincent Nolte; Col. William Cumming vs. George McDuffie; Gen. Sam Houston vs. Gen. William A. White; Robert Triplett vs. Philip Thompson; Alexander Pushkin vs. George D'Anthès; Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston vs. Gen. Felix Huston; Rep. Jonathan Cilley vs. Rep. William Graves; Capt. Henry W. Allen vs. Doctor Marsteller; Thomas Ritchie, Jr. vs. John Hampden Pleasants; Sen. David C. Broderick vs. David S. Terry; John S. Wise vs. John S. Crockett; and Roland Strunk vs. Horst Krutschinna.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Step onto the Field of Honor Armed with Sword or Pistol to Defend that which is Honorable., October 14, 2006

By 

Michael Chesbro (Rainier, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dueling With The Sword And Pistol: 400 Years of One-on-One Combat (Paperback)

Paul Kirchner's "Dueling with the Sword and Pistol" is a book dealing with the concept of honor. While honor is associated with many virtues, its sine qua non is courage. It is courage that a man requires to step onto the field of honor armed with sword or pistol to defend that which is honorable.

Kirchner begins with an introduction to the duel of honor. He explains how a duel was fought and those things that might lead to men taking up arms in the cause of honor to begin with.

Next we are offered the story of numerous duels fought with sword and pistol. We read about:
>Dueling in the Army of Napolean
>The duel between William Whately & John Temple
>Captain Thimecourt vs. Poulaga
>Alexander Hamilton vs. Aaron Burr
>... and many more duels as well.

Kirchner then offers a view of variations on the duel: Duels on Horseback, The German Mensur, The Bowie Knife Duel, and Caning.

Finally the book concludes with the end of the duel. Kirchner suggests that dueling officially died on March 29, 1958 when Marquis de Cuevas fought a duel against Serge Lifar outside Paris.

Dueling with the Sword and Pistol is a great book. For a man interested in the concept of honor this book is one that should not be missed. For the student of history, the book is a must. And... for anyone simply wanting to read a enjoyable book about a unique subject, Dueling with the Sword and Pistol is highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting Read!, November 25, 2007

By 

Alain B. Burrese "Author, Speaker, Mediator, ... (Missoula, MT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dueling With The Sword And Pistol: 400 Years of One-on-One Combat (Paperback)

For those martial artists interested in actual mortal combat with edged weapons and firearms, "Dueling with the Sword and Pistol: 400 Years of One-On-One Combat" offers a meticulously researched wealth of information. Paul Kirchner, who also wrote "The Deadliest Men: The World's Deadliest Combatants Throughout the Ages," describes more than 60 actual life-or-death encounters.

The book is divided into four parts; Dueling With The Sword, Dueling With The Pistol, Variations On The Duel, and Remarkable Duelists. This is interesting history of dueling accompanied by numerous illustrations and footnotes that includes bowie knife duels, horseback duels and discussions on honor and insult.

The text does not glorify the duel but instead points toward the author's final conclusion that most serious thinkers will recognize its fundamental irrationality.

I found it a very interesting read and recommend it to anyone who would like further information on this topic.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School Of Hard Knocks.