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{{Short description|American politician (1802–1831)}}
{{Infobox person▼
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
|name = Spencer Pettis▼
▲|name = Spencer Pettis
|district = {{ushr|MO|AL|at-large}}
|birth_place = [[Culpeper County, Virginia]]▼
|term_start = March 4, 1829
|death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1831|8|28|1802|01|01}}▼
|term_end = August 28, 1831
|death_place = [[St. Louis, Missouri]]▼
|office1 = [[Missouri Secretary of State|Secretary of State of Missouri]]
|governor1 = [[John Miller (Missouri politician)|John Miller]]
|term_start1 = 1826
|term_end1 = 1828
|birth_name = Spencer Darwin Pettis
|birth_date = {{birth year|1802}}
▲|birth_place = [[Culpeper County, Virginia]], U.S.
▲|death_place = [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], U.S.
|party = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] (before 1825)<br>[[Jacksonian democracy|Jacksonian]] (1825–1831)
}}
'''Spencer Darwin Pettis''' (1802
==Early life==
Spencer Pettis was born in [[Culpeper County, Virginia]], to parents John and Martha (Reynolds) Pettis in 1802.{{
==Politics==
Despite his youth – he did not meet the minimum age of 24 required by the Missouri Constitution – Spencer Pettis was elected to the [[Missouri General Assembly]] in 1824 by an overwhelming margin.<ref name="Christensen"/> He would serve less than one full term in the legislature however. In July
==An affair of honor==
What transpired on August 26, 1831, had its roots many months earlier. [[Missouri]]'s Jacksonian Democrats, led by Senator [[Thomas Hart Benton (politician)|Thomas Hart Benton]], engaged in a number of debates during the 1830 Congressional election season that saw many fiery speeches on issues of banking, currency stability, and western land use. During one of those speeches, Congressman Pettis harshly criticized [[Nicholas Biddle (banker)|Nicholas Biddle]], President of the [[Second Bank of the United States]].<ref name="Biddle-Pettis">{{cite web|url=http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/education/dueling/political-duels.asp|title=Biddle-Pettis Duel|publisher=Missouri Secretary of State website|year=2007|accessdate=
A war of words soon ensued in the St. Louis press in the form of letters to the editor. In one such letter, Biddle called Pettis
<ref name="archiver.rootsweb.com">{{cite web|url=http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/ROOTS/2003-10/1065765205|title=Fatal Meeting Between Major Biddle and Spencer Pettis|publisher=
Fearing that he might be attacked again during his
[[File:Letter signed Sp. Pettis (Spencer D. Pettis), Washington, to General William H. Ashley, February 24, 1831.jpg|thumb|1831 letter from Pettis to General Ashley]]
At five p.m. on August 27, 1831, Biddle and Pettis, along with their seconds, Major [[Benjamin O'Fallon]] and Captain Martin Thomas respectively, met on [[Bloody Island (Mississippi River)|Bloody Island]], a small sandbar located in the [[Mississippi River]] between St. Louis and the [[Illinois]] shore. Dueling was illegal in both states, but authorities tended to turn a blind eye to this neutral ground. As large crowds watched from the St. Louis riverfront, Biddle and Pettis obeyed the commands to step, turn, and fire. When the smoke cleared, both men had fallen with mortal wounds.<ref name="archiver.rootsweb.com"/> Before being carried off the island, both men were overheard to forgive each other for the altercation. Congressman Spencer Pettis died the next day
Spencer Pettis never married and had no children. [[William Henry Ashley]] was elected to finish Pettis's term in the House of Representatives.
▲At five p.m. on August 27, 1831, Biddle and Pettis, along with their seconds, Major Benjamin O'Fallon and Captain Martin Thomas respectively, met on [[Bloody Island (Mississippi River)|Bloody Island]], a small sandbar located in the [[Mississippi River]] between St. Louis and the [[Illinois]] shore. Dueling was illegal in both states, but authorities tended to turn a blind eye to this neutral ground. As large crowds watched from the St. Louis riverfront, Biddle and Pettis obeyed the commands to step, turn, and fire. When the smoke cleared both men had fallen with mortal wounds.<ref name="archiver.rootsweb.com"/> Before being carried off the island both men were overheard to forgive each other for the altercation. Congressman Spencer Pettis died the next day, August 28, while Major Biddle lingered on until August 29. Both men were buried with full honors, eulogized for choosing death before dishonor.<ref name="Biddle-Pettis"/> The funerals for both men were said to be the largest ever held in St. Louis in the 19th century.
==See also==
*[[List of United States Congress members killed or wounded in office]]
*[[List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899)]]
*[[List of duels in the United States]]
*[[Fontaine H. Pettis]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==External links==
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{{s-bef|before=[[Hamilton Rowan Gamble]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Bates]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[List of United States Representatives from Missouri|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Missouri's at-large congressional district]]|years=1829–1831}}
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{{s-aft|after=[[William Henry Ashley]]}}
▲| before=[[Edward Bates]]
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[[Category:1802 births]]
[[Category:1831 deaths]]
[[Category:
[[Category:People from Culpeper County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Missouri Democratic-Republicans]]▼
[[Category:Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri]]▼
[[Category:Secretaries of State of Missouri]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Missouri]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Missouri Democratic-Republicans]]
▲[[Category:Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives]]
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