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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, 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.
Spencer Pettis never married and had no children. [[William Henry Ashley]] was elected to finish Pettis's term in the House of
==See also==
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