September 22, 1842 – Abraham Lincoln had written a letter to local paper calling James Shields a “fool as well as a liar” and describing him, “If I was deaf and blind I could tell him by the smell.” Lincoln wrote the first letter under the pseudonym of a farmer named Rebecca. Lincoln’s future wife Mary Todd and a close friend continued writing insulting letters to the paper without Lincoln’s knowledge. When Lincoln took responsibility for the letters, Shields challenged him to duel. As the one who was challenged, Lincoln had the choice of weapons. Since Shields was an excellent marksman, Lincoln chose a cavalry broadsword which, due to Lincoln’s height and long arms, gave him the advantage. They met at a popular dueling site where the two men faced each other with a plank between them that neither was allowed to cross. Lincoln swung his sword cutting a tree branch above Shields, demonstrating to Shields that he was at a fatal disadvantage. The two men then called a truce, later becoming good friends.
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