[ALS Challenging a Man to a Duel.]

[Lawrence County, Alabama], 1825. Good. Single leaf measuring 9½" x 7¾". About good: portions had separated completely and were crudely repaired with tape at an early date; those repairs are now reinforced with archival tape.

This is a manuscript challenge to a duel. It reads in full:

Sir, the manner in which you have recently attempted to villify [sic] my character together in the personal insults I received from you on a late occasion compels me to insist on your giving me the only satisfaction which a Gentleman can accept of. I will expect you to meet me at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning in Mr. [Strains?] Field. I expect you to answer by my friend Mr. Pettigrew with whom you can arrange the terms.

The author, William McCain, his opponent, Isaac Owen, and a penciled date written in a relatively modern hand give clues as to why this challenge was solicited. William McCain was the son-in-law of John Byler for whom the old Byler Road in Alabama was named. Byler Road was one of the first roads authorized by the Alabama State Legislature and it ran from Bainbridge Ferry on the Tennessee River, across the western border of Lawrence County, and into the Warrior Mountains of present day Bankhead National Forest. McCain ran a toll gate on the road near its junction with the Northwest Road. Isaac Owen, according to "Early Settlers of Alabama," (New Orleans: L. Graham and Son, LTD, 1899), arrived in Alabama in 1821 at the age of 18 and was a merchant until his death in 1880. It's possible that the challenge arose out of McCain's running a private toll for the use of the road, and we find no evidence of the duel actually occurring.