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There was a time in history when gentlemen often settled their differences with pistols at ten paces. Dueling, as it is known, was not all that uncommon in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Many today don’t realize that one of the most famous, or infamous, of these showdowns took place here in the Carolina hills near Tuxedo, N.C., on November 5, 1827. 

The combatants were two North Carolina politicians who had once been close friends and colleagues. The story of how this close friendship disintegrated into hatred and animosity is an intriguing chapter in Tarheel history.

Dr. Robert B. Vance was a rising star in North Carolina political circles in 1823 when friends persuaded him to run for Congress against longtime Representative Felix Walker. One of those who supported Vance most enthusiastically was Samuel P. Carson from McDowell County. Vance was elected and served for one term of two years. When the 1825 election rolled around, Carson decided he wanted the same Congressional seat, pitting the two friends against each other as political foes.

The campaign turned nasty rather quickly. Carson won the election and went to Washington. But both men were still smarting from the personal attacks of the 1825 contest. When 1827 rolled around, Vance announced that he would seek the Congressional seat once again. Then, things really went downhill between the two political rivals. Accusations began to fly. When Vance slandered the memory of Carson’s late father, implying the elder Carson had displayed cowardice during the American Revolution, it was a bridge too far. Samuel Carson demanded satisfaction.

The challenge was issued to Vance. The two, along with their seconds and other witnesses, met at the Saluda Gap near the South Carolina line on November 5. Samuel Carson’s good friend, fellow Congressman and frontiersman Davy Crockett, was reportedly present at the Gap that day. The rules were presented to the participants. Pistols were inspected and loaded, and the men were separated by ten paces. The officiant overseeing the duel counted to five, and Carson fired his pistol. Vance’s pistol was never discharged. 

The ball from Carson’s gun entered Vance’s body just above his hip. Vance immediately fell to the ground and was taken by friends to a local inn close by, where he would die thirty-two hours later. Davy Crockett mounted his horse and hurriedly beat a path to Buncombe County to give a report to Carson’s family. As he lay dying, Vance confessed he never intended to fire his weapon, and he harbored no ill will toward his old friend.

As for Samuel Carson, he carried the regret of that tragic day with him for the rest of his life, and like his friend Davy Crockett, he would soon relocate to Texas, where he remained until his death in 1838. 

Today, a weathered historical marker alongside old Highway 25 near Tuxedo stands as a stark reminder of that unfortunate day in 1827 when satisfaction was demanded and death resulted at ten paces.