175 years ago today - Mar 24, 1838

[Wilford Woodruff Journal] ... There is great excitement throughout the USA Concerning the death of Mr CILLEY a representative in congress from Thomaston state of Maine who was killed in a duel on the 24 of Feb by Mr GRAVES of Kentucky also a member of the Same body. Mr Cilley was shot through the heart with a rifle on the fourth fire at the distance of eighty yards. Congress is in uproar & finally the whole nation is in trouble. The hand of God is resting upon her because of the wickedness of the people. Bloody wars & sore distress are at the doors of America & the faces will all soon gather blackness because they have polluted this goodly land & all the judgments will soon come upon you O ye proud gentiles that the Bible & Book of Mormon declare against you.

[Source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]

1 comment:

  1. Jonathan Cilley was a Democrat, while William J. Graves was a Whig.
    Also Cilley was shot thru the femoral artery (not the heart) per their respective Wikipedia articles.

    ReplyDelete

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