A Challenge Was Given

The McCartys were once one of Virginia's most prominent families, associating with well-known families such as the Lees, Masons, and Washingtons. During the nineteenth century two notable members of the family were John Mason McCarty and William Page McCarty. Each man participated in a famous and fatal duel: John M. McCarty dueled with General Armistead Thomson Mason in 1819, and William Page McCarty dueled with John Brooke Mordecai in 1873. By studying--in depth--two duels separated by more than fifty years, we can gain a better understanding of the Code Duello in the American South.