What A Pistol Duel Really Looked Like

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The grim reality of formal dueling as told through the story of England’s last fatal duel (between Englishmen). When Lt. Henry Hawkey discovers his wife has become the obsession of a man named James Seton, he resolves to deal with the matter by means of a gentlemanly duel. The video will also touch on the history of sword duellists, honor culture and more!
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Music sourced from Envato, Artlist, and Wikimedia Commons

- Tchaikovsky’s Sérénade mélancolique

SOURCES

Beardsley, M. (2011). A Matter of Honour: The Story of England's Last Fatal Duel. Bookline & Thinker.

[daveUK]

Once he called him a "scoundrel" I knew shit was gonna get seriously out of hand

[ljdasilva]

My father had a set of French duelling pistols - interestingly, the bore on the barrels of both pistols was offset, so at the average duelling distance, they would shoot a couple of feet to the left of the target - Of course if they were your pistols, you would know that and adjust your aim accordingly, while your opponent would aim as normal and miss. Damn cunning those Frogs. It's a cruel world.

[tzyijiang]

A joke that I read somewhere.
A young husband came home from a long travel abroad to find his best friend in bed with his beloved wife. He reproached his friend for such heinous act but his friend said he was the one the woman really loves and that the husband should concede. Enraged, the husband challenged his best friend to a pistol duel in the living room and the friend accepted. Somehow, by the time they entered the living room they had calmed down and decided that it was not necessary to destroy their long term friendship over this. So they discussed and reached an agreement that they would each fire a shot into the ceiling and lay down on the floor. When the woman come to them, the first person she went to check would be the one she loves, and the other one should concede. When the woman heard the gun shots she rushed to the living room, stood at the entrance and saw both men laying there motionless. She then rushed back to the bedroom, stood in front of the closet and said, "Honey, you can come out now. They are both dead!"

[mandolinic]

She offered her honour
He honoured her offer
And all night long, he was honour and offer.

[Goldenwithaleash]

Moral of the story. Be careful who’s honor you’re fighting for.

[camquest]

This man said “I’m off to France” after bodying a dude who tried to get with his girl. That’s sone cold shit 😂😭

[Tim_the_Enchanter]

"Visiting her at her residence while her husband was away on duty."

Some things never change.

[saintpaul]

The surgeon Robert Liston was a very importantman. He invented the Liston knife, a surgical knife used for amputation. It increased the chance of survival drastically.

[kevinvelado]

Can't wait for them to tell me in the most grim voice possible of how Lincoln dueled hundred of Vampires two hours before he became president.

[exiszentriker]

fun fact: There are still pistol duels taking place in hungary with austrian university students. But in germany and most of austria since the 19th century we switched to swords with a tight set of rules that make fatal injuries almost impossible. But if you are seeing a german with a scar in his face there is a high chance that he dueled before.

[bonefetcherbrimley]

7:47 I like how the dramatic, elegant music just cuts off as the narrator is like: "Ey yo, he beat the dog shit outta his ass with a stick."

[Admiralofthedeeps]

Duels were so prevalent in eighteenth century Ireland that the country was described as being "knee deep in blood." They were hugely problematic as they often got way out of hand and were fought over the smallest infractions. James Kelly's 'That damn thing called honor' is a fantastic book on it.

[johnletters]

"im off to France" after shooting some is absolutely one of the hardest lines ever

[childofnewlight]

I finished listening to "The Count of Monte Cristo" a couple of weeks back, and Alexandre Dumas captures the particulars of duels in great detail and accuracy. Of course, Dumas was a contemporary, or would have known those who were. Still, word for word, your retelling of the event matches the culture represented in the book to the letter. There is even a situation in the book where someone tries to duel someone who has no interest, and to provoke them into it, attempts to insult them publicly to force their hand.

[TaterChip]

Confederate Civil War soldier Sam Watkins wrote in his book "Company Aytch" of a duel he witnessed during the war. He described the scene as the Confederate and Federal armies were camped on opposite banks of a fairly short river. Conversations between the two sides were common and normally friendly, but a Union soldier began to mock the president of the Confederacy decision of removing a beloved General of command and replacing him with a man of much less popularity. Soon a heated argument broke out between the Union soldier and a man who was with Sam at the time, the Confederates calling him a liar without honor. Eventually, a duel was agreed upon, if both sides agreed to let the situation be played out between only the 2 men without any other interference. The 2 men had stepped out into the open, each armed with their rifles (which were pretty much the exact same) and waited for the command to begin. Once the order of "FIRE!" was shouted, both men began to fire away. Both men were able to load and shoot 7 times before the Federal soldier shot the Confederate in the chest and hitting the man heart, killing him instantly. Sam described the moment as, "the poor confederate was dead before his body hit the ground."

[caseybuentello]

Hawkey was as "on sight" as it gets. Or for that time period it was probably, "Upon thine presence!"

[letourrr]

Jody is one of the constants of military life through the ages.

[EXPHunterForce]

This art is amazing! The one of the duel in front of the shadowed buildings gave me chills.

[isaacquirivan]

Isabella was the true villain in all of this.

[byrononeal]

As a serving royal marine commando I’d like to thank you of sharing Hawkey’s story I hadn’t heard it before and I doubt many people within the Royal Marines have. Nonetheless it’s very informative and it’d be great if you looked deeper into the Royal Marines history for a future video or something. Thanks