Dueling
Among white Southern men, the code of honor demanded that insults be met with violence, if necessary. Dueling existed as the ritualized method for elite gentlemen to defend their reputations. Even though the Florida Legislature outlawed dueling in 1832, the practice continued and was difficult to prosecute.
One of the last documented duels in Tallahassee occurred in 1839 between members of two major political factions. Augustus Austin was a leader in the pro-bank Whig party, and General Leigh Read was a popular military and political leader who was an anti-bank Democrat. Notices were published in Tallahassee accusing Read of dishonor, and Austin challenged him to a duel. Read accepted. Austin missed and Read shot him dead. Augustus’s brother Willis traveled from Texas to Florida to avenge his brother, surprised Read as he was walking down Monroe Street, and shot him with a double-barrel shotgun. Read’s popularity and death helped turned public opinion against dueling.
