Duels have been commonplace throughout history and have taken many forms. Many centuries ago, it wasn’t uncommon to see gallant gentlemen both fall in love with a fair lady and decide to go to the streets with their swords to fight one another till first blood for her affections. More recently, in the American Wild West, duels were perhaps more common. Gunslingers, outlaws, and lawmen would meet at high noon, so stories say, to count their paces, turn around, and fire their six-shooters in cold blood to settle a debt or argument or, once again, for the hand of a woman.

What all of these examples have in common is that they feature men wielding the weapons. Whether they be sword fights or gunfights, high European society or the Wild West (or frankly anywhere in history) the duelists are male. This makes sense, given how patriarchal society was until about a century ago. Women had limited freedoms and a totally different set of standards. Despite the norm, there were some women who took up arms against one another or even against other men. This is a list of ten female duels and duelists.

10 Petticoat Duel

The “Petticoat Duel,” as it has been called, was between Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs. Elphinstone in London in 1792. According to reports, the debate was sparked when Mrs. Elphinstone insulted Lady Braddock with a comment about her age, calling her older than she claimed to be. To settle the score, Lady Braddock challenged Mrs. Elphinstone to a duel in Hyde Park.

They started with pistols as heir weapons. Neither woman was injured by a bullet, but Lady Braddock’s hat was not so lucky. Since neither combatant was hurt in the gunfight, they opted for swords. Mrs. Elphinstone was the victim this time, taking a cut to the arm. After that, she apologized for her comment, and the two were friends once again.^[1]

9 Duelo De Mujeres

Italy is portrayed today as one of the most romantic countries in the world, and it was no different in the 16th century. According to the legend, Isabella de Carazzi and Diambra de Pettinella of Naples were both madly in love with Fabio de Zeresola. Since they couldn’t both have him, the two decided to fight for his love.

The winner of the duel is unknown, but the affair went down in history as a great spectacle. In fact, the artist Jose de Ribera painted a scene from the brawl in his 1636 piece called Duelo de Mujeres, which is Spanish for “duel of women” or “women’s duel.”^[2]

8 Pauline Metternich And Anastasia Kielmannsegg

According to an 1892 newspaper report, two Austrian noblewomen, Princess Pauline Metternich and Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg, dueled over floral arrangements at a function in Vaduz. Princess Metternich was the wife of an Austrian ambassador to Paris under Napoleon III. As an esteemed socialite, every little detail of the event, including how the flowers were arranged, must have been important—enough that she would risk her health, if not her life, to defend her tastes.

The winner of the duel was undecided. Both women experienced wounds; Princess Metternich took a cut to the nose, and Countess Kielmannsegg was slashed in the arm.^[3] They did take safety precautions, of course. One of those presiding was Baroness Lubinska, who had some medical training. Another precaution was dueling topless. The fear was that any clothes which got jammed into a wound would cause in infection, so sensibly, they removed the clothing. It is reported that Baroness Lubinska told surrounding men, “Avert your eyes, you lustful wretches!” Even if that tidbit of the tale is not totally accurate, it adds to an already interesting story!

7 Agnes Hotot

Agnes Hotot dueled in a different kind of way: She jousted.^[4] Born in 14th-century England, she was the daughter of the earl of Dudley. The earl had gotten in a dispute with another gentleman, and to settle it, they opted to joust. In the most untimely fashion, Dudley fell ill just before the joust was scheduled to take place. To protect her father’s honor, Agnes donned the armor herself, disguising herself as a man, and fought the joust in his place.

Not only did she fight, but she won. In celebration of her victory, she unmasked herself in front of her opponent to reveal her true identity and gender. To us today, this would not be as big of a deal, but in the 1300s, being beaten by a girl would have been an extreme humiliation.

6 Madame De Polignac And Madame De Nesle

This 18th-century French duel was once again for the affections of a man, the duke of Richelieu. Madame de Nesle singled out Madame de Polignac as a great rival and finally challenged her to a duel for the duke’s heart. De Polignac accepted, and the two took up arms, with two squires as witnesses. This time, the weapons of choice were pistols, not swords.

The rules of the duel were simple: They could advance as far away as the length of a scarf and could fire at any given moment. De Nesle was the first to pull the trigger, but she missed de Polignac entirely. Madame de Polignac, upon her turn, succeeded in wounding Madame de Nesle’s shoulder. Alas, despite these efforts, neither woman got the man.^[5]

5 Miss Shelby And Madame Astie De Valsayre

This duel is perhaps the least petty of all the duels on this list. That is, it isn’t about flowers or age. It was one of politics and patriotism, which in the 19th century, was probably not really expected of women.

The duel took place in France, between American feminist Miss Shelby and bold, provocative French feminist and activist Madame Marie-Rose Astie de Valsayre. The two got into a heated argument over whether France or the United States had better female doctors. To settle this matter of medicine, these ladies took to the fields of Waterloo to battle it out on-on-one, blades in hand, 15 days after the argument.

Astie de Valsayre confidently wrote that the delay was so that her opponent could practice, making it a more even match. Despite the time to prepare, Miss Shelby lost, receiving a wound in her shoulder.^[6]

4 Comtesse De Saint-Belmont

Madame de Saint-Belmont’s story is similar to that of Agnes Hotot’s. The madame was in charge of her French estate after her husband was taken prisoner. While she was there alone, another gentleman came to her home and took up residence, uninvited, as if it were an inn. At first, she wrote this man a letter politely requesting that he leave. He ignored it completely. Fed up, Madame de Saint-Belmont wrote another note, challenging this gentleman to a duel, but she signed it in her husband’s name as “Le Chevalier de Saint-Belmont.” The gentleman accepted.

The moment came, and de Saint-Belmont, dressed as a man, won by disarming her opponent. She then revealed herself, insufferably humiliating him, and told him once again to leave.^[7] It’s probably safe to conclude that this time, he did not hesitate in his departure.

3 Julie D’Aubigny

Julie d’Aubigny lived a very colorful, scandalous, independent life, to say the least. A spectacle of upper-class 17th-century France, she wore many hats: opera singer, mistress, fugitive, and swordswoman, among others.^[8]

There is one particular duel that would drop the jaws of even today’s society. Once, at a ball, d’Aubigny attended dressed as man. She wasn’t there disguised as a man, like other women on this list, but rather, she confidently cross-dressed, just because she could. At this ball, a beautiful young woman caught her eye, and unabashed, d’Aubigny kissed her. Many witnessed the act, and three men, all suitors to the young woman, challenged d’Aubigny to a duel.

At midnight, the four went outside, where one after another, d’Aubigny defeated her opponents.

2 Mademoiselle De Guignes And Mademoiselle d’Aiguillon

These two Parisian women of 18th-century high society had a disagreement at a party simply over who was more important. They then went outside to the garden to settle it fair and square. Their weapons of choice were neither pistol nor sword, but knives. The winner of the contest is quite unclear; both were wounded. De Guignes was wounded in the arm, and d’Aiguillon was wounded in the neck.^[9]

This list, including these two dueling dames, does contain many French women dueling and wielding weapons, but it wasn’t that common of a practice, although through the 1700s and 1800s, it did occur more frequently, such as in this case.

1 Marta Duran And Juana Luna

This is the most recent duel on the list, having taken place in 1900 in Mexico. Marta Duran attended a ball with Rafael Riquelme. There, Riquelme’s eye found Juana Luna, who did not discourage his attention. This led to a bitter rivalry between the Luna and Duran. The next morning, the two met with swords in hand.

Several rounds of fighting ensued. In the second round, Duran was severely wounded. By round three, she’d grown weary from blood loss, and Luna took advantage of Duran’s fatigue by wounding her sword-bearing arm. Luna, without question, was the victor, but despite all this trouble, both women gave up Riquelme and made up.

Unfortunately for Duran, her wounds were so severe that they required the attention of a surgeon, which ended up causing more trouble, as that was illegal. A surgeon cannot see a patient without government permission, and in this case, no permission was granted.^[10] Needless to say, many people paid a price for this duel, and no one got what they were even fighting for.

Dueling was supposed to be the last resort when it came to settling matters of honor. Gentlemen were supposed to try to resolve their differences peacefully, but sometimes it seemed that a gentleman and his second must do what a gentleman and his second must do. In the 17th and 18th centuries, a code of honor held that any man who did not abide by the very strict rules would have to pay the penalty—namely that “his adversary will be justified in refusing to recognize him as a gentleman.”^[1] A fate worse than death.

The rules were quite detailed and included advice on where a duel should be fought, when, what clothes the combatants should wear (ruffles, for example, being deemed unfair as they may prove a distraction), and so on. Surgical assistance should be on hand wherever possible, and seconds should ensure that no injured gentleman is left on the field. Most importantly of all, combatants should salute each other before commencing try to kill each other. In practice, many of these duels went off without any injury to either party, but unfortunately, neither party could know, until it was over, whether their opponent intended them permanent harm.

10 Alexander Hamilton And Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, two of the Founding Fathers of the United States, had a lot in common. They both fought in the American Revolution and were both successful in politics at an early age. Burr rose to become vice president, while Hamilton became the first secretary of the treasury. However, it is said that the two men despised each other. The feud began when Burr defeated Hamilton’s father-in-law in a senate race, was inflamed when Hamilton’s popularity eclipsed Burr’s because of his flamboyance, and boiled over when Hamilton allegedly expressed a “despicable opinion” of Burr at a dinner party.^[2]

In 1804, after Hamilton had refused to apologize, Burr demanded satisfaction, and the two arranged a duel. The precise nature of the events are unclear, but it is believed by some that Hamilton, as was customary for a gentleman, deliberately missed. Burr, on the other hand, whether by accident or design, shot Hamilton in the stomach, tearing through his internal organs and paralyzing him. Hamilton died 36 hours later.

Facing potential murder charges, Burr fled, and though he returned to Washington to serve out the rest of his term as vice president when the charges were dropped, his career never recovered.

9 Lady Almeria Braddock And Mrs. Elphinstone

Dueling was not confined to gentlemen. Sometimes, gentlewomen got in on the action, too. In 1792, it was reported in Carlton House Magazine that Lady Almeria Braddock and Mrs. Elphinstone were taking tea when insults were said to have been exchanged. Mrs. Elphinstone had the temerity to tell Lady Braddock that she “had been” a beautiful woman.

Lady Braddock took exception to the past tense and took greater exception when the indiscreet Mrs. Elphinstone questioned the lady’s stated age, saying she was nearer to 60 than 30. Lady Almeria demanded satisfaction, to which Mrs Elphinstone is said to have replied, “Name your weapons. Swords or pistols?”

Lady Almeria responded, “Both!”^[3]

On the morning of the duel, Mrs. Elphinstone put the first shot through Lady Almeria’s hat, which incensed the lady further. They set upon each other with swords, and Mrs. Elphinstone took a blow to her arm before the ladies judged honor to have been satisfied and ceased hostilities.

8 Alexander Pushkin And Georges D’Anthes

In 1834, the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin received a letter informing him that he had been elected to “The Most Serene Order of Cuckolds.” This was a fancy way of saying, “Your wife is cheating on you.” Georges d’Anthes was the dashing Frenchman who was supposed to have done the deed. Though d’Anthes and Natalya Pushkin had met and flirted over a series of dinners, it was never proven that she had been unfaithful.

However, it was not the first time Pushkin had received such letters. There had been previous allegations of an affair with Tsar Nicholas, which Pushkin, who had fought in a number of duels, was forced to tolerate, being unable to challenge a tsar to a duel. But a mere captain was a different matter. The taunts about being a cuckold weighed upon Pushkin’s mind, and he challenged d’Anthes. The duel was seemingly prevented when d’Anthes married someone else, but rumors persisted, and in January 1837, the two men finally faced each other with pistols.^[3]

Pushkin was mortally wounded in the duel and died two days later. Georges d’Anthes was stripped of his rank and ordered to leave Russia permanently.

7 Ben Jonson And Gabriel Spenser

The playwright Ben Jonson (pictured above) was an accomplished man. He had at one time been a laborer but had worked his way up to become an actor and playwright. He was learned man, in fact, which was just as well.

One of his plays landed him and his leading man, Gabriel Spenser, in jail because of its political satire. It was the beginning of a bitter feud between the two men. Jonson’s career was on the rise, but Spenser’s hit the skids, and he began to drink.

Spenser had a history of violence, once stabbing a man through the eye with a sword and killing him, so Jonson was wise to be wary of him. In September 1598, the two men met by chance, and Spenser challenged Jonson to a duel. Spenser was at an advantage, since his sword was 25 centimeters (10 in) longer than Jonson’s. However, being an actor, Spenser spent some time swishing his sword theatrically, and Jonson, taking no chances, swiped at him viciously, leaving Spenser dead at his feet.^[4]

Jonson was arrested and charged with murder but was saved from the scaffold by a legal loophole which stated that any man who understood Latin must, therefore, be a cleric and consequently immune to prosecution under secular law. This “benefit of clergy” excuse required only that Jonson be able to recite a psalm in Latin, which he duly did. He was released from Newgate Prison with an X branded on his thumb, to prevent him from using the excuse a second time.

6 Andrew Jackson And Charles Dickinson

In 1806, Andrew Jackson quarreled with the attorney Charles Dickinson. The dispute had originated over a bet between Jackson and Dickinson’s father-in-law and ended with Dickinson insulting Jackson’s wife and then calling Jackson a “poltroon and a coward” in a statement published in the Nashville Review.

Obviously, no gentleman could be expected to tolerate such an insult, and Jackson challenged Dickinson to a duel. Dickinson was, unfortunately for Jackson, a regular duelist and one of the best shots in Tennessee, and being the one who was challenged, he had the choice of weapons. He chose pistols.

Dickinson fired the first shot, which broke two of Jackson’s ribs, the bullet lodging 5 centimeters (2 in) from his heart. (Dickinson’s seconds claimed that Jackson did not shoot at the same time because his gun misfired.) As Jackson clutched his chest, he recocked his gun and shot Dickinson dead. Though on the face of it, Jackson had good grounds to shoot, the rules of dueling were that each man should fire at the same time, but that if one man fired first, the other man should fire in the air and not take his time taking deliberate aim at his opponent.^[5]

Though there was some unpleasantness over the issue, Jackson was never charged with murder. He was troubled with pain from the injury for the rest of his life, but it did his career no harm, as he went on to become the seventh president of the United States.

5 The Duke Of Wellington And The Earl Of Winchilsea

The Duke of Wellington (left above) was serving as prime minister when he fought a duel in 1829 with the Earl of Winchilsea (right above) over the Catholic Relief Bill, which allowed members of the Catholic Church to stand as MPs. The Earl, a staunch Protestant, accused Wellington of “an insidious design for the infringement of our liberties and the introduction of Popery into every department of the State.”

In today’s terms, that sounds rather mild. But Wellington felt that there had been a slight upon his honor and challenged Winchilsea to a duel.^[6]

This all sounds rather thrilling. However, what transpired was that after much cloak-and-dagger work from the duelers’ seconds and a fair amount of tramping through the fields to find a secluded spot, both men aimed wide and deliberately missed. Winchilsea apologized, and they all went home.

All that drama for nothing.

4 Francois Fournier And Pierre Dupont

In 1794, when Pierre Dupont was given the task of delivering an unwelcome message to Francois Fournier, he could not have known that it would be the beginning of a 19-year duel. Fournier was known for his heated temper and was a keen duelist, despite the fact that Napoleon, in whose army both men served, had banned the practice.

Fournier took exception to the message and, in time-honored tradition, decided to shoot the messenger (although, actually, he used a sword). In their first meeting, Fournier was wounded and demanded further satisfaction. They met again, and Dupont was wounded. He demanded a rematch. They met yet again, and both men managed to wound the other, so no winner could be discerned.

So, the men drew up a contract, which set out the terms of their own private feud: Every time they came within 160 kilometers (100 mi) of each other, they would duel. The two met and fought a further 27 times, using swords, pistols, sabers, rapiers, and even lances. They fought on foot and on horseback.

Finally, in 1813, Dupont stabbed Fournier through the neck during a sword fight. Dupont then informed Fournier that, as he was about to be married, he would quite like to stop fighting now, thank you very much. The two men agreed on a final pistol showdown.

Dupont tricked Fournier into firing wide before advancing on him with a loaded pistol. Fournier, possibly out of consideration for the forthcoming nuptials, finally conceded, and the long duel was over.^[7]

3 Lucius Marshall Walker And John Sapington Marmaduke

John Sapington Marmaduke (left above) and Lucius Marshall Walker (right above) were both brigadier generals in the Confederate Army. Both had graduated from West Point, and both were sent to Arkansas during the Civil War. In 1863, the two men fell out in a dispute over whether Walker had unnecessarily exposed Marmaduke’s troops to enemy fire. Marmaduke allegedly questioned Walker’s courage, and the two men began to exchange letters on the matter.

The letter carriers also fell out while exchanging communications, and Walker’s man took it upon himself to challenge Marmaduke on Walker’s behalf. Marmaduke’s postman took it upon himself to accept. The two messengers decided the terms of the duel, and their superior officers, it seems, just went along with it.

So, in September 1863, the two generals met near Little Rock to duel. The messengers served as their seconds. The generals each fired from 15 paces and missed. On their second shots, Marmaduke fatally wounded Walker, perhaps accidentally, since he rushed immediately to his side to ask if he was hurt and lent Walker his personal ambulance. Despite this, General Walker died the following day.^[8]

The moral seems to be that if you want something done, it’s probably safer to do it yourself.

2 Baron Mohun And The Duke Of Hamilton

In 1712, after ten years of litigation, Baron Mohun challenged the Duke of Hamilton to a duel. Both men’s wives had been granddaughters of the 1st Earl of Macclesfield. So when the 3rd Earl of Macclesfield died without an heir in 1702, both women laid claim to the inheritance. Mohun himself had been named the heir to the 2nd Earl of Macclesfield.

Mohun was not a newcomer to dueling. He had been tried, and acquitted, of murder twice following previous duels, and he fought to win.

In November 1712, the two men fought a fierce duel by sword, both sustaining serious wounds. Both men died. However, it was said that the Duke had been killed not by Mohun but by Mohun’s second, Lieutenant Genernal MacCartney. MacCartney is said to have thrust his sword through the Duke’s chest, a clear breach of the rules.^[9]

MacCartney fled the country and was tried in absentia for murder. He was stripped of his army rank and deemed not to be a gentleman. Poor thing.

1 Monsieur Granpree And Monsieur Le Pique

When Monsieur Granpree discovered his ballerina mistress in a compromising position with Monsieur Le Pique, he became, well, piqued and challenged the other to a duel. And, being slightly dotty, the two men decided to duel from balloons.

They both spent a month in training before meeting in a field near Paris in May 1808. They each climbed into their balloons with their seconds and their blunderbusses.

At 9:00 AM, the restraining cords on the baskets were cut, and each balloon ascended gracefully into the air above a crowd of spectators who had gathered to watch. They attempted to maneuver their balloons the appropriate distance apart, and then Le Pique fired the first shot, which went wide.

Granpree returned fire, and as everyone but them could have predicted, the shot ripped through the silk of his opponent’s balloon, causing it to descend rapidly and uncontrollably. Le Pique and his second were “dashed to pieces” against the roof of a nearby house.

Monsieur Granpree, as a victory salute, let his balloon ascend higher. It then drifted uncontrollably before finally coming down a long time later, some 39 kilometers (24 mi) off from where he intended.^[10]

Ward Hazell is a writer who travels, and an occasional travel writer.