Dueling in the United States was a common practice early in the Union, and founding father and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton is probably the most famous victim of civilian combat. The practice carried on even after it was outlawed. Augusta’s last duel took place in December 1875.
As was the case in quite a few duels of the time, the confrontation was over the reputation of a lady. In this case, the lady in question was, Mary Stedman Clark DeLaigle, the great granddaughter-in-law of Nicholas De l’Aigle, a prominent Augustan who was a French immigrant who led the welcoming party for the Marquis de LaFayette when the American Revolution hero visited Augusta in 1825.
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Over time, most of the De l’Aigle family adopted the more American spelling of DeLaigle.
After Mary DeLaigle’s husband, also named Nicholas, died in 1868, the widow set about building a magnificent four-story home at 551 Greene St. According to Historic Augusta Inc. Executive Director Erick Montgomery, shortly after the home was complete in 1873, DeLaigle began running into financial problems, so she began taking in boarders.
One of those tenants was Charles Tilly, an Irish immigrant who arrived in Augusta via New York City. Soon, rumors began to spread that the handsome Tilly had more than a landlord/tenant relationship with DeLaigle. Tilly believed a man named George Ratcliffe was spreading the rumor.
In proper Victorian America, accusing a lady of not having the highest of moral standards was considered high slander, and the fact that DeLaigle was a 34 year-old widow who had only recently come out of official mourning for her late husband, as per custom, compounded the offense.
And Tilly was an Irish immigrant, someone who was not considered a part of the creme-de-la-creme of high society in Augusta at the time.
Tilly challenged Ratcliffe to a duel, and the pair met in person at the sandbar on the Savannah River, near the aptly named Sand Bar Ferry Road with Tilly hell bent on protecting the honor of DeLaigle.
Because dueling was illegal, the men met at the sand bar in the middle of the Savannah River because neither Georgia or South Carolina held jurisdiction of that tiny swath of land, and neither man could be charged with murder should a death occur.
Both men had so-called “seconds,” that is men who would inspect the firearms before the duel and also attempt to negotiate a truce. However, a truce was not in cards that day. The men agreed to a set rules based on the flip of a coin, and the duel began.
Within seconds, Tilly was shot in the abdomen and collapsed. Some media accounts of the day recorded that Tilly got back up and demanded a re-do, but then collapsed again mortally wounded.
He was pronounced dead the next day.
DeLaigle repaid Tilly for his sacrifice in defending her honor by having him buried in the DeLaigle family plot in Magnolia Cemetery, and she paid for an elaborate tomb stone featuring the Celtic Cross to cover his grave.
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Many years later, DeLaigle’s daughter, Louise DeLaigle Reese funded the effort to build a sexton building, or chapel, at the cemetery, and she personally added in a time capsule near the building’s cornerstone.
According to a 2015 article in The Augusta Chronicle, which was written by Charmain Z. Brackett, now managing editor of The Augusta Press, Reese was coy about what might be among the contents of the time capsule.
“She didn’t tell anyone what was in the box, and she had a friend watch over the brick masons as they buried it. She wanted it to remain a mystery,” said the great nephew of Reese, Kevin de l’Aigle, as quoted in the article.
For decades, people speculated that the small tin box hidden away might contain the final evidence on what happened on that windy afternoon in the winter of 1875 in the form of notes or perhaps a keepsake kept by DeLaigle such as a lock of Tilly’s hair as proof that the two were involved in a blossoming intimate relationship.
That would not be the case, though. When the box was removed from its brick enclosure in 2015, it contained no further clues into Tilly and DeLaigle’s relationship, according to Jerry Murphy, administrative assistant for Magnolia Cemetery, who was present at the time capsule’s opening at the Augusta Museum of History.
“There were books, clippings and parts of the New York Society Register, but nothing about the duel or any of that,” Murphy said.
However, it can be said that the Widow Delaigle had Tilly buried mere feet from her own grave, and she never married or even entertained another suitor for the rest of her life.
Meanwhile, the DeLaigle house has become a survivor, having had multiple uses over the past century and a half. It started out as a mansion, became a boarding house and then was home to several prominent families before becoming somewhat of an apartment complex.
After restorations, the DeLaigle house has served as headquarters for Augusta District Attorney’s Office, an office for the Augusta Lynx hockey team and even had a cafe in the bottom floor at one point.
The DeLaigle house was recently purchased by Atlanta native Daniel Edwards who plans to make it his residence and operate an antique gallery on the lower floors.
Renovations and improvements are already noticeable on the historic structure.
“I just love this place. It has such charm and such an interesting history. I knew when I saw it the first time that this was the place where I wanted to launch my dream business and that is what I’m doing now. You only live once. I just knew this place was perfect,” Edwards said.
…And that is something you might not have known.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
