Code of Honor: A Civil War Era Rulebook for Duels and Dueling

"The Code of Honor" was penned by John Lyde Wilson, 49th governor of South Carolina and an avid proponent of dueling. Written in 1838, "The Code of Honor" describes a set of guidelines for duelists and argues that following John Lyde Wilson's guidelines would save lives (instead of encouraging duels). "The Code of Honor" provides a very interesting insight into how "gentlemen" thought in Wilson's day, right down to the minutest protocol on what a "principal" and "second" should do after an "insult" is given or received. Duels, which were practiced from the 11th to 20th centuries in Western societies, were engagements between two individuals with matched weapons in accordance with their combat doctrines. The Romantic depiction of mediaeval duels was based on either a pretext of defense of honor, usually accompanied by a trusted representative (who might also fight), or as a matter of challenge which developed out of the desire of the challenger to redress a perceived insult to his sovereign's honor. The goal of the honorable duel was often not so much to kill the opponent as to gain "satisfaction" or restore one's honor by demonstrating a willingness to risk one's life for it. Beginning in early 17th century, duels were often illegal in Europe, though in most societies where dueling was socially accepted, participants in a fair duel were not prosecuted, or if they were, were not convicted. Only gentlemen were considered to have honor, and duels were reserved for social equals. Commoners might duel one another occasionally, but if a gentleman's honor were offended by a person of lower class, he would not duel him, but would beat him with a cane, riding crop, a whip or have his servants do so. Formal dueling continued in the United States into the 1800's, with one of the most famous duels resulting in the fatal wounding of Alexander Hamilton by United States Vice-president Aaron Burr.