On September 27th, 1817, Thomas Hart Benton fatally shot and killed attorney Charles Lucas. The two clashed during a court case that Lucas ultimately won. Tensions brewed until they settled their argument with a duel on Bloody Island in St. Louis. As in many other duels during the time, the two choose Bloody Island in the Mississippi River as the location because the land had not been claimed by either Missouri or Illinois, therefore putting it out of legal jurisdiction of both states. This wasn