One of the duels that Neil Baxley covers in his presentation "Duels in Beaufort District" was fought between John Verdier and George Cuthbert. I learned of the duel while processing the Reeves Collection of Stuart Family Papers. I discovered a letter from Claudia S. Stuart to her brother Julie (Julius Walker Stuart) dated "Saturday July 1" [no year] in which she tells him about "a very tragical affair," a duel held at Pigeon Point near the town of Beaufort.
Here's what Claudia shared about the duel amid family and social news:
"A very tragical affair came off there last week. John Verdier the son of old Mr. John Verdier whipped on one of George Cuthbert’s negroes, and sent by him a very impudent message to his master. George went over to Verdiers place and had a fisticuff, in which Verdier was worsted. A few days after he sent to George Cuthbert and dared him to meet him, armed at Pigeon’s Point. G.C. went there with a double barrel gun and a pair of pistols. J. V. advanced with his pistol aimed at G.C. who told him that if he/Verdier/advanced another step, he would shoot him with his gun. Verdier continued to advance and G.C. shot him in the leg; he fled but immediately aimed at George again who shot him a second time in the body. Verdier is now lying in an almost hopeless state. Upon examining his pistol it was found not even loaded. What could have possessed him, who can tell!"
Confident that the year of the duel solved, now I needed to determine who actually fought the duel since in Beaufort District's history it is rather common to have several different people with the same name living at the same time. Thus it was so with combatants George Cuthbert and John Verdier. Which one of the seven George Cuthberts listed in The Story of an American Family was the George Cuthbert who dueled with which John Verdier? Which John Verdier and which George Cuthbert were alive, of such an age for dueling in 1854, of such temperament, and in Beaufort, at the appropriate time to engage in the sometimes deadly confrontation?
I assigned that task to my new assistant Cassi since during her job interview I learned that she had done a Verdier Family project as part of her undergraduate research in Historic Preservation at the College of Charleston. She could begin from a much more informed space in the historical research path on account of her prior research about the Verdier family members. Here's her report to me in its entirety:
[Who Was Who? Verdier vs Cuthbert Duel]
Cassandra Knoppel, 14 September 2021
Verdier
The letter describes a “John Verdier the son of old Mr. John Verdier” as being one of the participants in the “duel.” Based off of what I know, this cannot be John Mark Verdier Sr as he was the son of Andre Verdier and died in 1827. His oldest son, John Mark Verdier Jr, was living at this time and would have been in his 60s at the time of the event. Would Claudia have been old enough to know of his (long deceased by 1854) father though? Maybe? But maybe not. According to his obituary in the Charleston Mercury, John Mark Jr died in 1857 after suffering from “a long and painful illness.” Possibly related to duel injuries he sustained? Who can say at this time. While he is still a good option, there is another one that seems more likely.
John Mark Verdier Jr had a son named John H. Verdier. His name is given in family trees held in the BDC and in John Mark’s 1857 will.[1] A gravestone in Florida names a Dr. J. H. Verdier and his sister (which is most definitely JMV Jrs daughter, so it is rather likely that this would be his son, John H. Verdier).[2] The person who documented the headstone wrote his inscribed birth year as 1835, however this could be a poor reading or incorrect inscription as family trees show John H. as the oldest son with a younger brother, Mead, born in 1828.[3] They might have meant 1825 as the 1850 US Census for J. H. Verdier lists his birth year as 1825. I know that the Verdier’s held land in both Beaufort and Florida and the family traveled back and forth from both areas. While John H. Verdier appears to be living primarily in Florida in the 1850’s, he could have traveled up to Beaufort in 1854 for family or business related reasons and participated in the duel.
Cuthbert
The letter also names “George Cuthbert” as the other participant. A “G. B. Cuthbert” graduated from Beaufort College in 1849.[4] The following year, a “Geo Cuthbert” is listed in the Census for the Town of Beaufort. His age is given as 20 (putting his birth year c.1830) and he had no occupation. In the Census from 1860, “Geo B. Cuthbert” is seen to be living in St. Helena’s Parish, working as a planter. He owned 37 enslaved people and possessed 13 slave houses. His age was given as 32, putting his birth year at around 1828. This places him in the right age group to have possibly known John H. Verdier or his younger brother, Mead, prior to the duel if George was from a local Cuthbert family. However, his lineage is difficult to ascertain for multiple reasons. His name is first found recorded in 1847, where he is living in student housing for Beaufort College students, not with family. In 1850, he appears to be living in a boarding house rather than with family. He is also not buried in a family cemetery plot. “Geo B. Cuthbert” served in the Civil War (CSA) and died in 1863, according to a memorial in St. Helena’s Church. He is buried in section H8 with other CSA soldiers.[5]
There are a few other George Cuthberts that I found, but they were either children, dead, or living in Charleston at the time of the duel and did not appear to have any Beaufort connections. I feel confident that, based on what information we have now, George B. Cuthbert was the Cuthbert mentioned as participating in the “duel.”
___________________
[1] Sarah Fickling. “Verdier Family Chart.” Beaufort District Collection. Beaufort, SC.
[2] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17587223/j-h-verdier : accessed 14 September 2021), memorial page for Dr J. H. Verdier (27 Nov 1835–8 Apr 1913), Find a Grave Memorial ID 17587223, citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Bartow, Polk County, Florida, USA ; Maintained by Judy Green (contributor 47076213) .
[4] Ancestry.com. U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
[5] James C. Presgraves and S. Louise Presgraves. Old churchyard cemetery of St. Helena's Episcopal Church, Beaufort, South Carolina. 1987.
The full letter that Claudia wrote to her brother Julie is transcribed below:
Charleston July 1st Saturday evening [1854]
Dear Julie,
I was just thinking of writing to you when Mama received your letter. The truth is I would have written to you before had it not been that Mama, Ben and Barney seemed to be keeping up such a brisk correspondence with you, that I concluded you heard enough of home from other sources.
I have entirely given up the idea of going to Beaufort, and Ben is not going until late – after your visit here.
[Along the left edge of the stationary on page 1] I shall never tell you anything again, human nature is frail indeed when an older brother cannot be trusted!
I do not feel at all like leaving home and besides I suspect Beaufort is very dull at this time there have been so many deaths there recently.
Charlotte Stuart is positively engaged to Stephen Elliott, and Belle has refused Barnie Fuller.
A very tragical affair came off there last week. John Verdier the son of old Mr. John Verdier whipped on one of George Cuthbert’s negroes, and sent by him a very impudent message to his master. George went over to Verdiers place and had a fisticuff, in which Verdier was worsted. A few days after he sent to George Cuthbert and dared him to meet him, armed at Pigeon’s Point. G.C. went there with a double barrel gun and a pair of pistols. J. V. advanced with his pistol aimed at G.C. who told him that if he/Verdier/advanced another step, he would shoot him with his gun. Verdier continued to advance and G.C. shot him in the leg; he fled but immediately aimed at George again who shot him a second time in the body. Verdier is now lying in an almost hopeless state. Upon examining his pistol it was found not even loaded. What could have possessed him, who can tell!
Uncle Edmund thinks that George Cuthbert could not have acted otherwise under the circumstances. This is not considered a duell [sic] but they both had seconds.
On Friday the thermometer was 96◦ in the shade.
Yesterday Ben and I walked up to the farm, I was in the act of jumping a fence when Burnet Rhett and H. Taber rode up on horseback and caught me.
I hear that the Colonel has taken my advice and made haste indeed is it true that he is engaged?
I would not be surprised if you catch the infection very soon to “read in the morning and go to see the girls at night” Looks something like it.
All are well and send their love. My Love to Mrs. Benny and inquiring friends.
Your affecate Sister,
Claudia S. Stuart
[Along the left margin on page 4] My love to Mrs. Lee and tell her I will answer her letter next week. It has been too warm this week.
And now you have some insight into the historical and research processes Cassi and I performed to come to our conclusions. We shared our findings with Col. Baxley and he used Claudia's letter to inform his chapter about the Cuthbert-Verdier Duel in his presentation.
Bottom line: Archivists, librarians and historians just go together like peas and carrots.
The Reeves Collection of Stuart Family Papers consists primarily of family correspondence between Claudia Smith Stuart (1802-1876) about family matters, social affairs in Beaufort and Charleston, schooling at Harvard, West Point and seminaries in Spartanburg and Alexandria, Virginia, secession and the Civil War. Reconstruction Era documents mostly refer to family poverty and difficulties post-war. The Finding Aid to the Reeves Collection of Stuart Family Papers is posted on the BDC's WordPress blog: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids.
If you'd like to make an appointment to see what you can discover within the archives, contact us: bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468.
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