Andrew
Jackson was plagued his entire life by a bullet wound to the chest,
which he suffered in a duel. In 1805, Charles Dickenson, the son-in-law
of a man who owed Jackson a horse-race gambling debt, called Jackson “a
worthless scoundrel . . . and a coward” in a Nashville, Tennessee,
newspaper. Jackson challenged Dickenson to a duel.
On
May 30, 1806, Dickenson fired the first shot. The bullet broke two of
Jackson’s ribs and lodged near his heart. As was the dueling custom,
Dickenson could neither fire again nor move from his position until
Jackson fired as well. Jackson took aim and fired a fatal shot from 24
paces. But his inoperable wound never healed properly and bothered him
for the next 39 years.
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