I was doing some research and stumbled upon this account from June 1814 of a fatal duel:
Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser (8 June 1814)
A few days later there was more information published in the Brist0l Mirror (Saturday 11 June 1814):
I couldn’t find anything beside a few additional newspaper accounts that repeated much of the same information, but found this a fascinating example of a real life duel with deadly consequences. I am also amazed at how the rates of death with older firearms enabled people to utter last words. This must have been a painful way to go.
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Interesting piece. In my novel ‘Lydia Wickham’s Northern Peril’, George Wickham becomes involved in a duel in 1799 and I had to do considerable research about duels. The research suggested that few fatal outcomes of duels ended up in prosecutions or murder convictions, tho’ that of course was 15 years before the case you quote in your piece. The second newspaper report above is surprising since the purpose of the inquest is and was to establish the cause of death not attribute blame. Just a couple of pretty non-conclusive thoughts. It’s at least 9 month since I finished and published the book so my memory’s now a bit rusty on all that research, a great deal of which didn’t get used.
Fascinating…