David C. Broderick
On the morning of September 13, 1859, two men who had once been friends stood facing each other outside San Francisco's city limits at Lake Merced, each holding a pistol. David C. Broderick, the United States Senator from California and leader of the anti-slavery faction of the Democratic Party, fired first -- and his shot went into the ground. His opponent, former California Supreme Court Chief Justice David S. Terry, took careful aim and shot Broderick through the chest. The senator died three days later, at age 39. He was the last sitting U.S. senator to be killed in a duel, and his death made him a martyr for the Free Soil cause on the eve of the Civil War.
From Washington Stonecutter to California Senator
Broderick was born in 1820 on East Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., the son of an Irish stonecutter. He grew up in New York and entered politics through Tammany Hall, learning the machine politics that would serve him well in the rough-and-tumble arena of Gold Rush California. He arrived in San Francisco during the Gold Rush and rose rapidly through the state's chaotic political landscape, building a power base through a combination of personal magnetism, organizational skill, and the willingness to make deals. The California legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate, where he became the leader of the state's Free Soil Democrats -- the faction that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories.
The Duel at Lake Merced
The feud between Broderick and Terry was both political and personal. Terry, a pro-slavery Democrat and former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, had been a political ally before the slavery question split the party. Passions escalated through 1859 as the national debate over slavery intensified. Both men were expert marksmen, which made the challenge all the more consequential. They met at Lake Merced, just outside San Francisco's city limits, where dueling was technically beyond the jurisdiction of city police. Broderick's pistol -- which witnesses later suggested had a defective hair trigger -- fired prematurely into the ground. Terry's shot was deliberate and fatal.
Martyr on the Eve of War
Broderick's death transformed him from a political boss into a symbol. His dying words -- "They have killed me because I was opposed to the extension of slavery and a corrupt administration" -- were widely reported and became a rallying cry for Free Soil Democrats. His funeral in San Francisco drew one of the largest crowds the young city had ever seen. Within two years, the Civil War would begin, and the cause for which Broderick died would become the cause of the Union. The duel site at Lake Merced is now marked with a historical monument, a quiet spot near the city's southwestern edge where joggers pass without knowing they are running past the place where a senator fell.
From the Air
The duel site is located near Lake Merced at approximately 37.708°N, 122.484°W in southwestern San Francisco. Lake Merced is the large freshwater lake visible near the coast south of Golden Gate Park. Best viewed at 1,500-3,000 feet AGL. Nearest airport: KSFO (6 nm south). The duel monument is near the lake's northern shore.