Charles Dickinson (attorney and duelist)

Charles Dickinson (December 20, 1780 – May 30, 1806) was an American attorney, and a famous duelist. An expert marksman, Dickinson died from injuries sustained in a duel with Andrew Jackson, who later became President of the United States. Dickinson was shot in the chest by the future President due to a protracted disagreement which originated in an incident involving a horse which Jackson owned. The shooting was also said to have stemmed from a drunken insult aimed at Jackson's wife, Rachel Jackson. Jackson himself was also wounded in the duel, but was able to recover.

This article is about the 19th-century American attorney and duelist. For the 19th English novelist and social critic, see Charles Dickens.
For the writer, see Charles Dickinson (author). For the engineer and architect, see Charles Dickinson West.

Dickinson was born at Wiltshire Manor in Caroline County, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth Walker and Henry Dickinson, the grandson of Sophia Richardson and Charles Dickinson (1695–1795), and the great-grandson of Rebecca Wynne (daughter of Dr. Thomas Wynne) and John Dickinson. He studied law under U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall, who wrote formal letters of introduction and recommendation for his student. Dickinson owned a house in Maryland for 3 years before moving to Tennessee, where he became a successful horse breeder and plantation owner. Within two years of his arrival in Tennessee, he courted and married the daughter of Captain Joseph Erwin. Unfortunately for Dickinson, he also ran afoul of fellow plantation owner and horse breeder Andrew Jackson.

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