Pistols at Ten Paces
by William Oliver Stevens

     The quarrel between Cilley and Graves was the only one that involved members of the House of Representatives as both principals and seconds. In all the long catalogue of duels this is the single instance of note in which a New Englander was principal.
     Cilley had been shot through the abdomen and died instantly. A public funeral was given by the House of Representatives. Everyone of consequence was there, from President Martin Van Buren down. The galleries were packed. The casket rested until noon in the Capitol's rotunda beneath Trumbull's 'Surrender of Burgoyne.' Curiously enough, one of the figures on the canvas was Cilley's grandfather.
     The casket was borne up the central aisle of the house, followed by the procession of mourners with the President and his cabinet at its head. Next came the Vice-President and senators. The Chaplain of the Senate read the burial service, and the Chaplain of the House spoke briefly, denouncing the code that had led to this tragic scene. After the exercises the body was conveyed in stately procession to the National Cemetery. A period of thirty day's mourning was decreed.