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Cilley, Jonathan 1802-

Lawyer; born in Nottingham, N. H., July 2, 1802; graduated at Bowdoin College in 1825; elected to Congress as a Democrat in 1837, and served until Feb. 24, 1838, when he was fatally wounded in a duel with William J. Graves, a Representative from Kentucky. The trouble arose from an address in the House of Representatives by Mr. Cilley, in which he denounced a charge of immorality made against some unmarried Representatives in an article published in the New York Courier and Enquirer under the signature of “A spy in Washington.” The result of this criticism was the challenge to a duel by Mr. Graves. The weapons used were rifles; the place, Bladensburg, Md.; and on the third shot Mr. Cilley fell, with a ball through his body. When the affair became known in Congress, a committee of seven was appointed, and after a thorough investigation, reported that Mr. Graves should be censured by the House for his conduct. See Bladensburg duelling field.

Harper and Brothers Publishers. . New York. 1902.

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