[ London Times ]


This newspaper, most correctly known simply as The Times, began publication in 1785 and continues to this day.


The April 23, 1803 edition of The Times carried the following account of the trial, at the Old Bailey, of Captain Macnamara, who had killed Colonel Montgomery in a dual, the origins of which lay in the fact the two men were riding in Hyde Park, in London, when their Newfoundlands began to fight. This article in The Times is the 3rd article to treat of this incident; the first article, found here at The Cultured Newf reported the two men's encounter; the second article, here at The Cultured Newf, reported on the Coroner's inquest into the incident.

This duel is treated in more detail in two other articles here at The Cultured Newf: an article in the Naval Chronicle and here in an entry that combines a brief discussion of the event with a detailed transcript of the trial proceedings..

Because the details in the Times newspaper article are very similar to those found in the court transcript of this case, which you can find at the second link in the previous sentence, I have included only the part of this article that makes reference to the Newfoundlands.


William Sloane, Esq. was first sworn, and gave the following testimony: — "I was in Hyde Park in the afternoon of Wednesday the 6th of April. I was on horseback, near Colonel Montgomery, who was followed by a Newfoundland dog. I saw Capt. Macnamara, who had another dog with him, of the same kind. We were at the Bar, when the two dogs began to fight. Colonel Montgomery turned round and separated the dogs. He then called out — "Whose dog is this?" Capt. Macnamara answered — "It is my dog." The other then said, — "If you don't call your dog off, I will knock him down." Capt. M. replied — "Have you the arrogance to say you will knock my dog down?" Col. Montgomery said — "I certainly will, if he falls on my dog again." This conversation was continued for a short time, and the word 'arrogance' was repeated by the prisoner. . . .


Much of the rest of the article is a transcript of statements by other witnesses to the initial encounter in Hyde Park and to the duel itself; the dogs are referenced only generically by a couple of the other witnesses. The jury deliberated only 20 minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty, presumably by virtue of the fact Captain Macnamara produced a number of character witnesses, including the British naval hero Admiral Horatio Nelson, under whom Macnamara had served with distinction; it is also the case that even though dueling was illegal in Britain, it was widely condoned when understood as a matter of honor, as in this case.




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