Duellist's Grave

The epitaph to James Wilde on the nearby tomb is a melancholy reminder of the days of duelling and, particularly, of a tragic affair of honor fought January 16, 1815, on the Carolina side of the river near Savannah. Lieutenant Wilde was shot through the heart in a fourth exchange of fire by Captain Roswell P. Johnson, referred to in the epitaph, in bitterness, as 'a man who a short time before would have been friendless but for him.' The duellists were officers in the 8th Regt., U.S. Infantry. The nature of their quarrel is unknown.