Jarrett dueling biography of williams

duel in England

The Pitt–Tierney Duel took place on 27 May when the Prime Minister of Great BritainWilliam Pitt the Younger met his political opponent George Tierney in a duel with pistols on Putney Heath outside London.^[1]&#;

Background

Pitt had been Prime Minister since and from had led the country during the French Revolutionary War.^[2] Tierney was a Whig opposition figure associated with Charles James Fox and the radical wing of the opposition Whig Party.

During a debate in the House of Commons, Pitt had been proposing a new measure to increase the manpower of the Royal Navy. Tierney, in the absence of Fox acting as the resident leader of the Foxite Whigs, suggested a longer consideration of the bill.^[3] Pitt frustrated by this move, had suggested Tierney's attitude came from a "desire to obstruct the defence of the country".^[4] When Tierney protested and appealed to the Speaker, who asked Pitt to explain hims