The Castlereagh-Canning Duel

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, was not entirely inexperienced in duels. As a young man, he had fought one in Ireland, over a girl, with her guardian. Shots were exchanged, but neither man was hurt and by that evening Castlereagh told his alarmed father he had already forgotten the details. The situation in 1809, however, was altogether more serious. With Britain at war with Napoleon, Castlereagh was war minister in the government under the Duke of Portland.