Timeline
1827 Political Controversy and Duels
Crittenden left Little Rock for Washington on January 9 without the permission of the Secretary of State. He did not know his reappointment as Secretary of the Territory was already in the works. Having taken care of his business in the nation's capital, he hurried back to Little Rock, arriving on March 20.
In April, Henry Conway and Robert Oden announced their candidacies for delegate to Congress. Campaign controversy centered around Conway and Crittenden as the recognized leaders of the two political factions; both had misused the federal funds entrusted to them and were roundly criticized for it. Unfortunately, criticisms reached the level of threats and violence, and Crittenden filed a $25,000 libel suit against Woodruff. In the election, Conway easily defeated Oden with a vote of 2,427 to 856, but the controversy was not over!
After the election, Conway responded to a Crittenden charge made during the campaign by accusing Crittenden of "willful misrepresentation." The accusation led Crittenden to uphold his "honor" by challenging Conway to a duel. Before this challenge could be resolved, two of their supporters were also drawn into the hot-blooded conflict. Ambrose Sevier and Thomas Newton exchanged shots in Cherokee territory, but luckily, both escaped injury.
When Crittenden and Conway met, the outcome was different. After traveling to Mississippi, as dueling was illegal in Arkansas, Crittenden wounded Conway at first fire on October 29 and Conway died on November 9. The killing of the popular delegate to Congress damaged Crittenden's reputation, as well as that of the Arkansas Territory.
William E. Woodruff, at the center of the controversy as the only newspaperman in the Territory, found time during this hectic year to court and marry Jane Eliza Mills, 17 years of age.
In the election called to fill Conway's now vacant position, his first cousin, Ambrose Sevier, defeated Richard Searcy and Andrew Scott. Sevier had recently married Juliette Johnson, the daughter of Judge Benjamin Johnson. The alliance of the Sevier, Johnson and Conway clans was developing into a formidable political power for pre-Civil War Arkansas.
