Clement Vallandigham
Library of Congress
Of all the historical celebrity deaths listed here, Clement Vallandigham is probably the person whose ironic death contributed most to his celebrity status.
Born in Ohio on July 29, 1820, Clement Vallandigham started his political career when he was elected to the Ohio legislature in 1845. He served two terms in the House of Representatives between 1858 and 1863, during which time his relentless criticism of the Lincoln administration and the Civil War caused him to be expelled from the North.
Vallandigham idealized the Southern lifestyle and his opposition to every proposed military bill led his opponents to draw the conclusion that he was in favor of the Confederacy winning the war. He became the leader of the anti-war Copperheads, which advocated for states’ rights on the issue of slavery.
In the last years of the war, Vallandigham tried to form a “Northwest Confederacy” in which Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois would overthrow their governments and secede from the Union. However, the plan failed.
In May 1863, he was arrested for violating General Ambrose Burnside’s General Order No. 38, stating that it was illegal to express sympathy for the opposing side. Vallandigham was convicted by a military tribunal and the conviction was upheld by President Abraham Lincoln, who banished Vallandigham to the Confederacy.
Wikimedia CommonsDepiction of Vallandigham’s arrest.
By 1871, Vallandigham was working as a lawyer in Lebanon, Ohio. There, a man named Thomas McGehan had been accused of killing a man named Tom Myers. One evening, Vallandigham, who was working as McGehan’s defense attorney, decided to test out his defense strategy. The strategy suggested that Myers had accidentally shot himself while drawing his own pistol.
Vallandigham had two pistols: One that was loaded and another that wasn’t. One of his companions suggested he should discharge the shots in the loaded pistol. When Vallandigham asked why, his companion responded, “To prevent any accident. You might shoot yourself.”
Vallandigham, confident in his expertise with pistols, ignored his friend’s advice. He then set the two pistols next to each other on a table. To demonstrate his strategy, Vallandigham put the unloaded pistol in his pocket and drew it back out, leaving it pointed at his abdomen.
“That’s the way Myers held it,” he said. It was a decent explanation. The only problem: He had accidentally pulled the loaded pistol from the table.
Putting his finger to the trigger, there was a flash as he cried, “My God, I’ve shot myself!”
Vallandigham lay wounded while doctors tried to find the bullet and friends and onlookers came in and out of the room. Attempts to heal him failed and, after about 12 hours, Vallandigham died, accidentally killing himself while demonstrating how another man might have accidentally killed himself.
“I may, however, be mistaken,” Vallandigham proclaimed on his deathbed, “but I am a firm believer in that good old Presbyterian doctrine of predestination.”
McGehan was soon acquitted and set free. After all, Vallandigham’s death did wind up proving his theory.
If you enjoyed this post on embarrassing celebrity deaths throughout history, you may want to check out the famous last words of historical greats and the worst ways to die. Finally, check out some haunting photos taken just before the person died.
