Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object |
|
Title |
Congressional Pugilists |
Date |
1860 |
Description |
Black and white engraving, "Congressional Pugilists". Etching with text depicting fight between Matthew Lyon and Roger Griswold at Congress Hall, Philadelphia, 1798. Group of men in circa 1800 clothing cheering on two men fighting each other; two men in foreground confront each other with weapons--fireplace tongs and poker; explanatory text/poem at bottom of drawing and title and identification of figures at top of drawing. Simple lines; faces caricature like. Mounted on cardboard. Handwritten identifications and dates below image. Printed identifications of three of them in margins with numbers identifying who they are. This print is a reproduction of the original made in 1860 by John McAllister. |
Width (inches) |
9.500 |
Height (inches) |
7.000 |
Information |
On January 30th, 1798, Vermont Representative Matthew Lyon (a Democratic-Republican) and Connecticut Representative Roger Griswold (a Federalist) got into an argument leading to Lyon spitting in Griswold’s face. Two weeks later the House met to discuss the fate of Lyon over the spitting affair. When Griswold saw Lyon, he grabbed his cane and attacked. Lyon shouted, "You rascal!" and tried to block the blows. Griswold struck him three times before Lyon rose from his seat. Lyon then grabbed nearby fireplace tongs, and began to hit Griswold. Many members of the house yelled to stop them, but some egged them on. Both were escorted out and had to promise to behave in the future. Later that year a new rule was instated, no fighting in Congress! Griswold had the last laugh, as Lyon was the first man arrested under the Sedition Act later that year for criticizing the presidency and the government as a whole. |
Related People |
Lyon, Matthew |
Credit line |
Bequest of Florence M. Bayley |
Catalog Number |
1989.37 |