A Question of Honour? Wellington's memorandum on the insult
Crucially, all concerned realised that this was no mere private
dispute but that the political circumstances lent it particular
gravity and wider import. It was, in Wellington's own words:
'Scarcely…a private quarrel' Instead, Wellington chose to
interpret the event as a test of the right of any minister to
change his opinion on an issue - on this occasion Catholic
emancipation - without being branded a 'traitor'. Wellington
made the most of the opportunity by exploiting the duel to
silence his most vocal critics and rally moderate opinion,
recognising in this piece of theatre the possibility of
outmanoeuvring them as comprehensively in the political arena as
he had once done his enemies on the battlefield. Indeed, the
duel shows that he was often a subtler and more ingenious
politician than some historians have allowed. In this one
moment, then, scheduled for 21 March 1829 on Battersea Fields,
the cause of reform, the direction of public policy and