despite (or perhaps because of) his service as an officer in the illinois national guard, duncan was a prominent victim of the springfield race riot of 1908. contemporary news accounts indicate that a white mob broke into and ransacked duncan's house; they shattered furniture, smashed the family piano and used duncan's national guard saber to gouge out the eyes of a portrait of duncan's mother that was hanging in the house. the mob was reported to have stolen clothes, jewelry and everything of value they could find, including the saber. the weapon is reported to have been recovered and returned to duncan. the sword thief was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to serve 30 days in the county jail.