Terry, David Smith

The California Chief Justice who led the state's pro-slavery faction of the Democratic Party, he is best know for killing sitting U.S. Senator David Broderick in an 1859 duel over slavery. He served in the Confederate army. Terry himself died by gunfire years later when he physically attacked U.S. Justice Stephen Field over a case judgment and was shot by Field's U.S. Marshal bodyguard.
Life Span
to
    Full name
    David Smith Terry
    Place of Birth
    Burial Place
    Birth Date Certainty
    Exact
    Death Date Certainty
    Exact
    Gender
    Male
    Race
    White
    Sectional choice
    South
    Origins
    Slave State
    No. of Spouses
    2
    No. of Children
    6
    Family
    Cornelia Runnels (first wife), Sarah Althea Hill (second wife)
    Occupation
    Politician
    Military
    Attorney or Judge
    Political Parties
    Democratic
    American Party (Know Nothings or Nativists)
    Government
    State supreme court
    Military
    US military (Pre-Civil War)
    Confederate Army
    How to Cite This Page: "Terry, David Smith," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/22696.