Calhoun Benham had been one of the seconds for David Smith Terry in the notorious California duel that had taken the life of Senator David Broderick a few months before. Democrats had nominated him as District Attorney for the state of California and that was confirmed in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 29 to 17. All Republicans present voted against. Stephen Douglas voted for, earning hostility from Democrat friends of Broderick as well as Republicans. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Hubert H. Bancroft, The History of California, Vol. VII (San Francisco, CA: The History Company, 1890), 260n.
Francis Vincent, Vincent's Semi-Annual United States Register.... 1st of January and 1st of July, 1860 (Philadelphia: Francis Vincent, 1860), 412.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Campaigns/Elections
