US President Andrew Jackson married his wife, Rachel, after her first husband left her to get a divorce. Two years later, Colonel Lewis Robards returned—never having obtained the divorce. Rachel had to quickly divorce Robards and then legally marry Jackson.
This little ‘scandal’ remained a sensitive point for Andrew Jackson. He fought 103 duels—most of them to defend his wife’s honor. The only man he ever killed in a duel was Charles Dickinson, who was goaded into angering Jackson by Jackson’s political opponents. Dickinson shot Jackson in the ribs before Jackson returned the fatal shot.
Charles’s bullet was lodged so close to Jackson’s heart that it could never be removed. Jackson was wounded so often during these frequent duels that some said he “rattled like a bag of marbles.” He was in a considerable amount of pain for the rest of his life as a result of his ‘battle wounds’ and periodically coughed up blood.
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