Kentucky congressman William Preston Taulbee was part of a scandalous newspaper article in 1887 where he was accused of having an affair with a lady known as Miss Dodge.  Written by Washington correspondent for The Louisville Times and Kentucky native, Charles Kincaid, the facts in the article were and still are debated.  Whether or not the two gentlemen despised each other before the story ran, rest assured their relationships blossomed into pure hate after the article went public.

I'm unsure if it was due to the scandal, but Taulbee did not seek re-election and became a lobbyist.  The two men would bump into each other at the Capitol building and exchange unkind words over the next two years.  Their last meeting occurred on Feb 28, 1890:

Earlier that day, as Taulbee entered the House chamber, he and Kincaid had exchanged insults. Taulbee had thrown Kincaid around by the collar. Kincaid went home for his pistol.

Around 1:30 that afternoon, Taulbee and a friend headed downstairs to lunch at the House dining room.

The stairway is in a "Y" shape — twin staircases from the second floor to a landing, and a single flight from the landing to the first floor.

Taulbee and his friend took one staircase, and reporter Kincaid took the other. Kincaid caught up to them just below the landing, says historian Donald Ritchie.

"Can you see me now?" Kincaid reportedly said to the congressman.

As Taulbee turned toward Kincaid, his friend fled, leaving no eyewitnesses.

The reporter fired. The bullet went in under the former congressman's eye.

According to Ritchie, Taulbee bled profusely on the stairs:

"A policeman came rushing up and said, 'Who is responsible for this?' Kincaid was still standing [on the steps] and said, 'I did it.'"

  A stain survives to this day on the marble stairs at the place where Taulbee was shot. It is rumored to be the stain left by the former congressman's blood.

Taulbee died 11 days after the incident.  Because there were no witnesses, Kincaid was acquitted for his charge of murder; The jury called it self-defense. 

[Link]

Trackback URL for this post: