Matthew
Lyon, the Fighting Irishman of Capitol Hill
By
John William
Tuohy
One of the worst cases of bad
behavior in political life happened in 1798 and involved an Irishman Republican
Representative Matthew Lyon against a Connecticut Federalist Roger Griswold,
after Lyons spat in the Griswold’s face. All this had been preceded by a round
of insults with the entire ugly episode having started over Griswold’s assault
on Lyons voting record from the house floor. Griswold responded to the spitting
and insults by striking Lyons about twenty times with a hickory cane, which
prompted Griswold to respond with a pair of fire tons. All this happened while
other members of the house gathered round in a circle in watched the two men
beat each other up.
Roger Griswold (May 21, 1762 –
October 25, 1812) was governor of Connecticut and a member of the US House of
Representatives, serving as a Federalist. Born in Lyme, Connecticut, he was the
son of Matthew Griswold and Ursula Wolcott Griswold. His maternal grandfather,
Roger Wolcott, his uncle, Oliver Wolcott, and his cousin Oliver Wolcott, Jr.,
had each served as Governors of Connecticut
A student of the classics,
Griswold graduated from Yale College in 1780; studied law; was admitted to the
bar in 1783 and opened a law practice in Norwich, Connecticut. Eleven years
later, he returned to Lyme and was elected as a Federalist to the US House of
Representatives. He served from March 4, 1795, until his resignation in 1805.
In 1801, he declined an offer to become Secretary of War (Defense) under
President John Adams. His grandson, Matthew Griswold, would also serve
Connecticut in the House.
In the last years of his term
in office, 1803, Griswold and several other New England Federalist politicians,
proposed secession from the union due to the growing influence of Jeffersonian
Democrats and the Louisiana Purchase which they felt would dilute Northern
influence.
Matthew Lyon (July 14, 1749 -
August 1, 1822) was born near Dublin, Ireland. He learned his trade as a
printer and in 1765, at age 15, immigrated to Connecticut. Arriving to the
state as a redemptioner (An emigrant who paid for the voyage by serving for a
specified period as a bondservant) Lyons worked on a farm in Woodbury, while
continuing his education.
In 1774, the ambitious Irishman
moved to Wallingford, Vermont and eventually organized a company of militia and
served as its adjutant and was later commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the
regiment known as the Green Mountain Boys in July 1776.
He resigned from the Army in
1778 and became a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from
1779-1783, founded the town of Fair Haven, Vermont in 1779, operated various
kinds of mills, owned a paper factory and a printing office and published the
Farmers' Library, which would become the Fair Haven Gazette. He also returned
to the state House of Representatives for ten years. (1783-1796.) In 1797,
after several defeats for office, he was elected to the US House of
Representatives.
Lyon problems with Griswold
started after an exchange of insults which lead to the spitting incident on
January 30, 1798. A group of members were chatting informally by the fireplace
during a pause to count votes. Lyon, who was a rabid anti-Federalist, accused
Griswold of opposing the interests of their constituents in order to enrich
himself and noted that he owned a large printing company and might go after
Griswold and the other federalists that way. Griswold, who was across the room
heard the remark and shouted at Lyon “If you go into Connecticut,” you had
better bring your wooden sword.” an allusion to Lyon’s Revolutionary War
record.
The insult sprang from a rumor
that Lyon had been forced to wear a wooden sword as a symbol of cowardice in
1776 after men under Lyon’s command had mutinied during an isolated and
unpopular mission near the Canadian border. A military court investigated the
matter and cashiered Lyon and his fellow officers, out of the service. It was a
purely political decision made to restore discipline among the raw and
undisciplined Continental troops. Lyon, for the benefit of the new Republic,
accepted the court’s decision and was later readmitted into the Army at a
higher rank. Lyon responded by spitting in Griswold's face. A Federalist member
of the House immediately moved to expel Lyon and the House spent two weeks
debating the momentous question. On February 14 the House voted in favor of
expulsion by a party line vote of 52 to 44, short of the necessary two-thirds
majority. For his part, Lyon issued an apology for his action.
Griswold decided to defend his
honor on the morning of February 15, when, without any warning, Griswold rushed
across the House floor to Lyon who was sitting at his desk writing a letter. He
was armed with a thick hickory stick that he had purchased the day before with
the single intention of beating Lyon senseless
In a letter, Griswold later
described what happened “I gave him the first blow—I call’d him a scoundrel
& struck him with my cane, and pursued him with more than twenty blows on
his head and back until he got possession of a pair of tongues [i.e., tongs],
when I threw him down and after giving him several blows with my fist, I was
taken off by his friends.”
Representative George Thacher
of Massachusetts recalled “I was suddenly, and unsuspectedly interrupted by the
sound of a violent blow I raised my head, & directly before me stood Mr.
Griswald [sic] laying on blows with all his might upon Mr. Lyon, who seemed to
be in the act of rising out of his seat Lyon made an attempt to catch his cane,
but failed--he pressed towards Griswald and endeavoured to close with him, but
Griswald fell back and continued his blows on the head, shoulder, & arms of
Lyon[who] protecting his head & face as well as he could then turned &
made for the fire place& took up the [fire] tongs. Griswald drop[p]ed his
stick & seized the tongs with one hand, & the collar of Lyon by the
other, in which pos[i]tion they struggled for an instant when Griswald
trip[p]ed Lyon & threw him on the floor & gave him one or two blows in
the face”
The combatants were separated
and Lyon walked over to the House water table, loudly making the statement “I
wish I had been left alone awhile.” Griswold then re-approached him and Lyon
came at him with a set of fire tongs, setting off a second brawl. Jonathan
Mason commented that the incident caused the central legislative body of the
United States of America had been reduced to "an assembly of Gladiators."
The ever arrogant Griswold
later said “I might perhaps have given him a second beating but the House was
called to order.” Griswold, who was born to rank and privilege, ascribed Lyon's
temperament to his working class Irish roots. In 1798, he wrote to a friend
"The stories of his being sold for his passage from Ireland are likewise
true--in short he is literally one of the most ignorant contemptible and brutal
fellows in Congress--and that is saying a great deal." As a result of the
incident, Lyon had the distinction of being the first member of the House to
have an ethics violation charge filed against him for "gross
indecency" for spitting on Griswold, although the Ethics Committee
recommended censure, the House as a whole rejected the motion to censure him while
the blue blooded Griswold will forever be the first congressman to engage in a
physical altercation with another congressman.
Lyon was reelected to Congress
while in jail in 1798, after he was found guilty of violating the Alien and
Sedition Acts, which prohibited malicious writing of the American government or
its officials.
Lyon was the first person to be
put to trial for violating the acts and charged with criticizing Federalist
president John Adams and disagreeing with Adams' decision to go to war against
France. He was found guilty and sentenced to four months in jail and ordered to
pay a $1,000 fine and court costs. While in jail, Lyon won election to the
Sixth Congress. In the election of 1800, it was Lyon cast the deciding vote for
Jefferson after the election went to the House of Representatives because of an
electoral tie.
Lyon left the Congress in 1801
and moved to Kentucky where he settled in Caldwell County (now Lyon County) and
became a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1802. He was
reelected to Congresses in 1803 and was appointed United States factor to the
Cherokee Nation in Arkansas Territory in 1820. he died Spadra Bluff, Arkansas,
August 1, 1822.
Griswold served as a judge of
the Supreme Court of Connecticut in 1807, Lieutenant Governor from 1809 to 1811
and Governor from 1811 until his death in Norwich. He is buried Old Lyme,
Connecticut.