May 7, 1863

Dr. George B. Peters brazenly entered the headquarters of noted Mexican War veteran and Indian fighter Earl Van Dorn in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and shot him, claiming that he “violated the sanctity of his home,” meaning that Peters believed Van Dorn had had an affair with his wife. While rumors had circulated that Van Dorn had engaged in such activities in the past, his friends denied the claims. As a Confederate general, Van Dorn had been defeated at the Battle of Pea Ridge and at Corinth, Mississippi. Following the defeat at Pea Ridge, he stripped Arkansas of badly needed Confederate troops, leaving the state nearly destitute of defenders. Van Dorn is buried in his hometown of Port Gibson, Mississippi.