caused Van Dorn to halt his movement and rethink his plans, and subsequently he returned in the Spring Hill area. Bedford Forrest, commanding one of Van Dorn's cavalry brigades, criticized his judgement as a general, and an angered Van Dorn challenged Forrest to a duel. However, Forrest talked him out of it and so prevented an altercation that may have been fatal to both of them. Death Alleged affair Van Dorn's womanizing, rather than a military battle, led to his death. Van Dorn made his headquarters in the home of Martin Cheairs in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Ever the ladies' man, he attracted the attention of Jesse Helen Kissack Peters, the wife of a prominent local physician and state legislator, Dr. George B. Peters. Mrs. Peters, the fourth wife of Dr. Peters and nearly 25 years his junior, was described by locals as "bored" by her husband's long journeys away from home. Gossip quickly spread around town about Van Dorn's visits to Mrs. Peters' home, and the couple's frequent unchaperoned carriage rides together. When Dr. Peters returned home on April 12, he was mocked by local townsfolk for being a cuckold. Peters said he would shoot Van Dorn or any of his staff who set foot on his property. Eventually, the doctor hid outside his house one night and saw Van Dorn arrive. Peters rushed inside and found Van Dorn and his wife in a passionate embrace. He threatened to shoot Van Dorn on the spot, but the general pleaded for mercy if he would spare Mrs. Peters from any responsibility in the incident. Dr. Peters accepted this offer. Homicide A few weeks later, on the morning of May 7, Dr. Peters went to the Cheairs mansion. Van Dorn's staff recognized him, as he frequently stopped to obtain passes through the Confederate lines, and let him inside. Peters walked into Van Dorn's office, where the general was writing at his desk, pulled out a pistol, and shot him in the back of the head. A few minutes later, the daughter of Martin Cheairs ran outside saying that Peters had shot Van Dorn. The general's staff found him unconscious, but still alive. The shot was fatal and Van Dorn died four hours later, never having regained consciousness. The small caliber pistol round had traversed through Van Dorn's brain and lodged behind his forehead. He suffered cerebral herniation and eventual cardiac and respiratory