1822, mirroring the political confrontation between Calhoun of South Carolina and William H. Crawford of Georgia, McDuffie fought a series of duels with Colonel William Cumming. He suffered serious wounds that ultimately led to his death and were said by O'Neall to "change the whole character of his disposition... all who knew him afterwards are obliged to admit his great irritability". O'Neall went on to say that "McDuffie was in youth, manhood and old age, a remarkable man for his taciturnity and reserve. He literally seemed to commune with himself; yet there were occasions, when he met with old friends and companions, in which he seemed to enjoy life with as much zest as any man." Perley Poore stated that McDuffie was a "spare, grim-looking man, who was an admirer of Milton, and who was never known to jest or smile." In a description by Sparks, "His temperament was nervous and ardent, and his feelings strong. His manner when speaking was nervous and impassioned, and at times fiercely vehement, and again persuasive and tenderly pathetic, and in every mood he was deeply eloquent." Sparks recounts McDuffie's triumph on first coming to the House, driving the madcap John Randolph from the floor with "vituperation witheringly pungent". George McDuffie died at his estate "Cherry Hill" in Sumter County, South Carolina, on March 11, 1851. McDuffie County, Georgia, is named after him. References pp. 463–468 p. 81 pp. 87–92 Further reading Green, Edwin. George McDuffie. Columbia: State Co., 1936. External links SCIway Biography of George McDuffie NGA Biography of George McDuffie United States Congress Biography of George McDuffie 1790 births 1851 deaths University of South Carolina alumni South Carolina lawyers Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees American duellists Nullifier Party members of the United States House of Representatives Nullifier Party politicians Democratic Party United States senators from South Carolina Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from South Carolina 19th-century American politicians