#OnThisDay in 1862, one of the most sordid episodes in the Civil War occurred in a hotel in Louisville, KY, when Union Gen. Jefferson C. Davis murdered fellow Union Gen. William “Bull” Nelson in cold blood. I can’t BELIEVE I haven’t done a thread on this before, so here we go ...

We’ll start with Nelson, all 6-2, 300 pounds of him. His physical stature earned him his nickname of Bull (remember, in the 1860s, most people were 4'11" and had the physique of a late-70s David Bowie). But "Bull" also fit his personality: sharp-tongued and witheringly sarcastic.

Davis, perpetually sick and tired (like a late-70s David Bowie), couldn’t be more different physically from the robust Nelson, and their personalities also clashed. Nelson had relieved Davis of duty earlier that year for failing to organize his troops, and Davis held a grudge.

Now entering the scene is Indiana Gov. Oliver Morton. I could talk, conservatively, for the next 12 hours about Ollie Morton (but that would mean I couldn’t watch the debate! Oh no!!!). Suffice to say, Morton was a longtime friend of Davis, and journeyed with him to see Nelson.

Morton and Davis entered the lobby of the Galt House (it looked different then). Nelson told him to leave, then mockingly put his hand to his ear, saying, “Speak louder, I don’t hear very well.”

(“Oh, no, he didn’t,” whispered an officer. “Oh, yes, he did,” came the reply.)

When Davis demanded an apology, Nelson told him: “Go away, you damned puppy.” And then, like an 1860s version of the newscaster street fight in Anchorman, things “escalated quickly.” Davis threw a crumpled-up paper into Nelson’s face, and Nelson gave Davis an open-hand slap.

Then Nelson turned on Gov. Morton. “Did you come here to see me insulted, sir?” Morton, no lightweight himself, cowered before the formidable Nelson, sputtering, “N-n-n-no.” Nelson turned away, saying “that God-damned insolvent scoundrel insulted me ... I’ll teach him a lesson.”

(Note: This is usually the point in a bar fight when your ol’ pal CivilWarHumor steps in and tries to diffuse the situation with a well-timed jibe about the unpredictable nature of the Human Condition, only for the would-be combatants to make peace with each other & turn on HIM.)

Nelson went toward his office; was he gonna get a gun? Some think so. Davis, who’d borrowed a pistol, followed and called out, “General Nelson, take care of yourself!” Then he approached and shot the unnamed Nelson point blank, who staggered, collapsed, and said, “I am murdered.”

Davis was placed under arrest; officers had tried to intervene in the scuffle, but it happened too quickly for them to stop it. In the aftermath, Davis’s story kept changing; he claimed the gun went off by accident, then said he did it for honor. But he never expressed remorse.

The story was a huge sensation. At first, confused reporters thought the Confederate president had snuck into Louisville and assassinated Nelson. (This is why you should NEVER weigh in on developing news stories until you have all the info. Yes, that means you, #NatSec twitter.)

Officers also worried that Nelson’s troops would try to take revenge on Davis’s men, but here’s the thing: they were both pretty universally reviled. This was a classic case of two guys who could start a fight in an empty room -- or a duel in a crowded hotel hallway.

What to do with Davis? Some junior officers wanted to hang him right away, but the older generals said: “No, no, that would imply the Army screwed up. Isn’t there a civilian we can deflect blame on to? That’s how we typically deal with instances of gross military misconduct.”

So Gov. Morton became the scapegoat: yes, it was the GOVERNOR’S FAULT that two grown men, responsible for thousands of civilians' and soldiers’ lives, got so caught up in their own Studied Outrage that they caused celebratory fireworks to be set off throughout the South.

Davis was never charged with murder, and a manslaughter charge was quietly dismissed. He served in the army (poorly and, in some cases, tragically) throughout the rest of the war, and the Great Moral Minds of the Era -- paging Mr. Lincoln? Hello? -- were notably silent.

Only Samuel P. Chase, the treasury secretary, sought justice for Bull Nelson. “Nelson was imperious, overbearing, arrogant, insulting,” Chase wrote, and remember: this was in Nelson’s DEFENSE, “but these faults should not be received as grounds for dispensing with a trial.”

But Lincoln, as was his wont more often than his most fervent admirers admit, caved into politics. Morton was a staunch Lincoln ally, so Davis was allowed to continue his military career. (I’ve posted previously about his post-CW service, and it makes for some … tragic reading.)

So if you’re scoring at home, remember: The UNION Jefferson Davis killed more Northern generals than the REBEL Jefferson Davis did. But since we’re taking down Jefferson Davis statues, let’s put this marker on the list. Maybe the Sons of Confederate Veterans will protest it ...