Prior to becoming political allies, Missouri's cantankerous and imposing first senator Thomas Hart Benton and Andrew Jackson were bitter foes. Believing Jackson had insulted his brother Jesse, Benton hunted Jackson down. A fight erupted ending in gunplay in which Benton shot and nearly killed Jackson. After the death of Andrew Jackson, a young colleague approached Senator Benton. The novice politician asked Benton if he had known Jackson. Benton replied in his familiar, pompous manner, "Yes, sir, I knew him, sir; General Jackson was a very great man, sir. I shot him, sir!"
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