William Bowie (merchant)

William Bowie (1783-1819) was a prominent merchant of Halifax, Nova Scotia who was killed in the last fatal duel on record in Nova Scotia. At age 20, William Bowie arrived in Nova Scotia in 1803 from Inverness, Scotland. He became president of the North British Society. Under the mentorship of Alexander Brymer, Bowie founded the firm Bowie & DeBlois and in a few years amassed a fortune and Bowie became a leading citizen in Halifax.

During a supreme court case in July 1819, Bowie's opposing lawyer was Richard John Uniacke, Jr.. They both made insulting remarks to each other and Uniacke challenged Bowie to a duel. They met near the Narrows at 4:00 am on July 21. They marched twelve paces from each other. Then they fired two shots, after which Bowie was taken to a near-by barn where he died. He was age 36.

The duel and death of Bowie "shocked Halifax" and the flags of all the vessels in the harbour were hung at half mast. This was the first important trial to happen in the court at Province House. The grand jury trial proved to be "screaming farce." Such a trial would have normally been procecuted by Uniacke's father Richard John Uniacke who was the attorney general, however, he declined. The drama of the trial was captured by the Acadian Recorder:

Uniacke Jr.'s only defence was his honour and the honour of his family and, as expected, he was found not guilty.

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