The Sandbar Fight, also known as the Vidalia Sandbar Fight, was a formal one-on-one duel that erupted into a violent brawl involving a number of combatants on September 19, 1827. It took place on a large sandbar in the Mississippi River, between Vidalia, Louisiana and Natchez, Mississippi. The fight resulted in the death of General Samuel Cuny and Major Norris Wright. American pioneer and folk hero James Bowie survived but was seriously injured in the fight.[1][2]
The site of the brawl was originally a neutral island in the middle of the river, with the river mainly flowing on the west side of the island. The main course of the river has since moved to the east side of the island, so the site of the fight is thus located west of the modern river on Giles Island. However, the river's original path (west side of the island) still serves as the border between the states of Mississippi and Louisiana, so the site of the brawl is and always was within Mississippi.[3]