He served part of one term in the 25th Congress, and died as the result of a wound sustained in a duel with another Congressman, William J. Graves of Kentucky.

He served part of one term, and died as the result of a gunshot wound caused when he engaged in a duel with Representative William J. Graves.

[1] While at Bowdoin, Cilley also became close friends with future U.S. President Franklin Pierce, a member of the class of 1824.

[2] Deciding to stay in Maine after graduating from Bowdoin, Cilley studied law with John Ruggles, was admitted to the bar in 1828, and practiced in Thomaston.

[1] Cilley died in office after sustaining a fatal wound in a duel with Congressman William J. Graves of Kentucky.

[8] Underlying this conflict was lingering bitterness over the decision of Van Buren's predecessor, Democrat Andrew Jackson, not to re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.

[8] One of the pillars of the Whig press was the New York Courier and Enquirer, a newspaper edited by James Watson Webb.

[8] Dueling was prohibited within the boundaries of the District of Columbia, so the participants and their seconds – George Wallace Jones for Cilley and Henry A.

Wise for Graves – arranged to meet on February 24, 1838, at the Bladensburg Dueling Grounds, just outside the city limits and inside the Maryland border.