Hmmm...Cassius M. Clay...”The Lion of White Hall”...second cousin of Henry Clay...Southern abolitionist...”shot point-blank during a speech in 1843, he used a Bowie knife to cut off the attacker’s ear and nose and cut out one eye; tried for mayhem and found not guilty!” Sounds like my kind of guy! He probably would have made a more interesting vice-president than Hamlin did at any rate.
Last time I was visiting Kentucky (my dad lives in Lexington) we went to White Hall. Clay was definitely an interesting guy. In addition to the incident you mention, when he was 89 years old, three burglars made the mistake of breaking into the downstairs library where he’d taken the sleeping. When help arrived, they found one man shot dead at Clay’s feet and another out in the yard dead from a bowie knife wound. The third man got away. He’s also alleged to have used a cannon to chase off the sheriff when he came to serve a warrant.