A war of words soon ensued in the St. Louis press in the form of letters to the editor. In one such letter, Biddle called Pettis "a dish of skimmed milk", to which Pettis responded by questioning Biddle's manhood. Pettis was reelected to U.S. Congress in November 1830, but the feud between the two refused to die. Things escalated dramatically on July 9, 1831, when Thomas Biddle heard that an ill Pettis was resting in a St. Louis hotel. Biddle attacked Pettis in his room, beating him severely with a cowhide whip until other hotel guests intervened.