Yes, the caning of Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks. It was because there was such a heated rift between the north and the south that representative Brooks thought it would be more fitting to discipline his opponent with a cane used to beat an unruly dog than to challenge him to a duel, as was the norm at that time. He beat Sumner repeatedly with the cane, then calmly walked away like a total gangsta - definitely one of the most memorable stories from my high school history class.

It's worth noting that not too long after that incident, there was a civil war...