Hamilton Vs. Burr Duel OTD

July 11, 1804

218 Years Ago Today: The Duel

Alexander Hamilton

Aaron Burr

Who Lives, Who Dies,
Who Tells The Story.

Who & What

• Who: Aaron Burr was vice president of the United States under President Jefferson. Alexander Hamilton was a “Founding Father,” the first U.S. treasury secretary, and a powerful political figure. Both were veterans of the Revolutionary War.
• What: A duel. Dueling was technically illegal in both New York and New Jersey, but New Jersey had a reputation for more leniency.

Where & When

• Where: Weehawken, New Jersey (across the Hudson River from New York City) in the early morning hours of July 11, 1804.
• When: Hamilton and Burr left New York City by boats from separate docks at 5 a.m., each rowed by four men across the Hudson River.

Why?

• No one knows exactly what led to the duel.
• Over the years, their political differences put them on a collision course. Hamilton supported Jefferson in the election of 1800 (when Jefferson defeated Burr for the presidency), and also supported Burr’s opponent for NY governor.
• According to a June 1804 letter from Hamilton to Burr, Burr had asked Hamilton whether he had in fact made disparaging remarks about Burr, and sought an explanation or denial. Hamilton wrote in response that he could neither confirm nor deny the remarks.

The Night Before

“But you had rather I should die innocent than live guilty … God’s Will be done. The will of a merciful God must be good.”

Alexander Hamilton in a letter to his wife, Elizabeth (Eliza), the night before his duel to Aaron Burr — in which he insinuates he doesn’t want to kill Burr. Conflicting accounts exist of who shot first and whether Hamilton missed on purpose.

The Day After

"… I have no ill will against Col. Burr. I met him with a fixed resolution to do him no harm. I forgive all that happened."

Episcopal bishop of New York Benjamin Moore wrote an account of the evening of July 12, 1804, relaying what Hamilton said before he died at 2 o’clock that afternoon. Moore delivered communion to Hamilton before his death.

“Let those who are disposed to justify the practice of duelling, be induced, by this simple narrative, to view with abhorrence that custom which has occasioned in irreparable loss to a worthy and most afflicted family: which has deprived his friends of a beloved companion, his profession of one of its brightest ornaments, and his country of a great statesman and a real patriot.”

Benjamin Moore; July 12, 1804

Burr continued to serve as the United States’ third vice president until 1805. In 1807, he was tried and acquitted of treason. Over 200 years later, the Broadway musical “Hamilton” put the two men back into the spotlight again in their former home of New York City.

The play debuted in August of 2015 and is currently still showing. Across the 41 Broadway theatres in NY, there have been a total of 2,235 “Hamilton” performances (and counting).