This is because the rules ofcode duellodictated absolute secrecyand because dueling was illegal.
Yes, even in New Jersey.
A Despicable Inciting Incident
Despicable is a big word with lots of connotations.
None of them good.
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It didnt work out, no doubt to Hamiltons relief.
It wouldnt be the first time.
And they almost came to settling their differences with an interview then.
Jefferson was by far not so dangerous a man, Hamilton wrote.
As to Burr, there is nothing in his favour.
His private character is not defended by his most partial friends.
He is bankrupt beyond redemption except by the plunder of his country.
His public principles have no other spring than his own aggrandizement…
If he can he will certainly disturb our institutions to secure hispersonal powerand with itwealth.
He anticipated me by voluntarily coming forward and making apologies and concessions, Burr said years later.
It apparently did not.
It must hang together as long as it can be made to.
Conversely, as Burr switched to the party, he would not repudiate the idea when it was presented.
So goes his honor, so goes America.
[Despicable] admits of infinite shades, from the very light to the very dark, Hamilton wrote.
How am I to judge of the degree intended?
If not, I can only regret the circumstance and must abide the consequences.
(Yes, a New York judge participated in an illegal duel across the Hudson River.)
So on June 27 Burr cut off further communication and challenged Hamilton to a duel in Weekhawken.
There Hamilton and Burr, keeping up appearances, sat at the same table on the countrys birthday.
But maybe he was reflective.
Burr, conversely, kept to himself during these waning days.
Yet most significant about these days is Hamilton concluding he would not shoot Burr.
The question of how long that pause might have beenand if it occurredis debated to this day.
Normally, two doctors would be expected but it was agreed Hosack would be enough.
With both men present, Hamilton as the challenged had the right to pick his position.
Once they agreed, Pendleton would shout present, which was the signal they could both fire at will.
If the other man still did not fire, he lost his turn.
As the challenged, Hamilton had the right to choose the weapons brought to Weehawken.
The guns, produced in London, were a gaudy affair of brass barrels and gold mountings.
Their extremely large .54-caliber rounds had low accuracyas any dueling pistol shouldbut were extremely dangerous in close quarters.
Stop, he said.
In certain states of the light, one requires glasses.
After Hamilton was satisfied with his vision, the duel commenced.
How much time elapsed between those gunshots, and who fired first, is a different matter.
Even Pendleton conceded when he saw Burr walking toward the fallen, he had an expression of regret.
However, Burrs Second, Van Ness, would not allow him to reach Hamilton.
Rather the oarsmen were approaching.
For his part, Hosack suspected Hamilton would be dead before they reached Manhattan.
That turned out to be inaccurate.
Upon reaching New York, Hamilton was rushed to friend and loyalist James Baynards house.
He slowly died in Baynards mansion over the next 30 hours.
So Who Shot First?
In the musicalHamilton, the events happen very cleanly and unequivocally.
Burr fires a split second before Hamilton, who is holding his pistol directly up to the sky.
Burr cries out an anguished wait!
as he realizes too late his rival threw away his shot.
Its a beautiful scene that errs on the Hamiltonian/Pendleton version of events.
However, the actual moment was not so clear cut.
One newspaper said Burrs silk black suit was crafted in such a way that it was in essence bulletproof.
Others compared Burr to Benedict Arnold.
A later wax recreation literally depicted it as an ambush, with Burr shooting Hamilton while hiding behind bushes.
This version would explain why Hamilton was confused on the boat ride about his pistol still being loaded.
Van Ness, meanwhile, contended Hamilton shot first at Burr and missed.
Ellis further suggests Hamilton was confused on the boat because of possible blood loss and trauma.
Ellis contends that it is at least possible Burr mightve wished to only lightly injure Hamilton.
He notes only a second or two probably passed between shots.
He also cites a story a friend recorded of Burr returning to Weehawken 25 years later.
Within a day, he fled New York and did not stop until he reached Georgia.
But then asHamiltons version of Burr notes, History obliterates.
And every picture it paints, it paints me in all my mistakes.
I survived but I paid for it.
