In the Shadow of History, Burr and Hamilton Duel Once Again

I first learned at the age of 8 that Alexander Hamilton was my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, but it didn’t mean that much to me. When I was growing up in Ohio we didn’t focus on it or talk about it much. When I told other kids about it, they’d turn away. They would say, “OK, now let’s play baseball.”

But there was a medal, a gold Society of Cincinnatus medal, that captured my attention as a boy. It shows an eagle with its wings spread, a wreath over its head, talons clutching arrows and an olive branch.

The medal was designed by Pierre L’Enfant, the great architect of the city of Washington. Apparently George Washington bought eight of them and gave one to each of his top aides, including Alexander Hamilton. And it’s been passed down in my family from eldest son to eldest son for two centuries. I knew that I would get that medal at some time in my life.

Now that it’s mine, I’ve tried to take care of it. I don’t carry it around; I keep it out of the sun. I want it to be safe for my son, whose name is Alex Hamilton, and who will be getting it next.

I haven’t yet spoken to Antonio Burr, with whom I’ll be reenacting the duel. But I don’t have any hard feelings toward him or his family. It was a different era. It’s hard for us today to understand why our ancestors did what they did.

I know Burr was upset because he lost the election for governor of New York, and he wanted to take it out on someone. He was looking for a fight.

And the Burr people will tell you that Hamilton slandered him for 15 years. But so what? Hamilton didn’t get along with Jefferson either. And he didn’t get along with Adams. Hamilton was a bright guy and an ambitious guy, and that combination didn’t sit well with everybody. Hamilton came from nowhere, from St. Croix in the West Indies. He made something of himself; he lived the American dream. It’s true that he could make people angry, but it’s clear that in this case Burr was the aggressor.

Some people think it’s wrong to reenact a duel in which your own relative was shot. Some senior members of the Hamilton family told me they thought it would not be respectful for me to fall down after being shot and lie there dead or convulsing. We finally agreed that I would just go down onto one knee, clutch my side and then be led away by the doctor and my second.

I think it will be pleasant enough between us and the Burrs. There’s no reason to be hostile as long as we stay away from the real issues. If they want to promote their champion, that’s fine. But if they want to do it at the expense of Alexander Hamilton, that doesn’t seem quite right to me. I hope that won’t happen.