Hamilton, Burr Duel Again, 200 Years Later
The grudge between their ancestors has faded, but descendants of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr met to reenact the July 11, 1804, duel that mortally wounded Hamilton.
Antonio Burr, a descendant of Burr’s cousin, arrived by rowboat in period costume and fired a model of the .54-caliber pistol that fatally injured Hamilton. Douglas Hamilton, a fifth-great-grandson of Hamilton, feigned the historic hip wound.
The event in Weehawken near the Hudson River was the families’ first meeting in 200 years.
Hamilton, a signer of the Constitution and the nation’s first Treasury secretary, had a simmering feud with longtime rival Burr, vice president under Thomas Jefferson. Burr challenged Hamilton to the duel.
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