Hamilton, Burr Kin to Re-Enact Duel

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. – The bitter grudge between their ancestors has long faded, but descendants of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr are squaring off again Sunday with pistols in hand.

Douglas Hamilton, a fifth-great-grandson of Hamilton, and Antonio Burr, a descendant of Burr’s cousin, were set to re-enact the July 11, 1804 duel that left Hamilton mortally wounded and a sitting vice president’s reputation sullied.

More than 1,000 people were expected to attend the re-enactment near the Hudson River, about a quarter-mile west of the actual duel site, which no longer exists. Sixty descendants of Hamilton are to attend, as are 40 members of the Aaron Burr Association.

Hamilton, a signer of the Constitution and the nation’s first treasury secretary, had a simmering feud with his longtime rival Burr, the vice president under Thomas Jefferson.

When Burr ran for governor of New York in early 1804, Hamilton denounced him as untrustworthy. Burr lost. Burr later complained about a newspaper article that reported Hamilton had expressed a “despicable opinion” of him.

Dissatisfied with Hamilton’s explanation, Burr challenged him to the duel.

Shot by Burr, Hamilton returned to New York, where he died the next day. Burr was indicted on murder charges in New York and New Jersey but was never tried, and finished his term as vice president in 1805.

For the re-enactment, Douglas Hamilton and Antonio Burr will don period costumes, arrive at the riverbank by rowboat with their entourages, as their ancestors had, then pace off. The men will fire replicas of the .54-caliber pistols, then Douglas Hamilton will feign the historic hip wound and go down on one knee.

Afterwards, Douglas Hamilton said, they will have a beer together.