The Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton duel was between two prominent American politicians – sitting Vice President Burr and the former Secretary of Treasury Hamilton. Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton who was carried to the home of William Bayard on the Manhattan shore. There Hamilton died at 2 am on July 12, 1804.
In the early morning hours of July 11, 1804, Burr and Hamilton departed by separate boats from Manhattan and rowed across the Hudson River to a spot known as the Heights of Weehawken in New Jersey, a popular dueling ground. Burr reached the site first and Hamilton arrived minutes later. Because he had been challenged, Hamilton had choice of both weapon and position.
Two shots were fired with Hamilton firing first and into the air. Burr returned fire and hit Hamilton in the lower abdomen above the right hip. There was considerable damage to his internal organs. It is entirely uncertain which principal fired first. Hamilton was buried in the Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in Manhattan. Burr was charged with murder in New York and New Jersey but neither charge reached trial. He fled to South Carolina where his daughter lived with her family but soon returned to Washington, D.C. to serve out the rest of Vice Presidency term.
