Hamilton-Burr Duel Site...

100 Days of The Federalist Papers; March 1-May 31, 2026

100 Days of The Federalist Papers

March 1-May 31, 2026

March 15, 2026

The shocking and spectacular location where the Vice President of the US killed in a duel the first Secretary of the Treasury… Which is quite unbelievable… Even for me - and I teach an entire class on dueling in literature - since Russian novels such as Eugene Onegin, The Hero of Our Time, Fathers and Sons, War and Peace, and Brothers Karamazov all contain duel scenes - which occur in dozens of 19th century novels - from Dumas’ The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo to Stendhal’s The Red and the Black and Flaubert’s Sentimental Education…

“The World Was Wide Enough”…

“THE HAMILTON- BURR DUEL

JULY 11, 1804

The most famous duel in American history took place on this date at the dueling grounds in Wechawken between political rivals, General Alexander Hamilton and sitting Vice-President of the United States, Colonel Aaron Burr. Hamilton fell, mortally wounded, and died the next day in New York City. Tragically, Hamilton’s son Philip had also met his death here in a duel in 1801.

Dedicated on July 11, 2004, the 200th Anniversary of the Duel.”

“WEEHAWKEN DUELING GROUNDS

1700’s - 1840’s

Somewhere below this site, on a wooded ledge twenty feet above the Hudson River, lay the dueling grounds. Among the many known and unknown delists who fought here were Governor of New York DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828), Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), Vice-President Aaron Burr (1756-1836), and U.S. Navy Commodore Oliver Perry (1785-1819). All came to Weehawken to defend their honor according to the custom of the day.

Dedicated on July 11, 2004, the 200th Anniversary of the Hamilton-Burr Duel.”