One Shot: Hamilton - Burr Duel Site

Weehawken New Jersey Dueling grounds that hosted the famous duel between frenemies Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, which lead to Hamilton's death on July 11, 1804. 

On July 11, 1804 on the ledge on the cliffs of the Palisades on the Weehawken shore, longtime frenemies Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton hosted a duel that would lead to the end of Hamilton’s life.

The “original dueling grounds were located somewhere below the cliffs where the monument now stands, but the original site no longer exists due to development of the railroad line in 1870”. Despite the lack of humor in dueling, I can’t help but laugh at the idea that historians can simply pick random locations and items to become memorialized forever. For instance, Plymouth Rock is just some random rock in a ditch in Massachusetts, and now, Hamilton and Burr’s dueling ground is a railroad.

In the musical, the duel scene is a very intense moment that shows the building tensions of both characters. audiences are able to get into the thoughts of both Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton leading up to the duel.

Historians are known to be critical of this scene due to the lack of reliable knowledge about this occurrence. It is clear that in “The World was Wide Enough” Miranda combines a deep character understanding with a creative liberty that leaves audiences holding their breath, regardless of the fact that we know exactly what is going to happen.

This song creates a compelling amount of empathy for Alexander Hamilton, a compassion that some historians would strongly disagree with. Although he is written as a passionate, caring individual, many historians still regard Hamilton to be an anti-immigration, slave-owning elitist.

There is much debate concerning the amount of creative liberty that Miranda took in writing Hamilton; but ultimately there is no way for us to know what Hamilton thought, or what he felt.

I understand why many people are upset about the glorification the founding father, but stand by Miranda’s desire to portray an admirable historical figure in the image of present day America.

The mechanics of the duel itself paint Hamilton the hero, and therefore the receiver of the Weehawken duel-site memorial tribute. After the duel Hamilton was painted a hero. This can be attributed to the fact that Hamilton aimed his gun in the air, as opposed to shooting at Burr.

This image remains as Hamilton’s logo and Playbill.

It is in this image that Hamilton is memorialized and remember forever, standing on top of a stages star. The image stands for the integrity that Hamilton had, even when faced against death.

Personally, I think that this image much better represents Hamilton than a bust, or ordinary statue. It shows confidence. It shows vulnerability. It shows us that honor is more important than anything else. It shows us was Hamilton valued. His image…

…and how perfectly that image has been preserved.