With the house complete, in 1800 Van Ness returned to elective office. This time he served a term in the State Senate; the following year he retired from his position in the militia. After he returned to private life, Maizefield played a bit part in the aftermath of one America's early 19th-century political scandals. In 1804, Van Ness's nephew William, an associate and political ally of Vice President Aaron Burr, carried between Burr and Alexander Hamilton, a fierce opponent of Burr's possible bid for the presidency. In the letters, Burr demanded an apology and explanation from Hamilton for remarks about Burr attributed to him at a Claverack dinner the previous year. When Hamilton's answers proved insufficient to Burr, he instead demanded satisfaction. Van Ness was Burr's second in the ensuing duel, which took place on a midsummer morning on the banks of the Hudson River in what is now Weehawken, New Jersey, near their homes in Manhattan. Burr's shot killed Hamilton, and Van Ness hid Burr for a time afterward at Maizefield.