Middletown transcript., 1871-06-17
ilopul;w At(iatr(lanp.
THE BURR-HAMILT0N DUEL.

AIcN1Nucr ithil!IluH hul aaEnl buIT
met and fought on little piece Of ground
at Wcrkawkcn, July II, 1871. ilamil.
ton fell, and Burr escaped unhurt to bear
for more than ihir,y ycnrs light OF OPP
probrium ten thousand times worse than
death 1t was indeed the latter who per-
ished rather than The former, for while the
memory of Hamilton is cherished by mil
lions of admiring countrymcn, Bntr's name
and fame have been buried beneath such
a mcuutain of reproach and contumc.; that
all the waters of the ocean will not wash
them clean again lie went 10 nc fatal
Iicld. that bright summer morning, Vice
President of the United States. one Of the
most brilliant aud daring leaders Of great
party. the ii nf society, the centre of n
circle of friends VIII, we're to him what the
Tenth Legion was 10 Caesar a rising nam,
with past behind him which gave no
cause for shame, aud with future before
him full If glorious promise lie went
back lu his home. tea !. ma later, lead
or no murr; doomed - such u fearful re-
,ribu,un as i ,el inm visited en any In.
man being in tho world set nrart, ns il
were, as mark for the shafts Of nycnging
Nemesis; monument upon which the
storms of pi,ilr,s hate were IN beat iorcy-
er. Had il rot been for the elements
which this duel evoked, Burr would have
never .akcl his last hope on the Mexican
iililustcring scheme never have stood
trial for TREASON where ucquit,al proved
more terrible than conviction could have
been, never wandc.od = penniless outcas'
for years in foreign land. never returned
to drag cut n miserable existence among
those who stunned the chief they once n
dercd: rover gone To his crave in Prince
ton churel.yard q SHIT, ,al blasted old
man. with unl u faithful lew DO poor n
10 do him reverence hy casting the clnds
of tie ysllcy upon hi- breast Better, in
tintely better. Tor Burr had he never leit
the shore of NeehaNkrn alive; aud yet,
though his mis;orlunes aud mlsdecds may
be traced directly TO that event, there pro-
badly never we're two men 50 inevitably
hound to fight as Hamilton aud himself in
1904 aud never duel conducted from
beginning to end more strictly in accord
ancc with the pctniciVus code Of honor
which then prevGilcJ.
Ilaniltna's affecting paper, 50 familiar
to all. las measurahly blinded the jndg-
ment of tn unihiu,;iug and unexamining
portion Of the public, aud the impression
is very generally entyrlained that he was,
by practice us wcll as profession. opposed
to the daelln and was sacrificed an nno-
cent victim on the altar of private renge-
ancc. Tie ficls n the case do not bear
out his theory. Hamilton had, during
the revolution. acted as second to Col.
I.aurens in duel with broker officer,
and scarcely a year previous to the meet
ing which terminated his own life his cld-
est son had been slain on the so-callcd
field Of honor. II dnelling was wrong
ut the time he fough, Barr, it certainly
was not right when he seconded LarreGs
or when his boy when his boy was brought
home corpse Had Hamilton repudia-
ted the obligations Of the code then, he
might have been instrumental in abolish
ing that relic of barbarism without throw
ing away his own priceless life. or send
ing his slayer forth branded like Cain.
The simple truth is that Humi!toa lacked
moral courage; us brave . man as ever
drew a sword, he yet was not brave G.
noueh to refuse challenge. aud with the
perfect knowledge of his false position he
went to his death. Nor was the proyoca.
,ion insufficient to justify Burr's action in
tho premises, II estimated by the social
usage which at tina, day regulated inter-
course between gentlemen. From the ter
mination Of tie revolutionary struggle,
and even before, the men were rivals; ri
walls in love. 10 war and in politics. Ham
ilton, with his superior talents. backed BY
the pnrtiali,y Of Washington and his alli-
ancc with n family Of high position aud in
Aucnce. was drawing ahead Of Burr in the
race Of ambition. md should have been
content with bis success. But he was not
There IL no doubt--for be virtually oc-
knowlcdgcd as much himself-that he was
accustomsd to apeak Of Burr 10 very OBJ
jectionable tcru'r, and that be did finally