Alexander Hamilton was dying. It was July 11, 1804. The morning air at Weehawken, New Jersey, was thick with humidity and the smell of gunpowder. He lay on the ground, his liver shattered by a lead ball from Aaron Burr’s pistol. As his physician, David Hosack, rushed toward him, Hamilton supposedly muttered something about his pistol still being loaded. He warned the doctor to be careful. This small, frantic moment has fueled two centuries of debate: Did Hamilton aim at the sky on purpose, or did he just miss?
If you’ve seen the Broadway musical, you know the "intentional miss" is the emotional climax of the show. Lin-Manuel Miranda paints Hamilton as a tragic hero who chooses to "throw away his shot" to preserve his honor without becoming a murderer. It’s a beautiful piece of storytelling. Honestly, though, the real history is way messier. It involves hair-trigger technology, conflicting eyewitness accounts, and a weirdly specific code of conduct called the Code Duello.
History isn't a neat script. To understand what really happened on that ledge overlooking the Hudson River, you have to look at the mechanical specs of the guns and the political desperation of the men holding them.
The Case for the Deliberate Miss
There is a lot of evidence suggesting Hamilton never intended to hit Aaron Burr. In the days leading up to the duel, Hamilton was busy. He wasn't practicing his marksmanship; he was writing. He penned a "statement on impelling motives" which basically functioned as a legal and moral defense of his decision to engage in a "delope."
A delope is a fancy French dueling term. It means "to throw away." Essentially, a duelist would fire into the air or the ground to show they weren't a coward, but also that they weren't a killer.
Hamilton's own words are the strongest proof here. He wrote that he wanted to "reserve his first fire" and even his second, hoping that Burr would realize the futility of the whole thing. He was a man of deep, if complicated, religious conviction. By 1804, he had lost his eldest son, Philip, in a duel on the exact same spot three years prior. Philip had also been told to throw away his shot. He did. And he died for it.
You'd think that would make Hamilton want to fire straight at Burr. But many historians, like Ron Chernow, argue it did the opposite. It made the act of killing even more abhorrent to him.
The Second's Statement
After the shots rang out, the "seconds"—the guys there to make sure the duel followed the rules—had to reconcile what they saw. Nathaniel Pendleton, Hamilton’s second, was adamant. He claimed Hamilton didn't just fire randomly; he fired high into the cedar trees. When Pendleton checked the pistol later, he found it was still cocked, but it had discharged.
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The "Secret" Hair Trigger Scandal
Now, here is where it gets spicy. The pistols used that day weren't just any guns. They were a pair of .54 caliber Wogdon & Barton dueling pistols owned by Hamilton’s brother-in-law, John Barker Church. They were the same ones used in Philip's fatal duel.
In the 1970s, the Smithsonian and various experts examined these pistols. They found something Hamilton might have neglected to mention to Burr: a hidden hair trigger.
- Standard Trigger: Requires about 10-12 pounds of pressure to fire.
- Hair Trigger: Can be set to fire with just a pound or two of pressure.
If Hamilton set that hair trigger, it changes the narrative completely. Why set a hair trigger if you plan to fire into the clouds? Some argue he wanted the advantage of a faster shot. Others think he was just a gearhead who liked the best tech available. But there's a darker possibility. If he had the hair trigger set and flinched—perhaps because he saw Burr leveling his gun—the pistol could have gone off prematurely.
If the gun went off by accident because of a sensitive trigger, then the answer to "did Hamilton aim at the sky" is: he might have, but his finger moved before his brain did.
What Aaron Burr Saw
Burr's perspective is often ignored because, well, he’s the villain of the story. But Burr didn't walk away feeling like he’d won a fair fight. He was professionally and socially ruined.
Burr and his second, William P. Van Ness, told a very different story. They claimed Hamilton took a long time to aim. They said he leveled his pistol, squinted through his glasses (which he actually put on specifically to see better), and seemed very much like a man trying to hit a target.
In Burr’s mind, Hamilton fired first and missed. Burr fired second and hit. According to the rules of the time, that was just a duel. Burr spent the rest of his life being followed by the ghost of a man everyone decided was a martyr. He famously said, years later, "Hamilton was a man of the world," implying that no "man of the world" would be stupid enough to stand in front of a loaded gun and fire into the air.
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The Physics of the Bullet
We have to look at where the bullets went. Hamilton’s shot hit a branch about 12 feet off the ground and four feet wide of where Burr was standing.
- The Angle: A 12-foot-high hit at a distance of only 10 paces (about 20-30 feet) is a significant upward angle.
- The Velocity: The bullet had enough force to snap a thick branch.
- The Recoil: Black powder pistols have a massive "kick."
If Hamilton fired as he was being hit, the jerk of his body would naturally pull the barrel upward. This is a common phenomenon in ballistics. When someone is shot in the torso, their muscles contract violently. If Hamilton's finger was already on the trigger, the impact of Burr’s bullet could have caused the reflexive discharge into the trees.
So, did Hamilton aim at the sky? Or did Burr’s bullet push his aim there?
The Moral Complexity of 1804
To us, dueling is insane. It's two dudes in tights shooting each other over an insult. But for Hamilton, it was about "political capital." He felt that if he refused the duel, he’d be branded a coward and his voice in the Federalist party would be silenced forever.
He was trapped. He had to show up to keep his career, but he didn't want to kill Burr because it would ruin his soul. This middle ground—showing up but not shooting to kill—was a recognized, albeit dangerous, social maneuver.
It’s also worth noting that the glasses Hamilton put on are a huge point of contention. Why put on your spectacles if you're just going to fire at a tree? Van Ness argued this proved "malicious intent." But Hamilton’s supporters said he just wanted to be sure where Burr was so he wouldn't accidentally hit him.
The Impact of the "Intentional Miss" Myth
Whether or not it's true, the idea that Hamilton aimed at the sky shaped American history. It turned a polarizing, often-hated politician into a fallen saint. It made Burr a pariah who eventually fled to the West and got caught up in a weird treason plot.
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If Hamilton had fired and missed low, or if he had hit Burr, the Federalist party might have survived longer. Instead, the duel effectively ended the era of the Founding Fathers being the primary movers of American politics, giving way to the Jacksonian era.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think this was a sudden "heat of the moment" fight. It wasn't. They exchanged letters for a month. They attended the same Fourth of July party just days before the duel. Hamilton even sang a song. They were civil.
The question of "did Hamilton aim at the sky" isn't just about a physical action. It's about his legacy. If he aimed to kill and missed, he’s a failure. If he aimed at the sky and died, he’s a hero.
The Verdict?
We will never know for 100% certain. However, the preponderance of evidence—his written "apologia," his son’s history, and the height of the bullet hole—suggests that Hamilton did indeed intend to fire a non-lethal shot. Whether he "aimed at the sky" or just "away" is a semantic distinction.
The tragedy is that Aaron Burr didn't get the memo. Or, more likely, Burr felt that Hamilton had spent years destroying his reputation through whispers and letters, and a "delope" wasn't going to settle the debt.
Next Steps for History Buffs
- Visit the Site: You can actually go to Weehawken, New Jersey. There’s a monument and a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline. It’s much smaller than you’d imagine.
- Read the Letters: Look up the "Hamilton-Burr Correspondence" on the National Archives website. The cold, formal tone of their letters is chilling.
- Check the Pistols: If you're ever in New York, the actual pistols are owned by JPMorgan Chase (as a successor to the bank Burr founded). They are occasionally put on public display.
- Analyze the Code: Research the Code Duello. Understanding the rules of "satisfaction" explains why neither man felt he could just walk away.