HISTORIC EVENT Descendants will re-enact Hamilton-Burr duel

The political rivals dueled in 1804, and Alexander Hamilton got killed.
WEEHAWKEN, N.J. (AP) -- Douglas Hamilton plans to pay tribute to the family name, even if it means losing -- again.
Next month, Hamilton, a fifth great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton from Columbus, Ohio, will stand in for his founding father ancestor when the Weehawken Historical Commission re-enacts the July 11, 1804, duel with Aaron Burr that left Hamilton mortally wounded.
Antonio Burr, a descendant of Aaron Burr's cousin, will stand in for his equally famous ancestor. There are no direct descendants of Aaron Burr.
"Some people in the family questioned re-enacting somebody getting shot, but I have received assurance the re-enactment will be done with taste. We are not there to commemorate somebody getting shot, we are commemorating Hamilton and Burr's contribution to America 200 years ago," Douglas Hamilton, 51, told The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark.
Hamilton is an IBM sales representative. Burr, also 51, is a forensic psychologist who practices in Hoboken.
"As a child, I learned I was a descendant of an old American family that dated back to the Revolution, and that we were connected to this event of great historical purpose," Burr said.
Roles in history
At the time of the duel, Alexander Hamilton, who helped shape the U.S. Constitution, was a prominent New York lawyer and had served as the fledgling nation's first treasurer.
Burr, who was born in Newark and attended what is now Princeton University, was vice president under Thomas Jefferson thanks to a tie in the Electoral College in the 1800 presidential election. It was resolved by a vote in the House of Representatives that handed Jefferson the presidency.
Hamilton and Burr were longtime political rivals, and Hamilton helped elect Jefferson.
The bad blood grew worse when Burr ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York in early 1804. He wrongly blamed Hamilton for the loss after reading a newspaper account that said Hamilton had spoken ill of him during the campaign.
Fateful challenge
Burr then challenged Hamilton to the duel, and the pair secretly squared off at the base of the Weehawken Palisades, a location that became popular for dueling because of its proximity to New York, where the practice had been outlawed.
From 10 yards away the men fired .56-caliber pistols. Burr's shot struck Hamilton in the right side, wounding him. He died the next day in New York.
An unscathed Burr fled by boat to Perth Amboy and on through southern New Jersey to avoid prosecution. He returned to Washington, where he completed his term in March 1805.
For the re-enactment, the modern-day Hamilton and Burr will don period dress and face off in Lincoln Harbor Park.
Lauren Sherman, a co-chair of the bicentennial event, said the re-enactment has attracted the attention of history groups nationwide. Other descendants of the combatants are expected to attend, she said.