Hamilton/Burr dueling info needed!

[Vern Humphrey]

Ellis also says the pistols had a normal 20 lb trigger but had a "concealed device that set a hair trigger" that reduced pull to one-pound "hair trigger". (Someone explain that one to me, please. Not neccessarily doubting; just curious.)

Although it's been alluded to, the pistols had what's called a "single set trigger." The trigger itself is made like an inverted L. When it's pulled the horizonal bar of the L bears on the sear, which fires the gun. That's the heavy pull. When the trigger is first pushed forward, it cocks a spring and engages a secondary sear. Then, just barely touching the trigger (a few ounces pull) trips the secondary sear and the spring provides the power to kick off the sear.

You can buy CZ rifles today with similar triggers. Used as a normal trigger, they have a pull weight measured in pounds. But set them by pushing them forward the pull weight is measured in ounces.

As an aside, my daughter, who works in New York City was looking for an apartment. She found one on the other side of the river, in Weehawkin, New Jersey. She was so excited when she called, she couldn't remember the name of the town. She said, "Anyway, it's where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton."

I said, "You live in The Balls, New Jersey?"

 

[grimjaw]

Any of you guys ever visit the Smithsonian? Right there, for everybody to see, are both pistols: Hamilton was shooting (much to his regret) a Colt Woodsman, First Series; Burr was shooting a .41 rifled pistol.

Is this a joke? I can visit the Smithsonian this week if you'll tell me which building this is in. I'm in DC on business.

jmm

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Any of you guys ever visit the Smithsonian? Right there, for everybody to see, are both pistols: Hamilton was shooting (much to his regret) a Colt Woodsman, First Series; Burr was shooting a .41 rifled pistol.

Is this a joke? I can visit the Smithsonian this week if you'll tell me which building this is in. I'm in DC on business.

It has to be -- very few flintlock Colt Woodsmen were made, and of course they were illegal in New York.

 

[Old Fuff]

Grimjaw:

The Smithsonian has a great firearms collection, but I don't know if it's on display. If you are in Washingon and have the time, call up and see. It would be well worth the trip if they do.

Also the NRA in nearby Virginia has a big collection too.

 

[Rockstar]

I believe the Woodsman still has Hamilton's dried blood on it.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I believe the Woodsman still has Hamilton's dried blood on it.

That's controversial. Some authorities think it's some of the original batch of Ed's Red. The Smithsonian will not allow any to be scraped off for analysis.

 

[Rockstar]

You might be right, Vern; the "blood" thing could just be an urban legend. I'm pretty sure that the mag still has 9 Stingers in it, though.

 

[Justin]

It seems unlikely that Burr would have been able to shoot to wound. I don't have any numbers handy, but it seems that even a flesh wound in the thigh could prove to be quite fatal in the days before penicillin.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You might be right, Vern; the "blood" thing could just be an urban legend. I'm pretty sure that the mag still has 9 Stingers in it, though.

You'd think we could have one of them analyzed to confirm or dispel the rumour that they were smeared with garlic.

 

[TexasCharley]

Murdering Burr

There's not much doubt that the Schuyler faction--including Philip Schuyler himself, Alexander Hamilton, and James Church were out to do Aaron Burr in. After all, he not only posed a threat to them politically, his Manhattan Water Company, which he ostensibly chartered to furnish drinking water to Manhattan Island, was actually a bank charter that broke Schuyler's monopoly on banking in New York. After Church goaded Burr into issuing a challenge and got wounded for his trouble, he made that very risky trip to England to get his pistols rebarrelled and the set triggers installed. These were intended to give Hamilton an advantage in the duel, but, ironically--or perhaps it was poetic justice--those two modifications got him killed. The set trigger caused him to fire prematurely, missing Burr. Eyewitness accounts of the duel say that after he fired, Hamilton "staggered back and looked in apparent disbelief at his pistol." What he was thinking we can only imagine, but it was likely on the order of "Oh, s--t!"
If you're trying to kill somebody you don't shoot 'em in the leg. Of course, considering the nature of the insult that brought on the challenge, Burr may have been trying to turn him from a bull to a steer with that shot and missed his actual target.
A ball from a smoothbore, as lightly as duellers were usually charged--10 to 15 gr--should have caused a flesh wound that would hurt like hell and probably be infected for a while, but shouldn't have killed the guy unless he died of the infection, which was entirely possible. Hamilton lived about 24 hours, which hardly gave an infection time to set in, let alone kill him. However, that blind rifling would have made the weapon shoot a lot harder, even with that smaller charge, which could very easily have damaged Hamilton's femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death. That seems likely what happened, but if it had severed the artery he'd have been dead in minutes. Since it took him about 24 hours to die, there was probably a small hole in the artery that was just big enough that it couldn't scab over.
As for Hamilton's letter to his son about not believing in dueling, that has to be a case of CYAWP. He was out to kill Aaron Burr--a second try, no less--and he thought he had the stuff to do it with. Since dueling was illegal, that letter, had he killed Burr, would have been used in his defense in court.
TexasCharley