Aaron Burr: The Nearly Forgotten Man

By Tom Morrow

If you were asked who President Thomas Jefferson’s vice president was, no doubt many would run to a search engine for the answer — few would know it was Aaron Burr.
He’s the guy who shot the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. But, other than that fact, few history books go into much detail about the man until you get into college-level history books. Who was he?
Hamilton prominently takes his place in history as founder of what today is the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Mint, and to keep him before the public eye, Hamilton has his picture on the $10 bill and is the star on the Broadway musical. Conversely, Burr’s bio is hard to find in most history tomes. It all goes back to the Burr-Hamilton duel of 1807.
During the Battle for Quebec, Burr served as a colonel under Gen. Benedict Arnold — a name that’s remembered as a traitor, not as a soldier. In that futile attempt to take Canada away from the British, Colonel Burr distinguished himself earning a place on Gen. George Washington’s command staff. But, after two weeks, Burr was disillusioned and asked for a transfer back with the troops.
During the Battle of New York Burr saved an entire brigade from capture which, ironically, included Colonel Alexander Hamilton. In spite of distinguishing himself during that battle, Washington was still miffed at Burr because he had rebuffed the command staff. Washington ignored Burr’s heroic actions at New York, a snub that led to an estrangement between the two men which never was completely mended.
But Burr continued to advance in rank. In 1777, he was promoted and assumed command of a regiment and during the harsh winter at Valley Forge, Burr led a small unit guarding an isolated pass, driving back an attempted mutiny by Colonial troops who were trying to escape the bitter cold.
In 1779, Burr had to leave the Army due to bad health, but he remained active in the War. Somewhat forgiven, he was assigned by Washington to perform occasional intelligence missions. During one of those missions, Burr rallied a group of Yale students in New Haven, Conn., to aid a small unit of Colonial soldiers in a skirmish with the British. This action repelled the British advance, forcing the red coats to retreat.
After the war, in 1782, Burr was admitted to the New York bar. Then entering politics, he was twice-elected to the New York state Assembly and later appointed New York Attorney General. In 1786, Burr was selected to be a U.S. senator.
In those days, the office of President was elected by the Senate. In 1800, Burr was pitted against Thomas Jefferson, but he lost the presidency by one vote. Second-place finishers were relegated to the office of Vice President. Because of a series of scurrilous, behind-the-scenes maneuvering by Hamilton, after thirty-some ballots, Jefferson won the presidency. Burr discovered what happened and blamed Hamilton for his not becoming president. Hamilton, a vindictive man, “disliked” Jefferson, but he “hated” Burr. An early example of “… the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
In banking the two men were highly successful. Burr founded the Bank of Manhattan, which today is JP Morgan-Chase. Hamilton founded the rival Bank of New York, making the two men powerful, but bitter political and business competitors.
What exactly happened that triggered the long-time riff between the two men has been much conjecture and lost to the ages. However, it’s the duel that has relegated Burr to near-obscurity. One of the reasons for the duel could have been Hamilton’s vicious and mostly untrue rumors cleverly placed with newspaper columnists, business and social leaders.
As Vice President, Burr was widowed and lived with his daughter and husband. Hamilton reportedly “suggested” to newspaper columnists that Burr was so wicked he committed incest with his daughter. Enraged, Burr challenged the Treasury Secretary to a duel across the river in Weehawken, N.J., where such activity was legal. Reportedly, Hamilton had planned to only fire his pistol, aiming above Burr’s head. The vice president had no such intention. Hamilton was mortally wounded by Burr’s deadly aim, dying a day later. Hamilton’s death destroyed Burr’s political and business reputation.
Years later, Burr traveled West to embark upon what was an “alleged” attempt to form a new country and was charged with treason by the Federal government. Burr eventually was acquitted.
Burr spent the remainder of his life in obscurity, practicing law in New York. He died at age 80, on Sept. 14, 1836, as a result of a debilitating stroke. Burr was buried near his father in Princeton, New Jersey.
Aaron Burr was a most-interesting character who has been nearly lost between the pages of America’s early founding and Revolutionary War history.
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