AN INSULT COULD SOMETIMES BECOME A MATTER of life and death. If a man insulted the honor of another—say, by using words like rascal, scoundrel, or impertinent puppy—this was often seen as the first step of a formal fight, possibly to the death.
The showdown wouldn’t happen immediately.
Duels followed a certain set of rules, and they weren’t necessarily meant to kill or even wound. Rather, the purpose was to restore honor after an insult. This meant the conflict might be headed off with an apology negotiated by representatives of each man, who acted as seconds.
The Code Duello of 1777 outlined the steps and rules:
• No challenges were to be delivered at night unless the offending party planned to leave the area before morning.
• The challenged man could choose his own weapon, but the challenger could decline it.
• The challenged man also chose the dueling ground, while the challenger chose the firing distance.
• The seconds determined the time and terms of firing the weapons.
• The seconds loaded the pistols in each other’s presence, unless they gave each other their word they’ve done so correctly.
• The duelers worked together to determine what signal, if any, should be given to fire.
• A misfire counted as a shot.
• Seconds had to try to reconcile the parties before their meeting for the duel, or after shots were fired.
• A wound that agitated the nerves and made a man’s hands shake would end the duel.
• If the seconds disagreed and decided to duel themselves, it had to be at the same time, and at right angles to their principals.
The guns that killed both Alexander and Philip Hamilton were returned to John Church. He handed them down to his grandson. Eventually, they were purchased by JP Morgan Chase bank, which, once upon a time, was called the Manhattan Company when it was founded, through trickery, by Aaron Burr.