Philip Hamilton

Not to be confused with Phillip Hamilton.

Philip Hamilton, from The Intimate Life of Alexander Hamilton

Philip Hamilton (January 22, 1782 – November 23, 1801) was the first son of Alexander Hamilton, first Treasury secretary of the United States. He was a graduate of Columbia College. As a pupil, University scholars were said to have compared his virtue and knowledge to that of his father, already a renowned alumnus.

Death

Philip was killed in 1801 in a duel with George I. Eacker, whom he had publicly called out in the middle of a Manhattan theatre after Eacker gave a speech during the Fourth of July readings at Columbia University that criticized his father. The battle took place in Weehawken, New Jersey, the same place his father would later be shot by Aaron Burr. Acquaintances claim that Alexander Hamilton had reportedly counseled his son before the duel to discharge his weapon in the air before his opponent to settle the dispute with honor.

For the first minute of the duel, neither Eacker nor Hamilton lifted their pistols. At length, Eacker lifted his pistol, and young Hamilton followed suit. George Eacker then shot Philip Hamilton, the bullet entering above his right hip and lodging in his left arm. Philip too discharged his weapon, but this may have been from an involuntary spasm.

Upon hearing that his son had been shot, Alexander Hamilton was said to have collapsed out of shock. Philip Hamilton died of an infection 14 hours after the duel, his mother, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and father at his side. His death was reported to be long and painful, ending in the home of his aunt and uncle, John Barker Church and Angelica Schuyler Church. Philip was tended to by Dr. David Hosack, who would later oversee the care of Alexander Hamilton following his fatal duel in 1804. He was nineteen years of age at the time of death.

In popular culture

In the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton, the role of Philip was originated by Anthony Ramos.