Where this was said
The Duel Itself and Its Disputed Aftermath
At 1:00:25 · chapter starts 56:20
At the signal, two shots fire within seconds. Burr is untouched; Hamilton collapses, hit just above his right hip. The ball ricochets off his rib, tears through his diaphragm and liver, and lodges in his spine. As Burr moves toward him, Van Ness rushes in, opens an umbrella to hide Burr from approaching oarsmen, and hustles him to the boats. Back on the ledge, Hosack finds Hamilton barely conscious — long enough to say 'this is a mortal wound, doctor' before falling insensible. On the boat back across the Hudson, Hamilton revives enough to warn Hosack: 'Take care of that pistol, it is undischarged and still cocked.' Pendleton later claimed Hamilton aimed above Burr's head and never intentionally fired; Van Ness insisted Hamilton fired first and missed. A shattered cedar branch twelve feet above Burr's head, found by Pendleton the next day, supports the deliberate-miss theory. The truth, as Dominic admits, may be unknowable. [1] — Dominic Sandbrook "When Pendleton called 'present,' two shots rang out within seconds. Hamilton fell, hit above the right hip; the ball tore through his diaph…" 56:20 [2] — Dominic Sandbrook "As Hamilton was carried back across the Hudson, he told Doctor Hosack: 'Take care of that pistol, it is undischarged and still cocked.' Thi…" 1:00:50
When Pendleton called 'present,' two shots rang out within seconds. Hamilton fell, hit above the right hip; the ball tore through his diaphragm, liver, and lodged in his spine. But whether Hamilton fired first and deliberately missed, or Burr shot first without warning, remains genuinely contested — and the answer depends entirely on what you think of Burr.
As Hamilton was carried back across the Hudson, he told Doctor Hosack: 'Take care of that pistol, it is undischarged and still cocked.' This moment is central to the historical debate. Hamilton either didn't realize he had accidentally fired the gun in shock — or he genuinely never pulled the trigger at all.
