George Eacker
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George I. Eacker ( 1774 – January 4, 1804) was a New York lawyer. He is best known for having fatally shot
Philip Hamilton Philip Hamilton (January 22, 1782 – November 24, 1801) was the eldest child of Alexander Hamilton (the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. He died at age 19, fatally ...
, the eldest son of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
and
Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton Elizabeth Hamilton (née Schuyler ; August 9, 1757 – November 9, 1854) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was the wife of Founding Fathers of the United States, American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and was a passionat ...
, in a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...
on November 23, 1801, in
Weehawken Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking ...
, New Jersey.


Early life and education

Eacker was born in
Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.
in what was then the colonial-era
Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
. He was the son of Jacob Eacker, a German immigrant who fought in the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
and served as a county judge and a member of the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
, and Anna Margaret Finck, daughter of Andreas Finck and the sister of Andrew Fink Jr, who rose to the rank of Major during the war. George had one younger brother, Jacob I., and four sisters. He attended a preparatory school in
Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...
, and graduated from Columbia College in 1793. He then studied law under Henry Brockholst Livingston, a future
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a Justice (title), justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the J ...
.


Career

Eacker was admitted to the New York bar at 21 and quickly established himself as one of New York City’s premier attorneys. He soon built his practice in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
into a lucrative business, which allowed him to take a house on
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
and to employ a married couple as his valet and housekeeper. He gained popularity in New York City's well-to-do social circles as a lawyer,
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
, cavalry captain, and fire brigade inspector. For an unknown offense in 1798, which the historian Eric Henry Monkkonen interprets as an earlier duel or conflict, Eacker appeared in court and paid a recognizance, likely as a bond for good behavior. In 1801, Eacker was appointed as a master in the
New York Court of Chancery The New York Court of Chancery was the highest court in the State of New York from 1701 to 1847. History The New York Court of Chancery was established during the British colonial administration on August 28, 1701, with the List of colonial govern ...
, which was the highest court in the state.


Duels with Stephen Price and Philip Hamilton

Eacker was selected in 1801 to deliver the Fourth of July oration at an
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
celebration held in New York City by a brigade of the New York State Militia, the Tammany Society, and two of the city's labor organizations: the Mechanics' Society and Coopers' Society. The Tammany Society, better known as
Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...
, was a
Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed li ...
political organization that
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...
had built into a
political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...
. In politics, Eacker was known to be aligned with Burr, what automatically placed him at odds with
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
and the Federalists. According to a supporter, the speech that Eacker delivered was commended by "nearly everybody" except for Federalist partisans, who were "blinded... to every virtue" by "party spirit, which at that time was very bitter", and believed it implied that Hamilton sought power at any cost, while
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
upheld the Constitution. Some accounts questioned whether the speech was critical of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
, as was later characterized. According to a 19th-century historian who relied on Eacker's younger brother as a source, the speech was entirely patriotic and did not name or allude to Hamilton. On November 20, 1801, a Friday night, Eacker attended a play at the Park Theatre with his fiancée Harriet Livingston, a daughter of
Walter Livingston Walter Livingston (November 27, 1740 – May 14, 1797) was an American merchant, lawyer and politician. Early life He was a son of Robert Livingston (1708–1790), 3rd Lord of Livingston Manor, and Maria Thong Livingston (1711–1765), a grandd ...
and Cornelia Schuyler.
Philip Hamilton Philip Hamilton (January 22, 1782 – November 24, 1801) was the eldest child of Alexander Hamilton (the first United States Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. He died at age 19, fatally ...
, the eldest son of Alexander Hamilton, and Stephen Price approached or entered Eacker's
box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...
together and loudly ridiculed him. Eacker called them "damned rascals"—a severe insult at the time. In response to that insult, as was then common, both challenged Eacker to a duel. Price faced the 27-year-old Eacker in a duel in
Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...
, on November 22, 1801. Four shots were exchanged, but neither party was injured, and the matter was settled. At the same location on the following day, Eacker fatally shot the 19-year-old Hamilton in a second duel. Hamilton refused to raise his pistol to fire after he and Eacker had counted ten paces and faced each other, following his father's instructions to reserve his fire. Eacker, determined to fire second, did not shoot. After a minute, Eacker finally raised his pistol, and Hamilton did the same. Eacker shot and struck Philip above his right hip. The bullet went through his body and lodged in his left arm. In what may have been an involuntary spasm, Hamilton fired his pistol in the air. In a letter to
Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convent ...
,
Robert Troup Robert Troup (1757 – January 14, 1832) was a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New York ...
wrote of Alexander Hamilton, "Never did I see a man so completely overwhelmed with grief as Hamilton had been." Nevertheless, he was said to be civil and professional in his later relationship with Eacker. Hamilton would die in a duel with Aaron Burr only a few years later, on July 11, 1804, on the same dueling ground in Weehawken.


Death and legacy

Following the duel, Eacker resumed his life as a prominent lawyer and active community member. However, according to Eacker's brother, George Eacker fought a raging fire as part of his fire brigade duties on a bitterly cold night in January 1802, two months after the duel. He was soaked to the skin, and his clothes froze. This severe exposure led to a lingering illness that developed into
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
(then known as
consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...
). As his health deteriorated, some speculated that grief over the duel had contributed to his decline, but his brother later stated that George never regretted his actions and would have dueled again under the same circumstances. Eacker died on January 4, 1804, at the age of 30. His funeral was a grand event, featuring military honors and participation from the fire brigade, the Howard Lodge of Freemasons, and various civic leaders. His remains were interred in the graveyard behind St. Paul’s Chapel, and a volley of musketry was fired over his grave. Eacker and his fiancée never married. In January 1808, Harriet Livingston married the steamboat inventor
Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
with whom she had four children.


In popular culture

Eacker appears as a minor character in the 2015
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
musical ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
'' in which the musical number "Blow Us All Away" dramatizes his duel with Philip Hamilton. The role of Eacker originated on Broadway by a member of the show's ensemble, Ephraim M. Sykes, who also appears as Eacker on the
original cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
.


See also

* List of people killed in duels


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eacker, George American lawyers 1804 deaths 1770s births American duellists American Freemasons Members of the New York State Assembly American fire chiefs People from colonial New York Columbia College (New York) alumni 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Palatine, New York Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state)