Complete Works. Hamilton AlexanderЧитать онлайн книгу.
son, in the prime of life, and with which he had resolved never to comply, except in respect to the disposal of his own existence. The defence of all this conduct, is, that there was a chance for an Escape, & that it would be wrong to torture his family with unnecessary anxiety. This excuse is weak & unsatisfactory, & it proves, that on certain points, the most enlightened men are governed by the most unsound reasons.
Tomorrow the funeral will be attended, & I have supposed, that you would think it my duty to be present.
I feel the most sincere regret at the delay & more so, as I am concerned to hear that you are unwell. I will come the next stage at all events. Give my love to Mary, the Children & my Brothers family, & be assured of the attachment of yrs
OLIV. WOLCOTT.
his respect for justice in comparatively small matters, & at the same time disregarding its obligations on points of the first importance. This inconsistency has moreover happened in compliance with a custom, which he deemed wholly immoral & indefensible, by which he had lost a darling son, in the prime of life, and with which he had resolved never to comply, except in respect to the disposal of his own existence. The defence of all this conduct, is, that there was a chance for an Escape, & that it would be wrong to torture his family with unnecessary anxiety. This excuse is weak & unsatisfactory, & it proves, that on certain points, the most enlightened men are governed by the most unsound reasons.
Tomorrow the funeral will be attended, & I have supposed, that you would think it my duty to be present.
I feel the most sincere regret at the delay & more so, as I am concerned to hear that you are unwell. I will come the next stage at all events. Give my love to Mary, the Children & my Brothers family, & be assured of the attachment of yrs
OLIV. WOLCOTT.
The pistols which were used figured in more than one affair of honor. With them John Barker Church, it is said, met Aaron Burr, the challenge following some scandal arising from a report that the Holland Land Company had cancelled a note held by the latter in consideration of legislative services rendered by him. Little is known of this duel, which is said to have been also fought at Weehawken Sept. 2, 1799, but it is only a tradition in the Church family. They are also said to have been used by young Philip Hamilton in his encounter with Eacker, his cousin Philip Church, a son of John Barker Church, being his second. It is also stated that they were used in a duel between James Wadsworth of Geneseo and a Colonel Kane of Philadelphia when Philip Church was Wadsworth's second, but I am unable to confirm this.
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The pistols were restored to their owner, John Barker Church, by Mr. Pendleton after the duel, and were inherited by his grandson, Richard Church, Esq., to whom they now belong. They are of English make, and bear the name WOGDEN. The barrels are nine inches long and of admirable workmanship. They were purchased by Mr. Church in London, in 1795 or 1796, and used by him in an English duel.1.
Coleman's "Collection," and the newspapers of the day, were full of accounts of the funeral, which attracted much attention. The procession started from Mr. Church's house in Robinson Street, at eleven o'clock in the morning, and was composed of the Society of the Cincinnati, the Sixth Regiment of militia, the gentlemen of the bar, the Lieutenant-Governor of the State, the corporation of the city of New York, the foreign consular agents, army and navy officers of the United States, as well as of the foreign services who were in New York, the Chamber of Commerce and officers of the various banks, the port wardens and masters of vessels in the harbor, the president, professors, and students of Columbia College in mourning gowns, the St. Andrews, Tammany, Mechanics, and Marine societies, and a large number of people who followed the coffin through Beekman, Pearl, and Whitehall Streets, up Broadway to Trinity Church.
On top of the coffin was General Hamilton's hat and sword, and his boots and spurs were reversed across the horse, which was a gray one. It was dressed in mourning, and led by two negro servants in white, with white turbans trimmed with black.
During the procession there was a regular discharge of minute guns from the Battery, by a detachment from the regiment of artillery, and the different merchant vessels in the harbor wore their colors half-mast.
The British ship of war Boston, Captain Douglass, at anchor within the Hook, appeared in mourning during the morning, and at ten o'clock commenced firing minute guns, which were continued for nearly an hour. The British packet, Lord Charles Spencer, Captain Cotesworth, also was in mourning, and fired an equal number of guns. The French frigates Cybelle and Didon were also in full mourning, with yards peaked, and fired minute guns during the procession.
The family at Albany were naturally thrown into a condition of great distress and anxiety, and General Schuyler wrote at once to his daughter:
Philip Schuyler to Elizabeth Hamilton
Monday Morning, 13 July, 1804.
MY DEAR DEARLY BELOVED AND AFFECTIONATE CHILD: This morning Mr. Church's letter has announced to me the severe affliction which it has pleased the Supreme being to inflict on you on me and on all dear to us. If aught under heaven could aggravate the affliction I experience, it is that incapable of moving or being removed I cannot fly to you to pour the balm of comfort into your afflicted bosom, to water it with my tears, to solace yours and mine in this depressing situation. Under the pressure of this most severe calamity let us seek consolation from that source where it can only be truly found, in humble resignation to the will of heaven. Oh my Dearly Beloved Child let us unanimously entreat the Supreme being to give you fortitude to support the affliction, to preserve you to me, to your dear children and relations. Should it please God so far to restore my strength as to enable me to go to you, I shall embrace the first moment to do it, but should it be otherwise, I entreat you my beloved Child to come home as soon as you possibly can.
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with my dear Grandchildren. Your sisters will accompany you. May Almighty God bless and protect you and pour the balm of consolation into your distressed soul is and will always be the prayer of
Your affectionate and distressed parent.
PH. SCHUYLER.
Mrs. Hamilton.
And again, on Tuesday, 17th July, 1804, to Mrs. Church, who was with her sister:
The dreadful calamity my Dearly Beloved Child which we have all sustained affected me so deeply as to threaten serious results, but when I received the account of his Christian resignation my afflicted soul was much tranquillized. Oh may heaven indulgently extend fortitude to my afflicted, my distressed, my beloved Eliza. I trust that the Supreme being will prolong my life that I may discharge the duties of a father to my dear child and her dear children. My wounds bear a favorable aspect, and the paroxisms of the gout have not been severe for the past two days, and yesterday I was able to sit up all day. God grant that my recovery may be accelerated, to enable me to go to New York and embrace my distressed children. Should however my restoration be retarded, I wish to see you all here. The change of scene may perhaps tend to soothe my distressed Eliza and her children. She knows how tenderly I loved My Dear Hamilton, how tenderly I love her and her children. Much I feel all the duties which are devolved on me. The evening of my days will be passed in the pleasing occupation of administering comfort and relief to a Child and Grand-Children so highly entitled to my best exertions.
My Kitty is most deeply affected. Her tears have flowed incessantly. She begins to be more composed, and unites with me in love to your distressed Sister and all so dear to us.
I do not write to day to my Eliza lest it should create a fresh paroxism of grief. May she become calm. Her piety will I trust sustain her and her life be preserved that her parent, her children and relations may not sustain an additional