Philip Hamilton
Anthony Ramos as Philip Hamilton. Photograph by Josh Lehrer.
Philip Hamilton (1782–1801) was the eldest son of Alexander and Elizabeth Hamilton. He was, by most accounts, a promising and intelligent young man, but also somewhat rakish. When he was a teenager, Philip contracted a life-threatening illness, but he was nursed back to health by his parents and ultimately recovered. Three years later, Philip graduated from his father’s alma mater, Columbia University, and went on to study law. Alexander Hamilton took great pride in his son’s academic achievements and expected Philip to become a great lawyer and statesman.
On November 20, 1801, Philip Hamilton attended a play in New York City. There, he confronted George Eacker—a Democratic-Republican lawyer who had given a Fourth of July speech questioning Alexander Hamilton’s role in the Quasi-War with France and his supposed support for Great Britain. Philip ended up in a duel with Eacker to defend his father’s name. On November 23, Philip and George Eacker met in Paulus Hook, New Jersey, with the same set of dueling pistols (owned by Philip’s uncle John Barker Church) that his father and Aaron Burr would use three years later. Philip was fatally shot by Eacker and died at age 19.
