This Day in History: br Burr Slays Hamilton in a Duel July 11, 1804 Vice President Aaron Burr shot br leading Federalist Alexander br Hamilton in the stomach. br Hamilton died the next day. The "affair of honor" br was the culmination of br two decades of political and br personal rivalry between the two. They came from opposite br backgrounds. Burr from a br prestigious family and Hamilton br from relative obscurity. They matured into politics br in the new nation with opposing br visions of what kind of country br America should be. During the duel, conflicting br accounts reveal that Hamilton br either shot at Burr and missed br or deliberately fired into the air. While charged with Hamilton's murder, br Burr was immune from prosecution br because he held the office of vice president.