Burr-Hamilton duel

The Burr-Hamilton duel represented the singular exception to this rule.

Though the practice of dueling survived in the South, and in its more democratic blaze-away version on the frontier of the West, the stigma associated with the Burr-Hamilton duel put the code duello on the defensive as a national institution.

Nevertheless, the Burr-Hamilton duel helped turn the tide against the practice of dueling by providing a focal point for its critics and serving as a dramatic object lesson of its self-destructive character.

One of the reasons the Burr-Hamilton duel became legendary as the most famous duel in American history is its cautionary role as the most memorable example of how not to do it.

Burr-Hamilton duel: On the morning of July 11, 1804, Vice President Aaron Burr and former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton met at a dueling ground in Weehawken, N.J., near Bed Bath & Beyond.