So, What Happened While Lewis and Clark Were Gone?

Photo: Library of Congress

When they returned to St. Louis in September 1806, the men of the Expedition surely asked, “So what happened while we were gone?”

How shocked they must have been to hear that the country’s Vice President, Aaron Burr, shot and killed a founder of the country, Alexander Hamilton, in the infamous duel of July 11, 1804, on the banks of the Hudson River in New Jersey.

Hamilton died the next day, while Burr fled New York but eventually returned to Washington where he completed his term safe from prosecution. In 1807, Burr was brought to trial on charges of conspiracy and high misdemeanor for leading a military charge against Spanish territory and for trying to separate territories from the U.S. His political career was ruined. But in 1812, he returned to the U.S. Literally broke, he attempted to rebuild his law practice, only to moderate success. By 1830, he was dependent upon his friends for financial support. Three years later he married a wealthy widow, Eliza Jumel, but the marriage didn’t last. Shortly thereafter, Burr suffered multiple strokes that left him paralyzed and he died on September 14, 1836 on Staten Island, New York.