Member-only story
I used to stay in the basement of a brownstone on Jane Street in the Village when I visited my agent or publisher in NYC. One day I noticed a plaque on the wall of the building across the street.
And thus another piece of history was revealed to me. I wonder how many people who go down that street have seen it?
Hamilton was wounded in the duel. A round to the lower abdomen that caused extensive internal damage. He knew it was a fatal wound. He was rowed across the river and lasted 24 hours.
Another odd thing about the duel. Where it took place in Jersey (Exit 3 I believe) was the same place his son had been killed in a duel three years earlier.
I did a lot of research on Hamilton for The Jefferson Allegiance. My idea for the book was that Hamilton and Jefferson, fierce political opponents, agreed on one key thing: we had to prevent an imperial president. And they both believe the Constitution wasn’t adequate for the job. So they came up with The Jefferson Allegiance. In the book, I show historical incidents where this Allegiance is brought out to reel in wayward presidents. The plot is that there is a race on now between two groups to find it- one to destroy it, the other to save it.
In my latest book, New York Minute, the main character, Will Kane, lives in the basement of a brownstone across the street from this plaque.
I wrote this some years ago and it was a #2 national bestseller at Barnes and Noble. Sometimes fiction precedes fact.
Nothing but good times ahead. I hope.
Originally published at https://bobmayer.com.
