This is the 16th song of Act II in the musical, Hamilton. It speaks of an event that truly happened in Alexander Hamilton’s life as most of the other songs do. This song talks about what led up to the death of his son, Philip Hamilton. It shows Hamilton giving his son advice that eventually leads to his death in a duel. The title, “Blow Us All Away,” suggests that it may be related to the song, but it really refers to what was expected of Philip Hamilton. The question to answer is how this song really played into the entirety of Alexander Hamilton’s life.
A brief background on Hamilton’s family is required just so we can get a sense of who these people are. Hamilton was born on January 11, 1755, or 1757 (since we do not know for sure) in the British West Indies, and was not born very well off. He was born to Rachel Fawcett Lavien and James Hamilton, a Scottish trader, but Hamilton’s father left him when he was still young, therefore leaving his mother with them, poor. On the other hand, Eliza, Hamilton’s wife was born into a well-off family, to a woman named Catherine von Rensselaer and a former Revolutionary War General named Philip Schuyler. The two, Hamilton and Eliza (Elizabeth Schuyler), met when Hamilton, a young military officer at the time when stayed with the wealthy family in Albany (where Eliza was born on the ninth of August in 1757). They met again at a party for George Washington’s staff. Hamilton was, of course, part of Washington’s staff, and the party was at Eliza’s aunt’s residence, which is why they were both there. They got closer and eventually married on December 14, 1780. They later had a son named Philip Hamilton who went to King’s College (now Columbia University), and that brings us to approximately the point of Hamilton’s life where this song takes place.
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At the beginning of this song, Philip Hamilton had just graduated from King’s College like his father. He is described as a talented and smart young man, similar to his father. He is trying to make a name for himself rather than living under his father’s achievements. He was similar to his father in more ways than one; some being his looks and personality along with acting more mature than he might have seemed. We can see that when he raps these lyrics how similar people think he is to Alexander:
“Meet the latest graduate of King's College
I probably shouldn't brag, but dag I amaze and astonish
The scholars say I got the same virtuosity and brains as my Pops
The ladies say my brain is not there the resemblance stops
I'm only 19 but my mind is older”
On top of that, in the song, “My Shot,” some of the exact same lyrics are used to describe Alexander Hamilton himself. It talks about amazing and astonishing those around him and about being mature at just the age of 19 (exactly how old Philip was in “Blow Us All Away”).
One way Philip wanted to prove himself was by confronting a man named George Eacker since he offended Alexander Hamilton, his father during a Fourth of July speech as we can see in these lyrics here:
“Ladies, I'm looking for a Mr. George Eacker
Made a speech last week, our Fourth of July speaker
He disparaged my father's legacy in front of a crowd
I can't have that, I'm making my father proud”
Phillip, while flirting with some of the ladies around, asks some of them if they have seen Mr. Eaker; he finds him watching a play and wants to confront him right then and there. George casually tries to blow Phillip off since he is interrupting the play, but he stands his ground, wanting to duel immediately. George insults him on a more personal level, not just by insulting his father, but also calling Philip himself a scoundrel (again, just like his father). It might be useful to add here, that George Eaker was a Republican whereas Hamilton was a Federalist. This, of course, spiked tensions between them (Eaker and Philip).
Eventually, Eaker is able to make Philip leave, but Philip agreed to duel, and this was to take place in Weehawken, New Jersey. “Where is this happening? Across the river, in Jersey, Everything is legal in New Jersey…” This is where we can see that Weehawken was a popular spot for selling since it was still legal there. Hamilton gives his son some advice, and it is here where he might have made a mistake. He tells him that a man of honor would stop dueling due to this signal of trying to have peace: shooting his pistol upward. Philip in this instance is truly nervous but he is “a Hamilton with pride” and feels a need to do this. “My name is Philip
I am a poet I’m a little nervous, but I can’t show it” I personally even feel bad for Philip at this point but we know that he loves his father in the end and will always want to protect or restore his dignity. Philip and George face off, and just like his father told him, Philip shoots up but gets shot simultaneously.
The song only has the two counting to seven instead of the traditional ten paces before first firing, but this might not have been accurate, as there was an account published in the American Citizen. According to this, both men walked ten paces, but Eaker may have shot early and as a reaction, Philip fired too, but upward.
The next song, Stay Alive (Reprise), is really talking more about how this affected Alexander Hamilton himself. Philip is being rushed into the hospital with an already infected wound. His parents are frantic and here we can tell that they truly loved him. They were not just some regular family that just lived and had kids, but rather, they had a tight family bond, which may be part of the reason Philip ended up so much like his father. Additionally, in this song, we get a small peek at how Philip may have been raised. His mother taught him piano, and it says that each time he “would always change the line” and that he “changed the melody every time,” referring to him saying he forgot what his mother taught him. She says it is not his fault and that Eaker was the one who counted incorrectly. She counts with him in French, throwing us back to a time when he was probably a young child simply learning to count. The place where it strikes the heart, even if this is just a musical, is when Philip’s heartbeat is playing in the background and then it fades away.
During this time, Hamilton’s family was severely affected, His daughter most (Philip’s younger sister). It was said that her mind was permanently affected by his death and that she did not seem to live in the present, always talking about Philip as if he was alive. Even after this song comes “It’s Quiet Uptown”. Philip's death is still new and the thought of him weighs heavily on Alexander’s heart. The family moves uptown and they think of how Philip would have loved it there.
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