John Laurens (384)

John Laurens (28 October 1754–27 August 1782) was a military officer, diplomat and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1780. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of fellow American Philosophical Society member and wealthy slaveholding planter, Henry Laurens. He studied under private tutors and then relocated to London to pursue law. When the Revolutionary War broke out, he abandoned his law studies and pregnant wife in England to fight for American independence. Laurens began his military career as a volunteer aide under General George Washington, and earned a reputation for reckless bravery. After the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, he officially became Washington’s aide-de-camp. Aside from his gallantry, Laurens also gained notoriety for his attempts to expand the Continental Army by enlisting, arming, and freeing enslaved people. Laurens was one of the only prominent southerners of his era to recognize the hypocrisy in fighting for freedom from the British while denying the same liberty to those held in slavery. In 1779 Congress made him Lieutenant Colonel and authorized him to form his proposed black regiments, though the South Carolina government repeatedly rejected his efforts to do so. Ultimately, the British took Laurens prisoner as they captured Charleston, and upon Laurens’ release, Congress appointed him Special Minister to France. Despite his lack of compatibility with the French court, he secured French naval support and a sizable loan from the Netherlands, and returned to fight alongside Washington at Yorktown. After representing the American army at the surrender negotiations, Laurens joined the South Carolina House of Representatives and made one final attempt to arm and free enslaved people, to no avail. He died after picking a fight with the retreating British forces. (ANB)