John Laurens

Background

John Laurens was born in South Carolina and was a vociferous opponent of the system of slavery during the American Revolution. He proposed to the Continental Congress a scheme to enlist enslaved people to fight against the British. He received his education at home alongside his siblings, Henry Jr., and James, as well as Mary and Martha. When their mom, Eleanor, died, their father sent the boys to school in London and Geneva. Following his father’s suggestion, Laurens finally decided to pursue law.

Laurens’ father used his clout to get his son a job as an aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington. Tench Tilghman, James McHenry, Robert Harrison, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, and John Fitzgerald were among those who worked in Washington’s ‘family’ at different times. One of them, John Laurens of South Carolina, seemed destined for greatness. Laurens was adamantly opposed to slavery, unlike most other men of his social standing and upbringing. Laurens thought enslavement was unethical, although his family had profited from it for decades.

Laurens pleaded with enslavers, including his father, to free their slaves, but his efforts were ridiculed. He eventually proposed to Congress that a black battalion be formed to fight alongside the Continental Army in the fight against the British. He proposed taking these men away from southern plantations by promising them freedom after they finished their military service. Because it was feared that arming enslaved people would lead to an open mob insurgency against white landowners, Congress rejected the proposal. Following the surrender of Charleston, the British captured Laurens and transported him to Philadelphia. In November of that year, he was released as part of a prisoner swap. At Hamilton’s request, when Laurens was no longer a British captive, Congress nominated him as a minister to France.