34 Facts About John Laurens

John Laurens was an American soldier and statesman from South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his efforts to help recruit slaves to fight for their freedom as US soldiers.

In 1779, Laurens gained approval from the Continental Congress for his plan to recruit a brigade of 3,000 slaves by promising them freedom in return for fighting.

John Laurens had French heritage and spoke the language fluently.

John Laurens was the eldest of the five children who survived infancy.

John Laurens's father returned to Charleston, leaving John Laurens as guardian to his brothers, both enrolled in British schools.

Henry John Laurens, finding himself unable to prevent his son from joining the Continental Army, used his influence to obtain a position of honor for his 23-year-old son.

John Laurens became close friends with two of his fellow aides-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette.

Lee was wounded in the side by John Laurens's first shot, and John Laurens, believing the wound was more serious than it seemed, went to help the general.

In early 1778, John Laurens advised his father, who was then the President of the Continental Congress, to use forty slaves he stood to inherit as part of a brigade.

Henry John Laurens granted the request, but with reservations that caused postponement of the project.

John Laurens strongly opposed the idea and fought with Continental forces to repel the British.

In direct disobedience of orders, John Laurens crossed the river and formed the men in line for battle.

John Laurens failed to take the high ground and his men suffered greatly from well-placed enemy fire.

John Laurens himself was wounded, and his second in command fell back to the main force at the Tullifinny, where Moultrie was compelled to retreat towards Charleston.

That fall, John Laurens commanded an infantry regiment in General Benjamin Lincoln's failed assault on Savannah, Georgia.

In Philadelphia, John Laurens was able to visit his father, who would soon take ship for the Netherlands as American ambassador, in search of loans.

John Laurens was ultimately persuaded by both Hamilton and Congress to accept the post.

John Laurens gained French assurances that French ships would support American operations that year; the promised naval support was later to prove invaluable at the Siege of Yorktown.

John Laurens was reported to have told the French that without aid for the Revolution, the Americans might be forced by the British to fight against France.

John Laurens was able to arrange a loan and supplies from the Dutch, before returning home.

John Laurens returned from France in time to see the French fleet arrive and to join Washington in Virginia at the siege of Yorktown.

John Laurens returned to South Carolina, where he continued to serve in the Continental Army under General Nathanael Greene until his death.

John Laurens died in what General Greene described sadly as "a paltry little skirmish" with a foraging party, only a few weeks before the British finally withdrew from Charleston.

John Laurens had been confined to bed at Wappoo Creek with a raging fever for several days, possibly due to malaria.

John Laurens was given orders, at his own request, to take a small force further downriver to man a redoubt at Chehaw Point, where they could fire on the British as they retreated.

However, the British had anticipated their maneuvers; before John Laurens could reach the redoubt, 140 British soldiers had prepared an ambush along the road, concealed in tall grass about one mile from his destination.

John Laurens was buried near the site of the battle, at William Stock's plantation where he had spent the evening before his death.

The John Laurens family sold their plantation in the 19th century, where it was bought and resold by many.

John Laurens's father, one of Henry Laurens's business agents, was a mentor and family friend whose home Laurens had frequently visited during his years in London.

John Laurens wrote to an uncle, "Pity has obliged me to marry", an unplanned marriage being necessary to preserve his honor, the reputation of the six-month pregnant Martha, and the legitimacy of their child.

Shortly after his marriage, while in Washington's camp, John Laurens met and became extremely close friends with Alexander Hamilton.

John Laurens was the subject of two short educational films, both released in 1972 by Learning Corporation of America.

John Laurens was featured in an episode of the 1984 George Washington miniseries, portrayed by Kevin Conroy.

John Laurens was depicted as a supporting character in the 2015 musical Hamilton.