John Laurens proposed a revolutionary idea that could have altered American history’s course in 1779: arming 3,000 enslaved people and granting them freedom to serve in the military. His wealthy South Carolina family owned slaves, yet Laurens believed Americans fought hypocritically for republican principles while they continued to use enslaved labor.
The Continental Congress approved his plan in March 1779, but Southern slaveholders fiercely resisted it. Notwithstanding that, Laurens stayed committed to his vision and served as one of George Washington’s trusted officers. His remarkable courage matched his progressive ideals as he fought alongside Washington in all major battles from Brandywine to Yorktown. Laurens’ life ended tragically when British forces ambushed and killed him during the Battle of the Combahee River in August 1782. His legacy remains that of a forgotten patriot whose vision for emancipation emerged nearly eight decades before the Civil War.
Early Life and Education
John Laurens was born on October 28, 1754, in Charleston, South Carolina. His family ranked among the colony’s wealthiest, though his later revolutionary ideals would sharply contrast with his privileged beginnings.
Born into a wealthy South Carolina family
John was the eldest of five children who survived to adulthood, born to Henry and Eleanor Ball Laurens. His father’s immense wealth came from rice plantations and a dominant role in the Atlantic slave trade. Henry Laurens and his business partner George Austin ran one of North America’s largest slave trading operations. This background makes John’s later stance against slavery even more remarkable.
The family faced a devastating loss in May 1770 when John’s mother Eleanor died shortly after his youngest sister Mary Eleanor’s birth. This loss changed everything. Henry Laurens moved to London with John and his brothers in October 1771, starting a new chapter in the young man’s life.
European education and Enlightenment influences
Charleston’s tutors provided John’s original education. His move to Europe opened doors to learning experiences that shaped his entire worldview. He spent two years studying in Geneva, Switzerland from June 1772, a city known for its strong republican values.
His exposure to Enlightenment philosophy taught him about liberty, equality, and reason. The time abroad helped him master French, a skill that proved valuable in his later diplomatic work.
Reluctant law student with revolutionary ideals
Despite John’s deep interest in science and medicine during his youth, he followed his father’s wishes. He returned to London in August 1774 and began studying law at the Middle Temple at the Inns of Court.
Law studies failed to spark John’s passion. The growing political tension between American colonies and England fascinated him more. His time in London included many visits to abolitionist meetings and debates. These experiences shaped his strong beliefs against slavery that defined his revolutionary career.
A lesser-known fact about John’s life emerged before he left London. He secretly married Martha Manning and left his pregnant wife behind – a personal detail that historians often overlook when discussing this passionate revolutionary.
Military Career and Bravery
Laurens came back from Europe in 1777 and quickly joined the Continental Army. His passion for the revolutionary cause would shape America’s defining conflict.
Joining Washington’s staff
General Washington asked Laurens to serve as a volunteer aide-de-camp in early August 1777. His French language skills made him valuable to Washington’s “military family”. The official appointment as aide-de-camp with lieutenant colonel rank came on October 6. Laurens built strong bonds with Washington’s inner circle, including Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth
Laurens showed exceptional courage from his first battle. Lafayette watched him at Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and noted that “It was not his fault that he was not killed or wounded, he did everything that was necessary to procure one or t’other”.
His boldness reached new levels at Germantown. British forces held a stone mansion that stopped the American advance. Laurens and a French volunteer tried to burn down the door. He fought with his sword in one hand while holding “a flaming brand” in the other. The brave attempt earned him a musket ball through his shoulder.
The pattern of courage continued at Monmouth in June 1778. Enemy fire took down his horse during the battle.
Duel with Charles Lee
Laurens challenged General Charles Lee to a duel on December 23, 1778. Lee had spoken about Washington in “the grossest and most opprobrious terms”. Both men fired at six paces, and Lee took a wound to his side. Lee wanted another round, but their seconds decided honor was satisfied.
Role at Yorktown and Redoubt No. 10
Laurens made it back to Washington’s staff just before the Yorktown campaign in 1781. He led a light infantry battalion in the night assault on Redoubt No. 10 with Alexander Hamilton on October 14[93]. The Americans captured the redoubt in just 10 minutes.
The British asked to surrender, and Laurens became the American commissioner to negotiate terms. He pushed for unconditional surrender with the same strict conditions the British had used at Charleston. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.
The Black Regiment Proposal
John Laurens stood apart from other Southern plantation heirs through his radical opposition to the very system that built his family’s wealth. His bold proposal for a Black regiment would later become his most debated legacy.
Laurens’ anti-slavery beliefs
The American fight for liberty seemed hypocritical to Laurens while slavery continued to exist. “We Americans at least in the Southern Colonies, cannot contend with a good Grace, for Liberty, until we shall have enfranchised our Slaves,” he wrote. His education in Europe led him to believe that Black and white people shared “a similar nature” and deserved equal rights to liberty. This perspective made him unique among South Carolina’s prominent figures during that era.
Congressional approval and Southern resistance
Laurens first suggested arming enslaved people for military service in early 1778. The Continental Congress approved his plan to recruit 3,000 Black soldiers from South Carolina and Georgia by March 1779. Freedom and fifty dollars would be given to each man after completing their service. Alexander Hamilton backed this initiative, writing to John Jay that “I have not the least doubt, that the Negroes will make very excellent soldiers”.
Why the plan failed despite support
The Southern legislatures firmly rejected the proposal. The plantation owners dreaded economic ruin and slave uprisings. The South Carolina House of Representatives defeated the plan three times between 1779 and 1782. Laurens described his opponents as a “triple-headed monster” of “prejudice, avarice, and pusillanimity”.
Impact on future abolitionist movements
Laurens’ plan proved groundbreaking for the abolitionist cause, even though it failed. Congressman William Whipple saw it as a potential catalyst that could “lay a foundation for the Abolition of Slavery in America”. Rhode Island’s successful formation of Black regiments followed Laurens’ initial vision. His firm belief that liberty “rested on the sweat of slaves was not deserving of the name” established him as an early voice in American abolitionism that inspired future generations of anti-slavery activists.
Final Years and Death
Congress appointed John Laurens as special minister to France in December 1780. He resisted this role at first because he thought Alexander Hamilton would be better suited.
Diplomatic mission to France
Laurens arrived in France in March 1781 and worked with Thomas Paine to help Benjamin Franklin. His determination paid off with significant results. He secured a ten million livre loan from the Dutch (underwritten by France), military supplies, and vital assurances of French naval support. This diplomatic achievement played a key role during the Siege of Yorktown.
Return to South Carolina
Laurens rejoined Washington for the Yorktown campaign and made one last attempt to get approval for his black regiment plan at Jacksonborough. The legislature rejected his proposal again. He then joined General Nathanael Greene’s army in South Carolina. There, he took charge of intelligence operations and built a spy network that tracked British movements around Charleston.
Battle of the Combahee River
Laurens led fifty Delaware infantrymen and an artillery captain with a howitzer against British foragers near the Combahee River on August 27, 1782. He ignored orders to stay in defensive positions and ran into 140 British soldiers hidden in tall grass. Instead of pulling back, Laurens charged forward. This bold move cost him his life at age 27.
Washington’s tribute and historical reflections
Washington paid tribute to Laurens: “he had not a fault that I ever could discover, unless intrepidity bordering upon rashness could come under that denomination”. Hamilton wrote with deep emotion: “His career of virtue is at end… I feel the loss of a friend I truly and most tenderly loved”. Laurens’ tombstone reads: “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” (Sweet and fitting it is to die for one’s country).
Conclusion
John Laurens remains one of the most remarkable yet overlooked heroes of the American Revolution. His life ended at just 27, but his vision for America was nowhere near what others imagined at the time. His bold proposal to arm enslaved people and grant them freedom could have changed American history. This path might have saved the nation from decades of injustice and a devastating Civil War almost 80 years later.
Without doubt, Laurens’ military service alone deserves a place in history books. He showed extraordinary bravery at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown, which earned Washington’s respect and admiration. All the same, his most revolutionary impact came from his stance against slavery. This view seemed radical, especially from someone born into South Carolina’s elite.
Southern legislatures rejected his ideas, but Laurens kept pushing for his black regiment proposal. His diplomatic mission to France turned out to be a vital step in securing the financial and military support that helped win American independence.
The Battle of Combahee River cut his promising life short. We can only guess how he might have shaped the early Republic had he lived longer. Maybe even his passionate fight against slavery would have grown stronger during the Constitutional Convention. He could have challenged the compromises that made slavery part of the nation’s founding document.
Laurens represented a core conflict in the American experiment. He fought hard for liberty while pointing out how hypocritical it was to deny it to others. His story shows us that throughout American history, people who pushed the nation to meet its highest ideals often faced pushback. Their visions helped shape the nation’s progress eventually. John Laurens, this forgotten patriot who almost reshaped American history, stands as a revolutionary in both battle and conscience.
FAQs
Q1. What made John Laurens a significant figure in American history? John Laurens was a remarkable patriot who proposed arming enslaved people in exchange for their freedom during the American Revolution. He was a trusted aide to George Washington, demonstrated exceptional bravery in battle, and was an early advocate for abolition, making him a progressive voice far ahead of his time.
Q2. How did John Laurens’ background influence his anti-slavery stance? Despite being born into a wealthy South Carolina family that owned slaves, Laurens developed strong anti-slavery beliefs. His European education exposed him to Enlightenment ideals, leading him to view slavery as hypocritical to the principles of liberty for which Americans were fighting.
Q3. What was John Laurens’ “Black Regiment” proposal? Laurens proposed recruiting 3,000 enslaved people from South Carolina and Georgia to serve as soldiers in exchange for their freedom and payment. Although approved by the Continental Congress in 1779, the plan faced fierce resistance from Southern slaveholders and ultimately failed.
Q4. How did John Laurens contribute to the American Revolution beyond his military service? In addition to his bravery in battles, Laurens served as a special minister to France. His diplomatic mission secured crucial financial and military support, including a significant loan and French naval assistance, which proved instrumental in the Siege of Yorktown.
Q5. What was the impact of John Laurens’ untimely death? Laurens died at age 27 in the Battle of the Combahee River, cutting short a life of immense promise. His death was mourned by figures like Washington and Hamilton, leaving us to speculate how his continued advocacy for abolition might have influenced the early Republic and potentially altered the course of American history.
