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Many Americans have never heard of John Laurens, and yet the country owes him a great deal. A hero of the American Revolution who played an important role in some of the most consequential moments of early United States history, Laurens has been largely left behind by historians because it is hard to study or teach about Laurens without admitting a fundamental truth that historians continue to try to deny: John Laurens was gay.

Early Life

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1754, Laurens grew up in a large, prominent family. His mother, Eleanore Ball Laurens, was from a wealthy family, as was his father Henry Laurens, who was a successful merchant. Laurens’s childhood is deeply fascinating, full of loss and political turmoil, as well as impressive displays of intelligence by the young boy. Missing from John Laurens’s childhood, however, is any budding romantic interest in females. That there is no evidence of Laurens having crushes on girls during his childhood is not in itself very telling; few men of history have left behind such evidence. What is telling however is that there is evidence that Laurens did not have crushes on girls. In 1767 Laurens’s father Henry Laurens wrote to a friend “Master Jack is too closely wedded to his studies to think about any of the Miss Nanny’s [girls]. I would not have such a sound in his Ear, for a Crown; why drive the poor Dog, to what Nature will irresistibly prompt him to be plagued with in all probability much too soon.”¹ By this point John was already thirteen. Henry’s need to justify his son’s lack of interest in girls, coupled with his assertion that John will notice girls any day now, shows Henry was starting to suspect there was something different about his son. As a devout Prostestant in the 18th century, this was a very troubling suspicion for Henry Laurens. 

Henry Laurens’s suspicion did not seem to go away, either. A few years later Henry brought his son to Europe to get an education. Henry’s letters from this period show that he was constantly frustrated because he could not find a place to leave his son that was sufficiently free of sin. Henry found many schools to be indecent, and complained that in several cities “every black and excercable crime” had taken the place of morality.² Henry’s word choice is noteworthy: during that period of history simply referring to a “black” crime or sin was often code for homosexuality.³ This would suggest that Henry’s constant struggle to keep his son away from sin was more specifically a struggle to keep him away from areas where homosexuality was prominent. Henry may have hoped that by keeping his son away from the gay community that already flourished in many parts of Europe he could encourage John to grow out of his homosexuality, or at the very least that John would not get a chance to express it.

Laurens Becomes an Adult

Predictably, his father’s efforts to keep Laurens from finding men he could become romantically involved with failed. While studying in Geneva Laurens befriended Francis Kinloch, another South Carolinian who had come to Euroupe to get an education. Laurens and Kinloch quickly became close. After Laurens moved to London to train as a lawyer, the two kept up a regular correspondence in which they would debate popular political issues of the day, such as the abolition of slavery, and, eventually, the conflicts between Great Britiain and the American Colonies. Laurens and Kinloch differed in their views of how the Colonies ought to handle the situation. After a few tense letters were exchanged Laurens assured Kinloch “You and I may differ my Dear Kinloch in our political Sentiments but I shall always love you from the Knowledge I have of your Heart.”⁴ During this time, Sentimentalism had amassed a large following in Europe and America. The Sentimentalism was a movement in literature and philosophy that encouraged, among other things, a willingness to be extremely expressive of emotions.⁵ Because Laurens was a fan of Sentimentalist novels and seemed  to model his life off Sentimentalist philosophies, some historians have concluded that the emotional nature of Laurens’s letters to Kinloch do not prove a romantic relationship.⁶ Indeed, Laurens’s letters to Kinloch do not necessarily come across as romantic when compared with other letters from the time period. Laurens’s letters to Kinloch come across very differently, however, when compared with other letters Laurens himself wrote. Despite Laurens’s interest in Sentimentalism most of the letters he wrote come across as emotionally reserved; his letters to Kinloch, therefore, do show a relationship far more intense than any friendship Laurens ever had.⁷ Kinloch’s responses were also emotional and affectionate, such as when he encouraged Laurens to share his political views with him by telling him “…we hold too fast by one anothers hearts, my dear Laurens, to be afraid of exposing our several opinions to each other.”⁸ Kinloch was likely bisexual, as in addition to the relationships he had with his first and second wife Kinloch also had a relationship with Johannes von Müller, a gay man with whom he lived briefly.⁹

Despite their mutual assurances that their political views would not interfere with their love, the growing divide between Patriots and Loyalists eventually became too much for Laurens and Kinloch. Their letters to one another became increasingly hostile, with Laurens finally signing one “believe me to be as sincerely as a Republican can be to a Royalist Your Friend John Laurens.”¹⁰ This appears to be the end of their romantic relationship.*

Laurens was heartbroken. The only upside Laurens had found to being gay was the love he shared with Francis Kinloch. Now that that had only led to more pain, Laurens sought an escape through a path that his society repeatedly told him would lead him out of his misery: an affair with a woman. Laurens had known Martha Manning since moving to London, where they had met through their fathers who were business associates. Laurens and Manning became friends, and Laurens described her as “a very nice young lady.”¹¹ There is no evidence to suggest that they ever courted. Laurens never mentioned having any sort of romantic intention for her in any letters, even letters to his uncle James Laurens, to whom he often told things he did not dare say to his father. Most likely his relationship with Manning would have been a one time occurance, to help him get over Kinloch and to attempt to cure himself of his homosexuality, had Manning not become pregnant. Laurens and Manning apparently kept her pregnancy a secret until she was about five months pregnant, at which point Laurens told his uncle, “The matter has proceeded too far to be longer concealed.”¹² It was at this point that Laurens and Manning eloped, waiting to tell her father everything until after they were married. Laurens’s letter to his father makes clear that Henry Laurens knew nothing of the situation either.¹³ After notifying his father that he was married and would soon have a child, Laurens wrote a far more open letter to his uncle James, in which he confessed “Pity has obliged me to marry.”¹⁴ In neither of these letters does Laurens express for Manning love, affection, or anything besides guilt at having risked her reputation. The newly married couple had a house together for a few months, though Laurens spent most of this time traveling, looking for somewhere for his younger brother Harry, who had joined him in Europe, to stay when he went back to America.¹⁵ Laurens was apparently determined to return to his home country to join the war, though he may also have left in order to escape married life with Manning. Laurens left in late December, less than a month before his daughter Frances was born. Much to his father’s frustration and embarrassment, Laurens made only small, unsuccessful attempts to bring his family to America, and he never met his daughter or saw Manning again.¹⁶

The War

Laurens traveled back to America, where he became a volunteer aide de camp for George Washington before formally becoming a part of Washington’s staff.¹⁷ Once in the army Laurens quickly became known for his selflessness in battle. Out of the seven battles Laurens fought in he was wounded in four, killed in another, and emerged from only two unscathed. One of the main reasons that Laurens was continually wounded was because Laurens had the tendency to disobey orders. At the Battle of Coosawhatchie Laurens disobeyed orders to retreat, resulting in a far greater disaster than the battle would have been otherwise.¹⁸ At the battle where Laurens was finally killed he disobeyed orders to wait for reinforcements. Laurens was warned to take better care of himself by his father, a delegate to the South Carolina Legislature, and even Alexander Hamilton, himself a fearless and bold soldier. After seeing Laurens in battle the first time General Lafayette remarked, “It was not his fault he was not killed or wounded he did everything in his power to procure one or t’other.”¹⁹ That Laurens was repeatedly told by different people to be more careful indicates that Laurens’s zeal went well beyond even ardent patriotism, and suggests that Laurens may actually have been borderline suicidal. If this were true, Laurens’s story would fit perfectly into the pattern of many other soldiers throughout history who, after realizing they could not get rid of their homosexuality, enlisted with the hope they would be killed in battle, like one gay Russian soldier in World War One who later explained “I was not afraid of death, because I had found no joy in life.”²⁰

It was also during this time that Laurens met Alexander Hamilton, who was also on the General’s staff. Laurens and Hamilton grew close, as they had similar beliefs and often ended up working on assignments together. Years later, when other soldiers told stories about the war, they remembered Hamilton and Laurens almost as one unit. The two even shared a cabin at Valley Forge. They were separated several times when sent on separate missions, and when Laurens eventually left the staff to fight for his home state. 

When they were apart, Laurens once again wrote letters which historians have claimed were not romantic for the time period, and once again these letters do in fact stand out when compared with other letters Laurens himself wrote. Perhaps most notable is that Laurens addresses Hamilton as “my dear boy.” Laurens addressed no other man in this way, and the nearest thing in his correspondence is when he would refer to his wife as “my dear girl”.²² Since Laurens does nothing else to show affection for Manning in his letters, the phrase comes across as a token gesture. This does, however, show that Laurens feels this phrase is romantic, and choses it deliberately for this reason. Therefore, when Laurens makes this choice in his letters to Hamilton, where it is paired with unusually high amounts of emotion (for Laurens at least), it can be seen as a term of endearment. 

The actual contents of the letters are interesting as well. In one Laurens tells Hamilton “Ternant will relate to you how many violent struggles I have had between duty and inclination—how much my heart was with you, while I appeared to be most actively employed here.”²³ It is often assumed that when Laurens says “you” he is referring to the main army. Later in the letter though, after switching topics, Laurens says “Clinton’s movement and your march in consequence, made me wish to be with you.” Since Laurens has moved on to talking about military matters, it would seem that at this point Laurens says “you” to mean the main army. That would mean that his earlier “how much my heart was with you” does not refer to the army, it refers to Hamilton. Aside from how and when Laurens refers to Hamilton, it is interesting to note that in no surviving letter does Laurens refer to Hamilton’s wife. In the only letter where Laurens makes any sort of reference to Hamilton’s home life, the original manuscript shows that Laurens crossed out “family” and replaced it with “progeny”, making it clear he was willing to talk about Hamilton’s son (if rather distantly) but not his wife.²⁴

More compelling than the content of Laurens’s letters to Hamilton however, is the fact that many of them are missing. Throughout Hamilton’s letters to Laurens there are at least five times when Hamilton refers to having received a letter from Laurens which no one today has been able to locate, and at least two times when Laurens’s letters that do still exist are missing pages. This makes it necessary to figure out Laurens’s side of the relationship by looking at what Hamilton says in response to him. In a letter three months before his marriage to Elizabeth Schuyler, Hamilton informs Laurens “In spite of Schuyler’s black eyes, I have still a part for the public and another for you; so your impatience to have me married is misplaced; a strange cure by the way, as if after matrimony I was to be less devoted than I am now.”²¹ As no one has ever sought a “cure” for friendship, it makes more sense to infer that Laurens was hoping that once Hamilton had married a woman he would cease to love Laurens and be able to live what their society considered a normal life. Laurens once sought a cure to his own sexuality by having an affair with a woman; though it did not work, Laurens knew Hamilton was attracted to men and women, and this may have given him hope that the cure would work better for Hamilton. This paints a picture of a man in turmoil; Laurens loved Hamilton, but at the same time that he yearned for Hamilton’s affection he hoped that Hamilton would stop loving him.

Even if there were no evidence of Laurens’s relationships with men, his sexuality would be called into question by the fact that the only relationship he ever had with a woman was most likely intended only to be a brief affair, and did not include any genuine affection. Conversely, Laurens’s relationships with Francis Kinloch and Alexander Hamilton show a level of affection Laurens did not show to anyone else, and relationship dynamics that resemble couples rather than friends. Beyond Laurens’s romantic history, his life is full of the struggles and patterns common to a gay man living in a homophobic society. John Laurens is a hero who deserves to have his story told, and it should be remembered with pride that an integral part of this story is the fact that Laurens was gay. 

*Though Kinloch initially sided with Britain, he later changed his views and actually joined the Continental Army, where he did great service to his country. Laurens questioned Kinloch’s motives for this change, however, and still refused to forgive him.

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1. Henry Laurens to James Grant, 10 November 1767
2. Henry Laurens to James Laurens, 5 December 1771
3. http://rictornorton.co.uk/ 
4. John Laurens to Francis Kinloch, April 12, 1776
5. http://lol-russ.umn.edu/hpgary/Russ3421/lesson3.htm “Classicism and Sentimentalism”
6. John Laurens and the American Revolution, George D. Massey, 72 
7. https://john-laurens.tumblr.com/post/154606747543/are-there-any-letters-we-can-view-that-show 
8. Francis Kinloch to John Laurens, April 28, 1776
9. http://rictornorton.co.uk/muller.htm “Friendship and Philosophy”, Rictor Norton 
10. John Laurens to Francis Kinloch, 16 June 1776
11. John Laurens to Martha Laurens, 5 May 1775
12. John Laurens to James Laurens, August 1776
13. John Laurens to Henry Laurens August 1776
14. John Laurens to James Laurens, August 1776
15. John Laurens and the American Revolution, George D. Massey, 110
16. Henry Laurens to John Laurens, 8 January 1778
17. https://www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/historyculture/johnlaurens.htm “John Laurens”
18. John Laurens and the American Revolution, George D. Massey, 198
19. https://www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/historyculture/johnlaurens.htm “John Laurens”
20. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/08/21/being-gay-in-revolutionary-russia Sergey Vasilyevich Suslov to Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev, 1921
21. Alexander Hamilton to John Laurens, 16 September 1780
22. https://john-laurens.tumblr.com/
23. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-02-02-0321 
24. https://john-laurens.tumblr.com/post/160878012808/you-speak-like-a-pater-familias-surrounded-with-a 

Special thanks to the john-laurens tumblr account for access to the Laurens/Kinloch letters.