Henry Laurens (December 8, 1792) was an American
Founding Father
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
,
merchant, slave trader, and rice
planter from
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
who became a political leader during the
Revolutionary War. A delegate to the
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...
, Laurens succeeded
John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
as its
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. He was a signatory to the
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...
and, as president, presided over its passage.
Laurens had earned great wealth as a partner in the largest
slave-trading house in North America, Austin and Laurens. In the 1750s alone, this Charleston firm oversaw the sale of more than 8,000 enslaved Africans.
Laurens served for a time as vice president of South Carolina and as the United States minister to the Netherlands during the Revolutionary War. He was captured at sea by the British and imprisoned for several years in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. His oldest son,
John Laurens
John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from Province of South Carolina, South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his criticism of slavery and his efforts to help recr ...
, was an ''
aide-de-camp'' to
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
and a colonel in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
.
Early life and education
Laurens' forebears were
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...
who fled France after the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
was revoked in 1685. His grandfather Andre Laurens left earlier, in 1682, and eventually made his way to America, settling first in New York City and then
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. Andre's son John married Hester (or Esther) Grasset, also a Huguenot refugee. Henry was their third child and eldest son. John Laurens became a saddler, and his business eventually grew to be the largest of its kind in the colonies.
In 1744, Laurens was sent to London to augment his business training.
This took place in the company of
Richard Oswald
Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald.
Early career
Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began h ...
. His father died in 1747, bequeathing a considerable estate to 23-year-old Henry.
Marriage and family
Laurens married Eleanor Ball, also of a South Carolina rice planter family, on June 25, 1750. They had thirteen children, many of whom died in infancy or childhood. Eleanor died in 1770, one month after giving birth to their last child. Laurens took their three sons to England for their education, encouraging their oldest,
John Laurens
John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from Province of South Carolina, South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his criticism of slavery and his efforts to help recr ...
, to study law. Instead of completing his studies, John Laurens returned to the United States in 1776 to serve in the American Revolutionary War.
Political career
Laurens served in the militia, as did most able-bodied men in his time. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the
campaigns against the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
Indians in 1757–1761, during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
(also known as the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
).
In 1757, he was elected to South Carolina's colonial assembly. Laurens was elected again every year but one until the Revolution replaced the assembly with a state convention as an interim government. The year he missed was 1773, when he visited England to arrange for his sons' educations. He was named to the colony's council in 1764 and 1768 but declined both times. In 1772, he joined the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and carried on extensive correspondence with other members.
As the American Revolution neared, Laurens was at first inclined to support reconciliation with the
British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
. But as conditions deteriorated, he came to fully support the American position. When Carolina began to create a revolutionary government, Laurens was elected to the Provincial Congress, which first met on January 9, 1775. He was president of the
Committee of Safety and presiding officer of that congress from June until March 1776. When South Carolina installed a fully independent government, he served as the vice president of South Carolina from March 1776 to June 27, 1777. Laurens was first named a delegate to the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
on January 10, 1777. He served in the Congress until 1780. He was the president of the Continental Congress from November 1, 1777, to December 9, 1778.
In the fall of 1779, the Congress named Laurens their minister to the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In early 1780, he took up that post and successfully negotiated Dutch support for the war. But on his return voyage to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
that fall, the British frigate intercepted his ship, the continental
packet
Packet may refer to:
* A small container or pouch
** Packet (container), a small single use container
** Cigarette packet
** Sugar packet
* Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network
* Packet radio, a form ...
''Mercury'', off the banks of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. Although his dispatches were tossed in the water, they were retrieved by the British, who discovered the draft of a possible U.S.-Dutch treaty prepared in
Aix-la-Chapelle in 1778 by
William Lee and the Amsterdam banker
Jean de Neufville
Jean de Neufville or John de Neufville (Amsterdam, May 25, 1729 - Cambridge, Massachusetts, in December 1796) was an Amsterdam banker who had a meeting in Aachen on September 4, 1778 with US William Lee, a diplomat.
Biography
Jean was the son ...
.
This prompted Britain to declare war on the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
, becoming known as the
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Vierde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog; 1780–1784) was a conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The war, contemporary with the War of American Independence (1775-1783), broke out ove ...
.
The British charged Laurens with treason, transported him to England, and imprisoned him in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
(he is the only American to have been held prisoner in the tower). His imprisonment was protested by the Americans. In the field, most captives were regarded as prisoners of war, and while conditions were frequently appalling, prisoner exchanges and mail privileges were accepted practice. During his imprisonment, Laurens was assisted by Richard Oswald, his former business partner and the principal owner of
Bunce Island
Bunce Island (also spelled "Bence," "Bense," or "Bance" at different periods) is an island in the Sierra Leone River. It is situated in Freetown Harbour, the estuary of the Rokel River and Port Loko Creek, about upriver from Sierra Leone's capi ...
, a slave-trading island base in the
Sierra Leone River
The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone. It is formed by the Bankasoka River and Rokel River and is between 4 and 10 miles wide (6–16 km) and 25 miles (40 km) long. It holds the major port ...
. Oswald argued on Laurens' behalf to the British government. Finally, on December 31, 1781, he was released in exchange for General
Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
and completed his voyage to Amsterdam. He helped raise funds for the American effort.
Laurens' oldest son, Colonel
John Laurens
John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from Province of South Carolina, South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his criticism of slavery and his efforts to help recr ...
, was killed in 1782 in the
Battle of the Combahee River
The Battle of the Combahee River was a battle of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1782, near Beaufort, South Carolina, one of many such confrontations after the Siege of Yorktown to occur before the British evacuated Charle ...
, as one of the last casualties of the Revolutionary War. He had supported enlisting and freeing slaves for the war effort and suggested to his father that he begin with the 40 he stood to inherit.
He had urged his father to free the family's slaves, but although conflicted, Henry Laurens never manumitted his 260 slaves.
In 1783, Laurens was sent to Paris as one of the peace commissioners for the negotiations leading to the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
. While he was not a signatory of the primary treaty, he was instrumental in reaching the secondary accords that resolved issues related to the Netherlands and Spain.
Richard Oswald
Richard Oswald (5 November 1880 – 11 September 1963) was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and father of German-American film director Gerd Oswald.
Early career
Richard Oswald, born in Vienna as Richard W. Ornstein, began h ...
, a former partner of Laurens in the slave trade, was the principal negotiator for the British during the Paris peace talks.
Laurens generally retired from public life in 1784. He was sought for a return to the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the state assembly, but he declined all of these positions. He did serve in the state convention of 1788, where he voted to ratify the United States Constitution.
British forces, during their occupation of Charleston, had burned the Laurens home at
Mepkin during the war. When Laurens and his family returned in 1784, they lived in an outbuilding while the
great house
A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...
was rebuilt. He lived on the estate the rest of his life, working to recover the estimated £40,000 that the revolution had cost him (equivalent to about $ in ).
Death and legacy
Laurens suffered from gout starting in his 40s and the affliction plagued him throughout the rest of his life. Laurens died on December 8, 1792, at his estate, Mepkin, in South Carolina. In his will he stated he wished to be cremated and his ashes be interred at his estate. It is reported that he was the first Caucasian cremation in the United States, which he chose because of a fear of being buried alive.
Afterward, the estate passed through several hands. Large portions of the estate still exist. Part of the original estate was donated to the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in 1949 and is now the location of
Mepkin Abbey, a monastery of the
Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
(
Trappist monks).
The city of
Laurens, South Carolina
Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,139 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County.
History
Located in upstate South Carolina, the city of Laurens is named after Henry Laure ...
, and
its county are named for him.
The town and
the village of Laurens, New York, are named for him.
Laurens County, Georgia
Laurens County is a County (United States), county located in the Central Georgia, central part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 49,570, up from 48,434 in 20 ...
, is named for his son John. General
Lachlan McIntosh
Lachlan McIntosh (March 17, 1725 – February 20, 1806) was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he fatally shot Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaratio ...
, who worked for Laurens as a clerk and became close friends with him, named
Fort Laurens
Fort Laurens was an American Revolutionary War fort on a northern tributary of the Muskingum River in what would become Northeast Ohio, United States. The fort's location is in the present-day town of Bolivar, Ohio, along the Ohio and Erie Can ...
in Ohio after him.
Notes
References
*
*
*
Sources
* Kirschke, James J., and Victor J. Sensenig. "Steps toward nationhood: Henry Laurens (1724–92) and the American Revolution in the South" ''Historical Research'' 78.200 (2005): 180–192
*
* , 16 vols.
Collection Inventoryavailable at the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...
.
* McDonough, Daniel J. ''Christopher Gadsden and Henry Laurens: The Parallel Lives of Two American Patriots'' (Susquehanna University Press, 2001)
* Neville, Gabriel
"The Tragedy of Henry Laurens."''Journal of the American Revolution'', Aug. 1, 2019
*
External links
*
Forgotten Founders Biography siteHenry Laurens, South Carolina Hall of Fame South Carolina Educational Television
South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated by ...
* –
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
Henry Laurens Account Book, 1766-1773, Lowcountry Digial Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurens, Henry
1724 births
1792 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to the Netherlands
American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain
American planters
American slave traders
American slave owners
Prisoners in the Tower of London
Colonial American merchants
Huguenot participants in the American Revolution
Colonial South Carolina
Continental Congressmen from South Carolina
18th-century American politicians
Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina
People of pre-statehood South Carolina
People of South Carolina in the American Revolution
People of South Carolina in the French and Indian War
Pre-statehood history of South Carolina
Signers of the Articles of Confederation
Cremation
Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina
18th-century Anglicans