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John Laurens (October 28, 1754 – August 27, 1782) was an American soldier and statesman from South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, best known for his criticism of slavery and his efforts to help recruit slaves to fight for their freedom as U.S. soldiers.
Laurance served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War as a commissioned officer from 1775 to 1782. At the outbreak of war in 1775, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the 4th New York Regiment, and took part in the 1775 Invasion of Quebec.
Jul 2, 2024 · John Laurens (born October 28, 1754, Charleston, South Carolina [U.S.]—died August 27, 1782, Combahee River, south of Charleston) was an American Revolutionary War officer who served as aide-de-camp to Gen. George Washington.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 29, 2019 · Active during the period of the American Revolution, Laurens was a vocal critic of the institution of enslavement who presented the Continental Congress with a plan to recruit enslaved people to fight against the British. Early Life. National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C.
- Patti Wigington
Feb 14, 2020 · John Laurens was a soldier and a diplomat in the Revolutionary War. He was also an abolitionist who spent a lot of time and effort trying to get Congress and South Carolina legislature to approve a regiment of black soldiers. He died in a small skirmish at the end of the war.
Jul 25, 2022 · When tensions in the colonies erupted into open rebellion, Laurens read with increasing alarm of the siege of Boston, the Battle of Bunker Hill, Washington’s flight from Long Island and other desperate actions. By then Henry Laurens had returned stateside to lend a hand to the political cause.
John (Jack) Laurens served as an aide-de-camp to George Washington during the American Revolution, becoming a devoted member of Washington's "military family." During the war, Laurens devised a plan to recruit enslaved people from the southern states into regiments for the Continental Army and emancipate them in return for their military service.
