An Unofficial Review of Lams by an Unofficial Historian

Laurens' Death

i'm sorry i forgot about half my books
also yeeeees i'm aware this isn't chronological order but does it look like i give a fuck

also tw: death if you haven't gathered that already

Well this is exciting, isn't it.

Anyone who's familiar with the Hamilton musical, is probably very well acquainted with the "Laurens Interlude." They've probably already noticed that once Laurens dies, Hamilton's story begins to spiral out of control.

anyway

There's much more to it, however, than "I have so much work to do."

First of all, I've already stated that John Laurens was a reckless little shit—ahem—and most likely suicidal.

Adding on to this, it might be worth mentioning that Laurens was sick with malaria for several days before the Battle of Combahee, and was still sick and recovering when he left to fight.

According to Wikipedia:
"Laurens had been confined to bed at Wappoo Creek with a raging fever for several days, possibly due to malaria. When he learned that the British were sending a large force out to Charleston to gather supplies, he left his sickbed, 'wrote a hurried note to Gen. Green, and, in disregard of his orders and the important duties with which he had been charged — a practice which the loose discipline of the American forces rendered not unusual — put off for the scene of action.'"

Basically, Laurens was sick, but then he caught wind of a possible British attack and was like "fuck recovering let's be self-destructive" and no one was surprised.

So now it's August 26th, and Laurens has officially reported to General Gist at Combahee River.

This man—still sick with malaria—requests a group of soldiers to lead. And they give him the damn soldiers.

They stay the night at a plantation near the river, and leave at 3:00 am the next morning.

anywayyyyy

The battle began as 140 men to 52 in favor of the British.

William McKennan, a captain serving under Laurens at Combahee, stated this:
"[Laurens appeared] anxious to attack the enemy previous to the main body coming up... Although few in numbers, [would be] sufficient to enable him to gain a laurel for his brow [before the end of the fighting]... [Laurens] wanted to do all himself, and have all the honor."

Sadly, the Lieutenant Colonel was almost immediately killed as the British troops opened fire, knocked from his horse. He was one of three casualties.

Now to Hamilton.

I can't find for certain when he learned of Laurens' death, but from the sources we have, it seems to be about September 1782.

This absolutely breaks him.

To the Marquis de Lafayette, on November 3, 1782, he writes:
"Poor Laurens; he has fallen a sacrifice to his ardor in a trifling skirmish in South Carolina. You know how I truly loved him and will judge how much I regret him."

Speaks for itself.

And to Nathanael Greene, in a letter dated October 12, 1782, Hamilton says:
"I feel the deepest affliction at the news we have just received of the loss of our dear and inestimable friend Laurens. His career of virtue is at an end. How strangely are human affairs conducted, that so many excellent qualities could not ensure a more happy fate? The world will feel the loss of a man who has left few like him behind, and America of a citizen whose heart realized that patriotism of which only others talk. I feel the loss of a friend I truly and most tenderly loved, and one of a very small number."

Again, fairly self-explanatory.

Now, if you were to combine the two tributes to Laurens, you would have only seven sentences.

Seven sentences.

That is all Mr. Non-stop could muster up about his friend's death.

Hamilton's life revolved around his writing, and to see that he only managed barely a paragraph (according to English teachers) about Laurens' passing speaks loudly about a possibility of more than a friendship.

He wrote 95 pages about his affair.

He wrote 51 of the Federalist Papers, most of which were multiple pages long.

He wrote long, winded letters about the most trivial thing.

He wrote seven sentences about John Laurens.

Not proof enough for you?

Take Philip, his son, for example.

When Philip was shot and killed, it took months—months—for Hamilton to address people about it, and even still, there was barely anything he wrote.

If he can write about the same amount for a friend that he could for his son, that clearly says something.

Alexander Hamilton was emotionally devastated after Laurens' death, and it can definitely be repeated that things seemed to unravel for him afterwards.

And I'm sure you all know the little Laurens/Hamilton "last words" thing in the musical.