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Name: John Laurens

Aliases/Nicknames: Jack, Lieutenant Colonel Laurens, “The Young Bayard of the Revolution”

Gender: Male

D.O.B.: October 28th, 1754

Age: 22-27 (Rev-War), 28+ (Default Post-Combahee AU)

Hometown: Charles Town, Province of South Carolina, British America

Nationality: British American

Appearance/Style: John Laurens is a tall, handsome young man in his early to mid twenties, standing somewhere around 6'2" or 6'3", with a sinewy build; he is muscular, athletic and somewhat broad-chested, although not overly bulky, and lean in terms of physique with long legs that made him quick on his feet. Paintings consistently depict him as being taller than average for men of the time, and having an aquiline/Roman nose. He's considered to be quite attractive and according to The Conquerer by Gertrude Atherton; "a man so handsome that, we are told, people experienced a certain shock when he entered the room." He has slightly curly, dark brown hair that reaches a few inches above the tops of his shoulders, most often pulled back in a queue and secured with a ribbon or simply worn loose when he is dressed casually at home, and piercing almond-shaped bluish-green eyes that look nearly turquoise in the right light, sometimes appearing more blue or more green, and occasionally taking on a gray hue. Born and raised in South Carolina for most of his life, he had a naturally clear, tanned complexion, though it faded in time during the war as they spent days trekking through mud, rain and snow. He has a scar on his shoulder and right side of his throat from a falling accident as a child, and later gained several more scars from being shot with musketballs during the war, in addition to a handful of layered scars on the back of his left shoulder blade that extend slightly across his spine. He was said to be courtly and refined in appearance, likely a result of his privileged upper class upbringing and European education.

Face Claim: Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Medici: Masters of Florence, Cinderella (2015), Bodyguard, 1917, etc.)

Personality: John Laurens was described as being the 'young Bayard of the Revolution' and, fresh from the colleges and courts of Europe, accomplished to the highest degree and of flawless character. He was called noble, and an intellectual "burning with the most elevated patriotism." Indeed, Laurens is an extremely passionate individual with an almost startling amount of determination. Loyal to a fault, when he supports something/someone, he supports it wholeheartedly and fervently. He's also quite stubborn; while he isn't necessarily unwilling to listen to the ideas of other people he can become quickly frustrated if they don't appear willing to consider the merits of what he has to say, as shown with his falling out with former lover and friend Francis Kinloch over political differences, with him supporting the Patriot cause and the other sympathizing with the British. Though a typically very honest and independent person, John has difficulty standing up to his father and often bends to his will even if it goes against what he personally wants, such as leaving his younger siblings behind or attending law school over medical school. He is considered by his friends to be incredibly brave, sometimes to the point of reckless stupidity, and they frequently marveled at how he was not more often injured with the way he charged into battle fearlessly.

Despite his seemingly open book life, John is very much reserved when it comes to his affections and his secrets, which he only shares with the closest of individuals. He holds a lot in, preferring to put on a façade of what he believes people expect of him - the perfect son, doting older brother, charming and dedicated soldier, etc. In reality he believes he will never live up to his father's expectations and suffers from bouts of melancholy and depression, during which times he tends to court death even more regularly than he normally would; his perceived failures and imperfections as the eldest son are a major source of anxiety and self deprecating thoughts and actions. There's a part of him that is terrified to the core of people discovering who he really is and hating him for it, especially with regards to his sexual interests, which he consider to be deviant, but is unable to help his desire for companionship enough to 'resist' as he believes he should if he were stronger or more virtuous. He knows if people were to find out it would ruin not only him but his family also. John has a bit of a temper and little patience for putting up with things like cowardice, such as the time he threatened to use his sword on the first man, on his own side, to suggest surrendering to the British. He can also be quite cocky and arrogant when he wants to be, but also holds people he isn't extremely close to at a distance in order to keep his private life just that.

In spite of all of this, Laurens is an extremely kind and caring man with a soft spot for children, as he raised his own younger siblings for a considerable time after their mother's death. He is well spoken, articulate, and something of a free spirit with creativity, considering his love of art, literature, and nature. He has a tendency towards getting (selectively) jealous and overprotective when it comes to the people he cares about, but especially towards his lovers. John doesn't do anything half way, whether it's fighting for a cause or falling in love. When his sights are set on something/someone, they become everything to him. If you insult someone he cares about and respects, he will not hesitate to draw blood for such an offense.

Biography: Henry Laurens and Eleanor Ball Laurens had a total of twelve children during their marriage, but only five lived through infancy, and only four lived to see adulthood. John, the eldest of the surviving children and the fourth born, was born in 1754 on October 28th in Charles Town, South Carolina. Both of his parents came from families that were prosperous as rice planters/cultivators, and by the 1750s, Henry and his partner George Austin had become wealthy as owners of one of the largest slave trading houses (Austin & Laurens) in North America, something that would deeply affect his relationship with his son and impacted John's political views significantly as he grew older. When he was ten years old his younger sister Cassie and he both contracted smallpox and she died two days after he recovered, breaking the young boy's heart considering they were extremely close. John also lost an eleven week old brother, Leon, when he was four years old, and when he was thirteen his five-year-old sister Rachel passed away in his arms due to a serious bout of pneumonia. These incidents left him extremely protective of his remaining four siblings; Patsy, Harry, Jemmy and Polly.For most of their childhood, John and his two surviving younger brothers, Henry "Harry" Jr. and James "Jemmy", were tutored at home.

He was extremely close to his mother and she imprinted a lot of her world views on him simply due to the amount of time they spent together, her being extra protective because he was her first child to survive infancy. She would read to him frequently, anything from satirist Alexander Pope, to the Greek mythological Iliad by Homer, to Sir Isaac Newton and romantic poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. He often spent hours with her in the gardens or watched her paint and did his own doodles; he later had several pieces of his art published in a journal, most notably live sketches of turtles. Unfortunately, the happy and loving relationship would not last. After a difficult pregnancy with her final child and second (surviving) daughter with Henry, named Mary "Polly" Laurens, Eleanor passed away roughly a month later due to a complication now known as postpartum eclampsia, leaving her five children motherless; John was fifteen at the time and described by Henry to be inconsolable. After grieving for a week in near silence, he willingly stepped into the role of a sort of maternal figure/replacement parent while their father was busy, so his siblings did not grow up entirely raised by nannies during the times he wasn't there. He was especially protective of the two youngest, Jemmy and Polly.

In October of 1771, Laurens' father moved with his three sons to London for further education, leaving Patsy and Polly behind with an uncle, much to John's chagrin. As he grew older, Henry began to discuss with John the need for him to study law and start a family of his own after gaining his education, pressuring him to consider what he wanted in a wife, a topic that made Laurens almost as uncomfortable as when Henry talked about him 'inheritance’, of which he had no interest. After scouting out potential schools in Europe to leave his sons at, family friends recommended Geneva, Switzerland, and so that was where John and Harry (the second oldest son) were sent for two years beginning in the summer of 1772, forcing John to part with young James. Geneva, which was a surprisingly forward thinking place for the time, was where John became more exposed to the idea of women's rights, abolition, and free government among other things. At the age of eighteen he had his first sexual experience with a man, which only confirmed what he had known for a long time but dreaded admitting to himself - he was not attracted to women in the least. Sometime in 1774 he was formally introduced to Francis Kinloch, a boy who had grown up in Southern Carolina as well. Not long after that, they became physically involved, and John fell hard and fast for a man that, due to their extremely different political views was doomed to fail (Kinloch was, at least in the beginning, a diehard Loyalist while Laurens firmly believed in the Patriot cause). Though he wished to remain in Geneva for another year to spend more time with Francis, Henry forced him to return to London and, despite John's strong desire to attend medical school, his father pushed him towards law until John finally relented.

He did his best to keep his relationship with Francis going but between the career path he was pressured into, being left by his father to look after his younger brothers, the rising tensions between Britain and the Colonies, the strain of their political differences was too much and the two of them fell out, something which only served as another heavy weight on John's already burdened shoulders. To make matters worse, one September 5th in 1775 when John was away with college peers, his younger brother Jemmy - always adventurous and brimming with energy - climbed a wall on their London property and tried to jump to the roof outside of John’s bedroom window, but slipped and fell, hitting his head and sustaining a severe head wound that proved fatal when he passed away early the next morning. This loss devastated John beyond belief, as he had essentially raised little James from the age of four and a half when their mother died in 1770 to 1772 when they were separated and again from 1774 upon his return to London until his death. It felt like losing a limb to John, and from September to October he took quite ill from the stress and the grief of it all. At one point after Jemmy's death, perhaps out of loneliness, John finally picked up his pen and wrote Francis after more than seven months of silence, telling him about his brother's death and attempting to start up a new correspondence with him. When the attempt to reconcile their friendship - among other things - fell through, John sought comfort in the arms of a woman he had become close friends with, Martha Manning, whom he had known as a boy due to her father's connections with his own.

Angry and sad over the way his life was shaping up to be, and lonelier than he could ever recall, he had a midnight tryst with Ms. Manning, half remembered and laced with the taste of alcohol, pain and regret. John continued to blame himself for his baby brother's' death, something his father's stern letters to him did nothing to assuage, and he began spending more time with Martha, as he genuinely enjoyed her company in a less romantic sense, beginning to see her as a friend and confidant. However, rumors began to circulate soon that John was courting Martha, and when he learned of this he made his desire to travel to America and fight in the war (against his father's wishes) clear. He didn't want to become a lawyer, or get married, or settle down in London of all places. His desires were briefly put on hold when Martha came to him one evening, in tears, and told him she had not bled in over a month, and that she believed herself to be pregnant. Deeply conflicted, John eventually, reluctantly, asked Martha's father for her hand in marriage, without revealing the true reasons why except to a select few friends and his uncle. He had too much honour to disgrace an innocent girl and force her to bring up his bastard child with her reputation ruined. Still, as much as he cared for her, he did not see her in a romantic light, and his love was of a platonic nature. After they were married, John was visited by Kinloch on several occasions and, after learning of their situation, Francis offered to keep an eye on Martha as he knew John's heart was settled into the Colonies and he did not intend to remain in London much longer. On a handful of occasions, Francis spent the night at their home under Martha's suggestion, and though they never explicitly spoke of it, Francis would keep her company in other ways John could not... and took care of him the same way as well. As a result of this strange, yet oddly peaceful time, Martha Manning-Laurens would go on to name her and John's daughter after the two people John had loved the most, Francis himself, and his mother.

In January of 1777, his daughter Frances Eleanor Laurens was born, baptized on February 18th, 1777. Laurens' father-in-law wrote to him that the infant had "undergone much pain, & misery by a swelling in her hip, & thigh, I believe from a hurt by the carelessness of the nurse". Ella was not expected to live, but by July 1777, she had recovered from a successful surgery to her hip. Laurens would not get to meet his daughter for many years. Instead of remaining in England to complete law school and raise a family, John Laurens embarked for Charleston in December of 1776. He arrived in April of 1777. That summer, he accompanied his father from Charleston to Philadelphia, where Henry Laurens was to serve in the Continental Congress. Unable to prevent him from joining the Continental Army, his father reluctantly used his influence to obtain a position of his honor for his then 22-year-old son in attempt to give him some semblance of safety, much to his annoyance. When General George Washington invited Laurens to join his staff in early August of that year as a volunteer aide-de-camp, John agreed, though desiring to take a field position he knew being on Washington's personal staff would at least get him closer to realizing his goals. Laurens soon became close friends with two of his fellow aides-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette; even converting the latter to become an Abolitionist as he himself had become when he was in Geneva, which the Marquis would faithfully show open support for, for the rest of his life.

John took it a step further however, in that he actually debated the virtues and even the necessity of Abolition with Washington himself, leaving a profound impact on the older man (though not as great as John would have liked). He quickly became known for his reckless courage upon first seeing combat on September 11, 1777, at the Battle of Brandywine during the Philadelphia campaign, something even Lafayette took notice of, claiming it was a miracle he had not been wounded or killed with how hard he seemed to be trying. A few days later on September 16th, John was present at the Battle of the Clouds, when the British and American forces were squaring it off against one another when a torrential downpour intervened. On October 4th, he was involved in the Battle of Germantown, as General Washington's forces surprise-attacked the British north of Philadelphia. At one point, the Americans were stymied by a large stone mansion occupied by the enemy. After several attempts to take the building failed, Laurens and a French volunteer, the chevalier Duplessis-Mauduit, came up with their own daring plan. They gathered some straw to set on fire and place at the front door of the house. According to another officer’s account of Laurens' actions that day, “He rushed up to the door of Chew’s House, which he forced partly open, and fighting with his sword with one hand, with the other he applied the wood work a flaming brand, and what is very remarkable, retired from under the tremendous fire of the house, with but a very slight wound.” Laurens was struck by a musket ball that went through part of his right shoulder, and he made a sling for his arm from his uniform sash. As John Laurens effectively established himself a courageous reputation at the Battle of Germantown, he also left an impression on the leaders of the Army, particularly Washington himself, who appreciated Laurens’s bravery in addition to his intelligence and writing skills.

Two days after Germantown, on October 6, 1777, John Laurens was officially appointed an aide-de-camp to Washington with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. It was honestly a miracle that Washington was able to keep him in an office for much of the war when his heart seemed to be set on decimating the British forces himself if permitted, using his effective but unconventional military tactics (such as arson). Upon his arrival at Valley Forge, Lieutenant Colonel Laurens, along with the rest of Washington’s aides-de-camp, went about the myriad duties of a staff officer. This mostly entailed writing and transcribing letters, but also included tracking expenses, acting as couriers or messengers, coordinating travel and lodging, gathering supplies, preparing meetings, spying and infiltration regarding the enemy, and special assignments. John also served as an unofficial liaison of sorts between his father and General Washington. During this time, Henry Laurens was the President of the Continental Congress currently meeting at York, Pennsylvania. John was constantly keeping his father informed of the challenges, occurrences, and rumors of the Continental Army. John's thoughts on the entire experience could basically be summed up with the quote, "Fuck Congress." But he duitfully became the buffer between his father and Washington regardless. As the “Conway Cabal” unfolded, John Laurens unwaveringly supported his commander-in-chief by penning letter after letter to his father, giving his critical opinions on Washington’s detractors, Generals Gates, Conway, and Mifflin. Henry Laurens had always admired Washington, and his son’s letters reinforced this confidence.

Despite all of these tasks, John was still able to pursue a personal undertaking to which he devoted much time and thought. Laurens envisioned enlisting slaves into the Continental Army. They would form their own “black battalions,” and in return, be offered their personal freedom. It was quite a radical idea, considering it came from the son of one of the largest plantation owners in the south. But it was something that Laurens believed in very strongly. He was extremely persistent in this endeavor, despite encountering many setbacks. Not only did he discuss these ideas with his father, but also Washington, Hamilton, Lafayette, and virtually anyone else who was willing to listen, whether they agreed or not. The responses he received were usually praise for his enthusiasm, but offered cautionary advice about the opposition he would encounter, none of which Laurens took to heart. After Valley Forge Laurens marched with the rest of the Continental Army to face the British at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse in New Jersey at the end of June 1778. He was on the field during this engagement, but somehow managed to avoid any intrepid acts of daring, likely due to Charles Lee's abysmal 'leadership' which left the entirety of the Army in a state of confusion and frustration. Following Monmouth, Laurens was detached from Washington’s staff and sent on a special assignment. Since he spoke French, John acted as a liaison with the newly arrived French forces under the command of Count d’Estaing. He remained in this capacity during the campaign to recapture Newport, Rhode Island in August 1778. December 1778 found Laurens involved in yet another escapade. The audacious young Lieutenant Colonel had challenged General Charles Lee to a duel. Lee had recently undergone a court martial in which he had not only verbally insulted Laurens, but also “spoken of General Washington in the grossest and most opprobrious terms of personal abuse.” The weapons of choice were pistols, and unlike most duels, Laurens and Lee started by facing each other, and then advanced until only about six paces separated them. Both men fired simultaneously; Laurens was not hit, but Lee was wounded in the side. However, Lee had only been grazed by the ball, and he insisted on reloading the weapons for another shot. Laurens voiced his acceptance. Their seconds protested, saying that it should end. Eventually cooler heads prevailed, and it was declared that honor had been satisfied and the duel was over. It is strongly believed that Hamilton was the major reason the duel did not persist that day, and that no one lost their lives. Lee later declared that Laurens’s conduct on this occasion was gentlemanly, and he had gained an “odd sort of respect for him.”

In the spring of 1779, the British embarked upon a campaign in the south, captured Savannah and moved next to Charleston. Laurens wanted to take part in the defense of his home state, and received permission from Washington to do so in March, 1779. The Commander-in-Chief wrote: "Lieutenant Colonel Laurens, who will have the honor of delivering you this, has served two Campaigns in my Family in quality of aide De camp... Though unwilling to part with him, I could not oppose his going to a place where he is called by such powerful motives, and where I am persuaded he will be extremely useful. I have therefore given him leave of absence ‘till a change of affairs will permit his return, when I shall be happy to see him resume his place in my family." On his way to South Carolina, Laurens stopped by Philadelphia to petition Congress for support of his plan to enlist slaves into Continental service. With dire circumstances in the south, Congress resolved, “That it be recommended to the states of South Carolina and Georgia, if they shall think the same expedient, to take measures immediately for raising three thousand able bodied [black men].” Congress suggested that the blacks be formed into separate battalions “according to the arrangements adopted for the main army, to be commanded by white commissioned and non-commissioned officers.” Despite all this, when Laurens brought the proposal before the South Carolina state legislature, he was met with hostility and protest. He had come closer, but still remained far from his idealistic goal. Congress had also given Laurens a regular commission in the army as a lieutenant colonel, which would give him the authority to command troops in the field.

Upon reaching Charleston, Laurens was put in charge of some rear guard troops who were in danger of being overrun by the enemy. Instead of withdrawing and fighting a defensive action, Laurens ordered the inexperienced troops on an unnecessary charge. The Americans suffered casualties, Laurens’s horse was shot and he was wounded in the right arm. Afterwards, the American commander, General William Moultrie, was infuriated when he found out what Laurens had done. Several other American officers felt similarly, however the citizens of Charleston regarded Laurens as a fearless hero. Lieutenant Colonel Laurens later took part in the failed attempt to retake Savannah in October, 1779. By 1780, John was back in Charleston during the siege, and he eventually surrendered with almost 5,500 other American troops in May of that year. Taken as a prisoner by the British, he was shipped to Philadelphia, where he was paroled with the condition that he would not leave Pennsylvania. While in Philadelphia, Laurens was able to visit his father, who would soon take ship for the Netherlands as American ambassador, in search of loans. During the voyage to his post, Henry Laurens’ ship was seized by the British, resulting in the elder Laurens' imprisonment in the Tower of London. Determined to return to South Carolina, and in the expectation of being freed by a prisoner exchange in November 1780, Laurens wrote to George Washington and requested a leave of absence from his service as aide-de-camp, which was granted. Laurens also received news of Hamilton's engagement to Miss Elizabeth Schuyler, which he replied to in less than enthusiastic manner, despite another of Hamilton's letters declaring that Laurens 'eagerness to see me married is misplaced', indicating John wanted to see Alexander married, possibly so he could move on from him or have someone to care for Alexander (which indicated he did not believe their relationship would last (or that he would live very much longer). This was a strained time between the two men with such a distance between them. It was during this time that Laurens stopped corresponding regularly with Alexander, causing a fray in their relationship, and Hamilton sent him another letter concerned of the state of his mental health, indicating that he seemed to believe Laurens was somehow suicidal, as he would check in on him and encourage him not to do anything foolish. During the time of his parole in Philadelphia, Laurens took up lodgings with Francis Kinloch who had been released earlier than he was and was serving as a South Carolina representative of the Continental Congress. Their physical relationship was rekindled during this time, but emotionally, John was still carrying a torch for Alexander.

After his exchange, John Laurens was appointed by Congress as an envoy to procure supplies and money from France. He sailed from Boston in February, 1781, and arrived at France in March. Laurens then headed for Paris, to carry out his task of assisting Benjamin Franklin in obtaining loans from France. After six weeks elapsed with no results, the restless Laurens called on the French minister of foreign affairs, the comte de Vergennes. He made demands for money, weapons, uniforms, and ammunition for the American cause. Vergennes replied, “Colonel Laurens, you are so recently from the Head Quarters of the American Army, that you forget that you are no longer delivering the order of the Commander-in-Chief, but that you are addressing the minister of a monarch.” Not to be denied, Laurens ignored this dismissal by Vergennes, and went directly to King Louis XVI himself. At a reception where individuals were briefly brought before the king to merely bow and pay their respects, the bold Laurens apparently directly approached the king. Despite ruffling some feathers in the French court, Laurens was eventually able to secure a ten million livre loan from the Dutch, underwritten by the French. He sailed back to America in August 1781, with money and two ships loaded with military supplies. Laurens rejoined Washington’s staff in September, just in time for the Yorktown campaign. During the siege, Laurens was given temporary command of a light infantry battalion while he continued to serve as one of Washington’s aides. He participated in the dramatic night assault on British Redoubt #10 on October 14 along with his friend, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, who commanded another light infantry battalion. A few days later, the British requested a ceasefire to discuss surrender. Two commissioners were appointed by the allies to meet with the British representatives to work out terms: Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens and the viscount de Noailles (Lafayette’s brother-in-law). Laurens and Noailles stipulated that the British and German forces must surrender as unconditional prisoners of war, and that the Crown troops must march out of Yorktown with their flags cased and only certain music could be played by their bands. The British felt these were harsh terms, but Laurens pointed out that these were the same terms demanded by the British during the siege of Charleston. Laurens insisted on these conditions, and they were finally met when the British and Germans surrendered on October 19, 1781.

John Laurens, however, did not consider the war over after Yorktown. He continued pursuing his idea of raising battalions of black soldiers, but with no success. He joined General Nathanael Greene’s army in South Carolina and played a part in driving the British from the backcountry of his home state. As the war came to a close, it seemed Laurens was certain to be one of the predominant leaders of the new nation. His good friend, Alexander Hamilton, who had resigned from the army after Yorktown and was appointed to the Continental Congress in 1782, wrote to Laurens: "Peace made, My Dear friend, a new scene opens. The object then will be to make our independence a blessing. To do this we must secure our union on solid foundations; a Herculean task and to effect which mountains of prejudice must be leveled! Quit your sword my friend, put on the toga, come to Congress. We know each others sentiments, our views are the same; we have fought side by side to make America free, let us hand in hand struggle to make her happy." Laurens, however, could not give up on his belief that slaves could and should be allowed to earn their freedom, nor the recklessness . It was in August 1782, when Lieutenant Colonel Laurens was put in command of a detachment of troops organized to stop a British foraging party along the Combahee River, south of Charleston. Laurens ignored his orders to maintain a defensive position, and instead sought out the British. Loyalists had notified the British of Laurens’s plans, and they prepared an ambush.

On the morning of August 27, 1782, Laurens was riding at the front of his troops when 140 British soldiers hiding in the grass rose and fired a murderous volley into the Americans. Laurens was not hit, but he refused to listen to common sense and retreat or surrender, so he instead decided to charge the enemy despite being warned that such a tactic was a guaranteed suicide. On the next British volley, Laurens was struck by several musket balls and fell from his horse, wounded. The Americans fled, but several of his companions stopped to retrieve Laurens' body, only to be startled on the escape by his moans of pain and realizing he had survived. He had been pierced by four musket balls; one tore through his left shoulder cleanly, one lodged in his right hip, another in his lower abdomen which pierced an organ, and another finally hit him in the chest, just a few inches beneath his left pectoral, barely missing his heart. The surgeons had to to get to work immediately to even have a hope of saving his life, although the chances were admittedly pretty grim. John unfortunately woke up as they were bandaging his shoulder and felt the burning pain all through his body. He was held down by several of his comrades as they tried to force him to drink enough whiskey to knock him unconscious, but it didn't take immediately. He nearly tore his throat screaming when they had to cut him open to retrieve the three musketballs, and despite managing to nearly kick the doctor's teeth in after breaking free once, he was held down by his friends as they sewed up the laceration on his liver, and then had to use a hot iron to cauterize the surgical wound on his stomach; only then did Laurens thankfully finally pass out from the severity of the pain, sparing him from suffering further trauma during the remainder of the procedure.

As soon as it was safe to travel, Laurens was taken to the Pennsylvania Hospital where he remained for the first week of his recovery. The moment Hamilton heard what had happened at Combahee River he travelled to Pennsylvania to see him for the first time since Yorktown the previous year. He insisted that Laurens return with him to New York and stay with himself, Eliza and his infant son Philip, which after some persuasion John agreed to. He couldn't help his envy over Alexander and Eliza and their beautiful, normal family, but was touched by the kindness they offered him during his recovery, and he just fell in love with the baby, who reminded him of the time he had spent raising his siblings. Once fully recovered, John moved out of their home and into a residence of his own in New York, and considered his options. For the next year he mostly focused on his physical rehabilitation and relearning how to function as something other than a soldier, turning his attention to his love of artwork and nature for solace before being called to do something more with his life than be idle. It seemed that, at that moment, someone was looking out for him.

John received word during this recovery period that his long estranged wife, Martha, had died a little less than a year ago near the end of 1781, which shocked and saddened him greatly, and also left him to decide what would become of his daughter Ella, at that point not even seven years of age yet. Although he considered letting his sister Patsy raise her, which he wholeheartedly believed she would be more fit to, John wrote back and forth between her, and her caregivers, for a while before making the decision to have her brought to him, largely prompted by remembering his interactions with his young siblings, and baby Philip. He felt incredibly awkward and out of his depths at first, attempting to raise the daughter he had never even seen born, but he soon came to adore her with everything in him, and became a doting father, his biggest regret being that he hadn't had Martha and Frances brought to America with him when he left, because although he did not love Martha romantically, he still cared for her.

The year it reopened in 1784, John chose to attend King's College despite being more than a decade older than a majority of the students there, and enrolled as a medical student, eventually graduating and entering the King's College of Medicine (now referred to as the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, the medical post-graduate school for King's College/Columbia University students). As he had already previously received a college education in Europe he had no issue flying through his courses in a couple of short years. After graduating in 1789 at the age of 34, Laurens opened his own medical practice/apothecary in New York City, much to his father's displeasure. At this point, John had little contact with Henry and made it clear he wanted nothing to do with the 'family business', nor with being a lawyer, and his father could either accept him this way or cease contact; he chose the former, although the relationship remained somewhat terse for years afterwards.

He still advocated passionately for Abolition in his writings as a war veteran, and supported Alexander Hamilton's decisions in the court and, upon becoming Washington's closest assistant once more in 1789, as the Treasury Secretary. When the Hamiltons moved to Philadelphia, Laurens and his daughter followed shortly after them, as little Eleanor had become quite close to the children and he had no desire to part ways with his two dearest friends. During the 1794 Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia, he found himself torn during the controversy. On one hand he firmly believed bloodletting was a nearly useless treatment despite it being the most popular one and widely recommended upon by Dr. Benjamin Rush, and although he did not entirely agree with Dr. Edward Stevens' (Alexander's former foster brother)'s approach either - he preferred the use of medicines derived from plants such as quinine powder to manage the fever - he still found it a less volatile way to treat patients overall and ultimately sided with Stevens, particularly after his treatments seemed to ease Hamilton's and Eliza's symptoms more than the bloodletting, and recalling his own unpleasant history with Rush's treatments when he was a child and his siblings contracted malaria or smallpox. He continued to correspond regularly with Edward after that day and they remained good friends for the rest of their lives. Following the Hamiltons' return to New York, John and Ella remained long enough for him to treat the remaining patients he had with him before returning to their home upstate in New York.

Family: Henry Laurens (Father), Eleanor "Helena" Ball Laurens (Mother-Deceased), James Laurens {Paternal Uncle}, Martha "Patsy" Laurens (Younger Sister), Henry "Harry" Laurens, Jr. (Younger Brother), James "Jemmy" Laurens (Younger Brother-Deceased), Mary "Polly" Eleanor Laurens (Younger Sister), Martha Manning Laurens (Estranged Wife-Deceased), Frances "Ella" Eleanor Laurens (Daughter).

Relationships/Romantic Interests: Alexander Hamilton (Lover; Verse Dependent), Martha Manning Laurens (Estranged Wife/Former One Night Stand), Francis Kinloch (Former Lover), Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (Polyamorous Partner w/ Alexander; Verse Dependent, Platonic/Non Sexual).

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual (Closeted)

Strengths/Talents: John Laurens was noted to be an exceptionally talented young man even from the time he was a boy, being a skilled artist, linguist, and fighter. He is multilingual, having been encouraged by his parents to learn a second language when he was a child, and then to later study French in preparation for his moving to Geneva for school; he soon realized he had a knack for picking up on foreign tongues quickly and began to expand his knowledge based on that. Because of this he is fluent or at least semi-fluent in seven languages: English, Latin, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and German (X). Prior to the war he began studying Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, and Irish-Gaelic and is now conversational in all three, he also taught himself how to read Chinese due to his fascination with their medicine and philosophies. Laurens is known to be a dedicated soldier and brave towards the point of recklessness; he's fast, strong, and tough as nails when it comes to fighting, and is ambidextrous (with a right hand preference), as he was able to switch to his non-dominant hand after getting shot in the right arm, and proceeded to kill ten British men while aiding his side in a retreat in South Carolina (X).Thanks to his (reluctant) attendance of law school, John is well versed in knowledge of the law and government. As mentioned above, the soldier was also an excellent sword-fighter and fencer, and a fair shot with his pistol as well, confident enough to challenge Charles Lee to a duel and succeed in wounding him.

John is an extremely dangerous opponent, physically, and should not be underestimated under any circumstance. In his own time and upon joining the war, he made it a practice to engage in regular, vigorous exercise even while only working as a volunteer Aide, because he was determined to enter the field and was preparing for that eventuality. He has practiced the art of γυμνάζω (gymnazo), the Ancient Greek origin of what will eventually become gymnastics, which was used by the warriors of Sparta and Athens as documented in Philostratus' work Gymnasticus. Philostratus' claim was that gymnastics was a form of wisdom on par with that of philosophy, poetry, music, geometry, and astronomy, and Athens combined this physical training with the discipline of the mind. John also trained himself in the Traditional Chinese Medicine art of Dim Mak ('death point striking') and Varma Kalai, which is the Tamil traditional art of vital points, which is used in alternative medicine like TCM, traditional yoga and martial arts, in which the manipulation of pressure points is used to either heal or cause harm. He knows several different fighting techniques including Jujitsu, Greco-Roman fencing, and the Five Animals styles of Chinese martial arts. Because of his interests in other cultures and their healing arts (particularly those from China, Ancient Greece, and India), John possesses an extensive knowledge of first aid, medicinal herbs and remedies, massage, Kalisthenics (used as far back as by Alexander the Great), botany, yoga, meditation, exercise, and more.

He read the works of Hippocrates while in Switzerland, and ancient Western and Eastern philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Sun Tzu, Lao Tzu, etc. John is a talented artist with a particular interest in sketching animal and nature scenes. Following his near death experience at Combahee and deciding to finally attend medical school as he’d always wanted, John studies extensively, and to the point of near collapse, the subjects of human anatomy, cardiovascular physiology, nutrition, surgery, physical therapy, toxicology, physiology, and more. He has also dedicated a significant amount of time to the works of physicians and scientists of his time and prior, such as Theophrastus, Carl Linnaeus, Marcello Malpighi, Ibn al-Nafis, Vesalius, John Hunter, Ambroise Paré, Paracelsus, Sir Isaac Newton, and Galileo, in order to become the best physician he possibly could be for his patients, and make up for lost time.

Weaknesses: As previously mentioned, while his intentions are noble, Laurens is extremely brave, to the point of foolishness. This led to him being wounded a handful of times during various campaigns, though this never slowed him down for long. He quickly became known for his reckless courage upon first seeing combat on September 11, 1777, at the Battle of Brandywine during the Philadelphia campaign. Of this, the Marquis de Lafayette observed, "It was not his fault that he was not killed or wounded, he did everything that was necessary to procure one or t'other." One of John's bigger weaknesses are his fears; of disappointing his father, of not living up to the high expectations that have been set upon him as the first and oldest surviving child of his parents, of people finding out things about himself he's tried to keep hidden (his sexuality, the wife and daughter he left behind in shame, the guilt he feels over his younger brother's death, etc). After his severe injuries sustained at Combahee, John occasionally suffers from painful flare ups (swelling, aches and pains, joint stiffness) in the four spots where he was shot, but especially in his arm and hip. After this he can not sit for long periods of time nor can he tolerate over-exerting himself physically or it will become physically painful to move his affected joints the next day.

John has an almost absurd sense of loyalty and would probably give up the whole world if it meant keeping his loved one (whether a lover, one of his siblings, etc.) safe. He can often sometimes allow his emotions to get the better of him, this leads to him lashing out in anger at his enemies, and sometimes his own allies even, when angered, and he is slow to forgive when he feels wronged, such as his fury at Charles Lee’s perceived disrespect towards General Washington that landed the two in a duel that could very easily have cost one of them their lives, were it not for the others’ intervention (Lee and Laurens were prepared to go a second round, and Hamilton and Edwards’ managed to defuse the situation), or, as mentioned above, when he threatened to turn his own sword upon the first American soldier that suggested they surrender to the British, despite how bleak their situation looked.

Hobbies/Interests: Thanks to his mother and her love of gardening and literature, John grew up with a proclivity towards art, the natural sciences (botany, physics, astronomy, etc), as well as all things related to the fine arts such as classic literature, mythology (particularly Greco-Roman and Egyptian), theatre, painting/sketching, philosophy, cooking/baking and more. He has a strong interest in learning new languages and has a love of poetry, dancing and music, enjoys collecting and learning about different types of weaponry and combat techniques. One of John's stronger interests is medicine and the career he most wished to follow was becoming a physician, for that reason he almost always has a medical journal of some sort close by, as well as a bag of herbal remedies and homemade cures he will gladly offer to which comrade he believes to be in need of some form of relief. He can often be found in his free time simply sketching pictures of wildlife, plants, or taking a peaceful walk through the woods when the weather allows it.

Quirks/Habits: John tends to play with his hair/run his fingers through it when he's nervous or agitated, which is why he has trouble wearing it tied back for long periods of time unless he absolutely must, it makes him feel more aggravated if he can't tug on or twist the strands to relieve tension. He crosses his arms and won't make eye contact when irritated. John also has the habit of biting the inside of his cheek and digging his nails into the palms of his hands when experiencing anxious, for this reason he keeps his nails trimmed quite short.

Dislikes: The British Army and Loyalist sympathizers, the entire institution of slavery and the fact that his own family has benefitted from it while turning a blind eye to the pain it causes, betrayal of any kind, excessive violence during battle and fighting in general, being forced into living his life the way others want him to. Despite his desire to institute change in politics and the law, John actually severely dislikes law itself, it simply doesn't capture his attention the way the arts do, and he finds many of those who follow the path, while well meaning, often end up either corrupted or roped into a system they can't change, for that reason he loathes the idea of being a lawyer, which was one of his motivating factors in dropping out of college in order to return to the Colonies and enlist.

Friends/Affiliation: The Continental Army

Alignment: Neutral Good; John will follow orders when he agrees with them, but he has a rebellious streak and is not afraid to do what he wants, whether he has authorization to or not; this ties in with his reckless attitude on the battlefield which leads to him getting injured semi-frequently.

Education: John was homeschooled from a young age up until his move to Europe where his father had him sent to Geneva for his later education. After that he was made to attend law school at Middle Temple in Britain. Though he did not finish law school, in my (AU) verse he later attends and completes medical school in the recently-formed United States, with a degree in medicine and the legal right to practice in services such as general medicine, surgery, and run an apothecary (pharmacy) out of his own medical practice .

Residence: London, England (former), Charleston, South Carolina (former); New York City & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Occupation: Aide de Camp/Lieutenant Colonel of the Continental Army (Former), Physician & Surgeon (Post-Combahee)

Possessions: During the war he carries a single edged sabre with a slightly curved blade and a spiral ivory hilt in a leather scabbard, as well as dual leather holster pistols carrying a pair of smoothbore flintlock pistols with sun emblems engraved on the brass sides, walnut stocks, with fishtail-shaped handles, and silver embellishments. Once Lafayette returned from France with additional supplies he also brandished a Charleville musket as many Americans did. He carries a British made locket of "Red gold" (now known as rose gold) in the shape of a heart inlaid with small seed shaped pearls forming the shape of a flower, containing a miniature portrait of his daughter, Ella, which Martha sent him after her first birthday.

Status: Alive (No, I do not accept constructive criticism, lol)

Others: John has 2-3 times been in a polyamorous relationship, the first was with Kinloch and another male friend of theirs in Geneva, the second time was with Kinloch who was also sexually involved with his wife Martha, with the consent of both of them, and the third time is/was (verse dependent) when he was involved with Alexander while he was courting/married to Eliza Schuyler. Although not physically interested in women he does develop close personal relationships with them and is comfortable if his partner is seeing/sleeping with a woman at the same time, and will often form a close friendship with them on his end and treat them like a non-sexual domestic partner.

#Long Post //#Character Study {Meta}#Spilled Ink {Headcanon}#Out Of The Field {OOC}#Suicide Mention //#Homophobia //#Internalized Homophobia //#Slavery Mention //#Suicidal Ideation //#Death //#Child Death //

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