Henry Laurens
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First Lady: Eleanor Ball
Party: Vice President : Cabinet: Born : 1724 in Charleston, South Carolina Died: 8 December, 1792 Charleston, South Carolina Buried : Mepkin Plantation Parents: John Laurens, Esther Grasset Married : Eleanor Ball Children : 12 In Office : November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778 Education: Occupation: merchant, planter, and statesman Other Political Offices : South Carolina Commons House of Assembly President of the twelve-member Council of Safety Chairman of the Provincial Congress March 1776 elected vice president under South Carolina's first constitution. Note: He imported rum and tropical goods from the West Indies, manufactured goods from England, and slaves from Africa. While in England, in 1774, he became active in rallying American residents to petition the Commons, Lords, and the Crown concerning American grievances. Upon his return to South Carolina in December 1774, he took a major role in the province's opposition to implied British threats to American liberty. He often took a middle ground between radicals and conservatives during the American Revolution. Laurens was dispatched to Europe and charged with negotiating a treaty in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the British captured him en route. He threw his papers overboard, but they were recovered by a sailor. Being sent to England, he was committed to the Tower, on the 5th of October, as a state prisoner, on a charge of high-treason. Here he was confined more than a year. The discoveries found in his papers led to a war with Great Britain and Holland. He was soon afterward exchanged for Lord Cornwallis and commissioned by congress one of the ministers to negotiate peace. The only American president ever to be held as a prisoner of war by a foreign power. He was selected to negotiate terms at the Paris Peace Conference in 1782. Retired from public service, he found delight in agricultural experiments, in advancing the welfare of his children and dependants, and in attentions to the interests of his friends and fellow-citizens. Laurens was a staunch supporter and close personal friend of General Washington. |
