amateur historian

A Hamilton/Laurens amateur researcher

[john-laurens-hamilton]

John W. Mulligan and Charles Adams.

Would you believe me if I told you Hercules Mulligan's son and John Adam’s son were lovers? Well, maybe you would think it's a made-up story to satisfy the gay-historic-thirst of the Hamilton musical fans, but I assure you, it was a real story.

Charles Adams was the younger brother of John Quincy Adams, who was very noticeably the favorite child. He grew up with the same education as his brother, and there was not much difference between them until, at his return from school in London, Charles got a job working at Alexander Hamilton’s law firm. There, he met another young man his age, whose father was an old acquaintance of Hamilton’s: John W. Mulligan, Hercules Mulligan's son. We don't know when their relationship started, but soon after, they moved in together. They were, at this time, handsome and wealthy men in age to marry, but neither did so. Both seemed to enjoy the company of the other best.

It was, more or less, a year after they moved in together, when John Adams visited his son. His brother John Quincy was thriving in the world of politics, and the man wanted an update on how Charles was doing at Hamilton's law firm. By visiting their home, Adams quickly realized Charles and John’s relationship transcended friendship, and this horrorized him. How could his son give in to the sin of Sodom? Even though Thomas Jefferson had changed the penalty for it from death by hanging to castration in 1776, the risk of getting caught and ruining his reputation was too high, and so Adams tried to force Charles to break up with John.

But the two young men loved each other too much to simply give in to his orders. This is when John ran to Hamilton, asking him for help, confiding in his father's old friend. As a side note, this is another proof of Hamilton's bisexuality being known between his inner circle: why would John trust him with his own homosexuality if he thought Alexander wouldn't be supportive? Theorizing, Alexander probably told his first friend in the Colonies about his ‘proclivities not limited to the fairer sex’, in his own nephew’s words, which would mean Hercules knew about John's relationship with Charles, probably being the one to advice him to ask for help from Hamilton.

Alexander understood their problem. He probably saw himself and Laurens in them, and so he wrote to Baron von Sugar Daddy—I mean, Baron von Steuben—about John and Charles’ problem. Now, a bit about Baron von Steuben before continuing with the story—Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was an openly homosexual man who was exiled from Prussia for it. In the Colonies, he rapidly joined the army and ascended to General. Washington didn't seem to care about the Baron’s past in Europe, letting him have his own military facility where he did a number of very gay things. Two should be highlighted: first one, the party he held with his aides where pants were not allowed, and the second is his three closest soldiers: his personal assistant, Pierre Stephen du Ponceau (though this one gives me a bitter feeling, as Pierre was only 17), William North and Benjamin Walker, who were his lovers and formally adopted (the homosexual replacement for marriage in the 18th century) to be in his will at his death later. Now, carrying on, von Steuben was a protector of homosexual men of the time: by sending Charles and John away to him, Alexander was shielding them from Adams and giving a safe space to be open about their relationship. 

This is how they moved in with von Steuben, with whom they stayed for a happy year, being together. However, after this year passed, the Baron wanted to move upstate: while John desired to become his personal assistant and move with him, Charles desperately wanted to stay in the city. They parted ways, though this wasn't the end of their relationship: Charles got married and had two daughters, and he often left them at home while being off visiting his lover at von Steuben’s. It was on a day when Adams decided to show up uninvited to their home and he found his daughter-in-law and granddaughters alone. When questioning them for his son’s location, he was incredibly mad. Everybody knew the Baron was gay, and this only confirmed his suspicions. We have a register of the colorful vocabulary he used to refer to his son to Abigail, highlighting the following: “rake” (meaning the equivalent to manwhore) and “buck”, which meant an effeminate man. After this, he properly disowned Charles.

Charles died young of a liver infection probably caused by a genetic condition, or perhaps, alcoholism. John outlived him and von Steuben, being present on his will.

They were, indeed, very gay.

[john-laurens-hamilton]

What did Alexander Hamilton actually look like?

I've spent a lot of time looking at portraits of Hamilton, from the awful (that's an opinion) portrait by Charles William Peale to modern-day facial reconstructions, looking for constant features and repeated descriptions that can help us get as close as possible to knowing how Alexander's face really looked. So, I found myself writing these discoveries down in a Google doc with links to all of the cited portraits and busts and some descriptions. So I wanted to share.

Descriptions

This part features the collection of descriptions from publius-esquire on tumblr, whose account has been deactivated, plus a few I’ve gotten from my own research.

He was under middle size; thin in person, but remarkably erect and dignified in his deportment. His hair was turned back from his forehead, powdered, and collected in a club behind. His complexion was exceedingly fair, and varying from this only by the almost feminine rosiness of his cheeks. His might be considered, as to figure and color, an uncommonly handsome face. When at rest, it had rather a severe and thoughtful expression; but when engaged in conversation, it easily assumed an attractive smile. (William Sullivan)

Although I read with tranquility and suffered to pass without animadversion in silent contempt the base insinuations of vanity and a hundred lies besides published in a pamphlet against me by an insolent coxcomb who rarely dined in good company, where there was good wine, without getting silly and vaporing about his administration like a young girl about her brilliants and trinkets, yet I lose all patience when I think of a bastard brat of a Scotch pedlar daring to threaten to undeceive the world in their judgment of Washington by writing an history of his battles and campaigns. (John Adams)

Hamilton had no more gratitude than a Cat. If you give a hungry famished Cat a slice of meat, she will not accept it as a Gift; she will snatch at it by Force, and express in her countenance and air, that she is under no obligation to you; that she got it by her own cunning and activity, and that you are a fool for giving it to her. (John Adams)

…Yet, in the lapse of days, how insignificant appears the effigy of Burr beside this symmetrical, almost girlish engine of thought, intercourse and public science. (G.W.P. Custis, Katherine Baxter’s Godchild of Washington)

In the intercourse of these martial youths [Hamilton and Laurens], who have been styled “the Knights of the Revolution,” there was a deep fondness of friendship, which approached the tenderness of feminine attachment. (John Church Hamilton, Life of Alexander Hamilton)

…On his return, his friend said, “Well, you have seen Hamilton—you have seen the great man.” “I cannot tell you about his greatness,” the Divine answered, “but he was as playful as a kitten.” (John Church Hamilton, Life of Alexander Hamilton)

Even though he never liked to think of himself as handsome, other people couldn’t help but notice his dashing looks. [...] [his eyes were] deep azure, eminently beautiful, without the slightest trace of hardness or severity.” (Fisher Ames, Martha Brockenbrough’s Alexander Hamilton: Revolutionary) \

Portraits

John Trumbull, 1792, Alexander Hamilton

Another John Trumbull 1792 painting called Alexander Hamilton

John Trumbull, 1805 (post-mortem): The Midnight Appointments: Alexander Hamilton

Charles William Peale, early 1790s: Alexander Hamilton

Constantino Brumidi, published in 1904: Alexander Hamilton, head-and-shoulder portrait

Hamilton’s portrait in the 10-dollar bill, John Trumbull’s 1805 painting

1773 portrait of Alexander Hamilton, when he was either 16 or 18

The features we can see are persistent that Hamiton is always in a ¾ angle except for the last one, which is still made when he was young: the features I keep in my interpretation are his nose, his jawline (softer in John Trumbull’s portraits from 1792 as Hamilton grew older), and his smug grin, including mostly the arched eyebrows and the subtle smile in the corners of his lips.

Busts

Bust of Alexander Hamilton, 1794, by Giuseppe Ceracchi

His head looks like an egg and that’s so funny.

Now seriously, busts are some of the most accurate representations we have in the modern day. This one was made while Hamilton was alive, so more so; if we ignore his egghead, this is one of the most influential pieces on my own interpretation of Alexander Hamilton’s face.

...

So, I sketched my own head-shoulders portrait + side profile portrait + 3/4 portrait. I am going to redraw them and paint them properly, but these are quick drawings I'll use as references for the final one:

[DRAWINGS HAVE BEEN DELETED BECAUSE THEY SUCKED]

I am super aware these are in no way a revolutionary masterpiece, but it's my attempt: to be fair, this is a history account, not an art one. But yeah! This was a dive through every source I could find, and of course, the credit for most of the descriptions goes to publius-esquire as I mentioned earlier.

[john-laurens-hamilton]

“The enemy’s system was perfectly defensive, and rendered the campaign insipid. Many of our sanguine citizens have flattered themselves with the idea of a prompt evacuation of Charleston. I wish the garrison would either withdraw or fight us. Adieu, my dear friend; while circumstances place so great a distance between us, I entreat you not to withdraw the consolation of your letters. You know the unalterable sentiments of your affectionate Laurens.”

This letter does not have a date. John Church Hamilton—responsible for the worst censoring of his father's letters—didn’t provide a date. What we have is just this passage, presumably because the rest of the letter was of undeniable romantic nature, and as we’ve seen before, J. C Hamilton was the one to manage, edit and publish his father’s documents at the publication of his biography, doing all he could to bury the remains of Hamilton's relationship with Laurens.

Nevertheless, this paragraph gives us a deep insight in just a few words. In every letter to Alexander, John urged him to write soon, and the last goodbye was a discreet way of saying a lot without saying much. As historians say, homosexual relationships at the time meant an incredible precaution. By saying Hamilton already knew his sentiments, he reaffirmed whatever he’d told him in person without giving away any undesired information

This concludes Laurens' letters to Hamilton. As Alexander kept them until his death in 1804—22 years after Laurens' death, and until his son J. C. Hamilton found them—, it's presumed a great number of them were deemed too sexual or explicitly romantic by him and destroyed to prevent somebody finding it out and damaging his father's reputation, which would be the opposite of his purpose at releasing the biography.

Maybe the rest had deteriorated with the pass of the years, maybe they're still here. But thing is, we just have 9 letters. And these are the important ones. Maybe a deeper sight can be seen on Hamilton's letters.

[devorafetos]

Follow my historical research alt!! I post letters with my own analysis, short biographies, and narrate some unknown historical events I like, or per request! most of my research revolves around these subjects:

-John Laurens

-Alexander Hamilton

-Baron von Steuben

-Pierre du Ponceau

-Benjamin Walker

-William North

-John André

-Marquis de Lafayette

Annnd yes basically thats it!! without further over-explaining, here it is: @john-laurens-hamilton

[john-laurens-hamilton]

“I am indebted to you, my dear Hamilton, for two letters; the first from Albany, as masterly a piece of cynicism as ever was penned, the other from Philadelphia, dated the 2d March; in both, you mention a design of retiring, which makes me exceedingly unhappy. I would not wish to have you for a moment withdrawn from the public service; at the same time, my friendship for you, and knowlege of your value to the United States, make me most ardently desire, that you should fill only the first offices of the Republic. I was flattered with an account of your being elected a delegate from N. York, and am much mortified not to hear it confirmed by yourself. I must confess to you, that, at the present state of the War, I shd. prefer your going into Congress, and from thence, becoming a Minister plenipotentiary for peace, to your remaining in the Army, where the dull System of seniority and the Tableau would prevent you from having the important commands to which you are entitled; but at any rate I wd. not have you renounce your rank in the Army, unless you entered the career above-mentioned. Your private affairs cannot require such immediate and close attention; you speak like a pater familias surrounded with a numerous progeny.

I had, in fact, resumed the black project, as you were informed, and urged the matter very strenuously, both to our privy council and legislative body; but I was out-voted, having only reason on my side, and being opposed by a triple-headed monster that shed the baneful influence of Avarice, prejudice, and pusillanimity in all our Assemblies. It was some consolation to me, however, to find that philosophy and truth had made some little progress since my last effort, as I obtained twice as many suffrages as before.”

The rest of this letter has not been found.

I find from this letter three observations, one from Laurens’ affection to Hamilton and two about his mannerisms and interests.

The first one is, as it’s not visible here, where it says “progeny”, what Laurens originally wrote was “family.” It was lazily crossed out and replaced by the latter word. Maybe Laurens didn’t want to accept the fact that Hamilton had found a family, and decided that addressing his children as “progeny” would be more impersonal. It was a common thing they did: in these crossed words, they hid the meaning of their affection, which they both couldn't let die, even after this was written two years after Hamilton’s marriage, about a month before Laurens' death. For example, once Alexander wrote to John writing “and now, my dear Jack…” ultimately replaced the nickname for “one.” Jack was a nickname only his close family called him. And “one” can be a move similar to Hamilon’s comma-after-dearest.

The mannerisms are the way Laurens mentioned his all-black-batallion in every single letter written to Hamilon, as he seemed to trust his friend with his abolitionist ideals more than anybody else, as his family benefited from slave work for decades and he didn't have many other close friends—“friends”—like Hamilton. Second, is how he abbreviates words such as “could”, “should,” and “would” as cd., shd., and wd. It’s just adorable.

(source: https://www.founders.archives.gov, https://john-laurens.tumblr.com/post/160878012808/you-speak-like-a-pater-familias-surrounded-with-a, https://john-laurens.tumblr.com/149243379883/fun-fact-alexander-hamilton-did-use-the-nickname )

[john-laurens-hamilton]

Quick summary of John Laurens' life

John Laurens was born to Henry and Eleanor Laurens on October 28th, 1754. With sparkling blue eyes and hair described to be the color of honey, since his teens, he had no trouble attracting company. At the tender age of 13 years old, he was already as tall as his father. In a letter to his friend, he says that he was too immersed in his studies to pay attention to any of the girls who swarmed around him. At the start, this was assumed to be a testimony of Laurens' maturity in his career.

In 1771, he moved to London shortly before his 17th birthday, then, quickly to Ginebra, the next year, to incourse in Law studies. Since his childhood, everyone noticed the young boy had a great interest in medicine, Botanics, and arts; but Henry decided it would be best for his son to stay in the family path of politics.

In Geneva, Laurens met Francis Kinloch, assumed to be his first love. Kinloch was also from South Carolina, one year younger. John desired to stay in Geneva with him, but his departure to London to finish his studies lends us a glance at their relationship through their letters. I highlight one excerpt that would be similar to future letters: "Adieu, kiss all the pretty Genevoises from me, and don't delay writing to your affectionate Laurens." (these are translated to Spanish in my notes and then back to English in the process of writing.)

Laurens and Kinloch, despite their homoerotic relationship, disagreed in political matters. This would ultimately be the point of breaking their relationship; while Laurens was an ardent patriot, Kinloch leaned toward loyalism. At the start, this didn't make their bond break, as John says in a letter from April 12, 1776: "You and I may differ, my Dear Kinloch, in our political sentiments, but I shall always love you for the knowledge I have of your heart." Francis' answer to this letter is what many consider their breakup: "If you see any I know from upon the Carolinians of your acquaintance, give them my regards: I won't be thought of forgetting them or my country. Be sure I shall never forget you."

Almost immediately after this letter was delivered, John saw himself involved in his first and only affair with a woman: Martha Manning. Their relationship was friendly before this incident, and during it, it was purely sexual. In an incredible strike of bad luck, Martha got pregnant with Laurens' child. Five months after their daughter's conception, they got married, on the 26th of October, 1776. Laurens wrote to his uncle: "Pity has obliged me to marry." Then, in an egoistical move, he sailed to the Colonies and presented himself as a volunteer aide-de-camp to General Washington. There was no turning back; Laurens never saw his wife or his daughter, Frances Laurens, again.

In 1777, he met his last and most prominent love: Alexander Hamilton. Described with reddish hair, slightly freckled, and "deep azure eyes, eminently beautiful, without the slightest trace of hardness or severity." They are theorized to have fallen in love with each other, and this maintained itself until his death day. Possibly the most romantic letter opens this way, surely known by everyone who has looked into the subject:

"Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my dear Laurens, by actions rather than words, to convince you that I love you." In this letter, many instances let us see into the nature of them, maybe the following worth highlighting:

"I mind you do justice to the length of my nose, and don't forget that I _____"

After, there are five words crossed out, probably by J. C. Hamilton, looking to protect his father's legacy. There are many theories and analyses of what those words might be. One of them is very convincing, well-founded and probably accurate, but out of respect for the owner of this theory, I won't use. In any way, considering the context—the size of one's nose was an euphemism for the size of the penis—it insinuates Laurens knew what Hamilon's penis looked like.

Laurens pushed Alexander to get married; that way, he might get rid of his unholy desires for men. In 1780, Hamilton married Eliza Schuyler, and wrote how his marriage wouldn't change the devotion toward him. Noneteheless, in 1782, Laurens wrote his last letter to Hamilton, signed as: "you knows the unalterable sentiments of your affectionate Laurens."

Hamilton answered, asking John to drop his sword and put on a toga: "come to congress, my friend, the war is over," and signed it as "yours forever." Twelve days later, John died in Tuesday the 27th of August, 1782. We'll never know wether he read that letter.

[john-laurens-hamilton]

“From Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens

[Philadelphia, December 5, 1778]

My Dear Hamilton:

You have seen, and by this time considered, General Lee’s infamous publication. I have collected some hints for an answer; but I do not think, either that I can rely upon my own knowledge of facts and style to answer him fully, or that it would be prudent to undertake it without counsel. An affair of this kind ought to be passed over in total silence, or answered in a masterly manner.

The ancient secretary is the Recueil of modern history and anecdotes, and will give them to us with candor, elegance, and perspicuity. The pen of Junius is in your hand; and I think you will, without difficulty, expose, in his defence, letters, and last production, such a tissue of falsehood and inconsistency, as will satisfy the world, and put him for ever to silence.

I think the affair will be definitively decided in Congress this day. He has found means to league himself with the old faction, and to gain a great many partisans.

Adieu, my dear boy. I shall set out for camp tomorrow.

John Laurens.”

This is the first letter we have registered from Laurens to Hamilton. Nothing is really special, but to contextualize, at that time John was probably serving in Valley Forge to General von Steuben. He was a Sentimentalist, for which the starting of the letter: “My dear Hamilton” wouldn't mean much if it weren't for two facts: One, growing up in the strict rules of Henry Laurens, John didn’t usually show affection, so his registered letters were notably innexpresive except for three subjects: Francis Kinloch, theorized to be his first boyfriend, James Laurens Sr., his uncle, and Alexander himself. And two, maybe the most notable: In his goodbye, he calls Hamilton “my dear boy”, the masculine equivalent to, of course, “my dear girl,” a nickname reserved for his wife. It was, based on that, something he considered to be a romantic thing to say. That way to address Hamilton is one the historians who deny the relationship between the two haven't been able to explain properly yet.