undiscoveredstory:

Ahh thank you!!! I would be happy to tell you about historical Lams (Alexander Hamilton & John Laurens, for those of you who don’t know)! Keep in mind that all we know about them comes exclusively through letters, so there is a lot missing. I’m going to focus on one major letter in this post. If you want me to write about other letters just send me another ask! <333

(Read Eliza Schuyler Facts Part One) (Read Eliza Schuyler Facts Part Two)

(Read Peggy Schuyler Facts)

(Read Lafayette Facts Part One) (Read Lafayette Facts Part Two) (Read Lafayette Facts Part Three)

Historical Alexander Hamilton & John Laurens 

• These two met when they were both serving as aides-de-camp to George Washington
• This was in 1777 
• We don’t know as much about the times they were physically together because what we know comes from letters they wrote to each other while separated 
• The first surviving letter between them is penned by Laurens from Philadelphia on December 5, 1778
• It sticks to business (he writes about the Charles Lee fiasco) 
• The next letter, penned by Hamilton in April 1779, gives us much more
• It’s the famous “Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it was in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you”
• That is one HECK OF AN OPENING even for the 18th century 
• 18th century gentlemen were allowed to have close relationships and express their affection to each other in more explicit language than we’re accustomed to today
• But Hamilton and Laurens’ letters go beyond that, and this one is a perfect example
• Hamilton chides Laurens for “steal(ing) into my affections without my consent,” which tells us Hamilton values Laurens unlike any of his other military friends (Lafayette, Tilghman, McHenry, etc.)
• The opening of this letter is super loving tbh
• But it’s what comes later on that always gets me
• He talks military stuff as if everything is normal, then mentions that a letter is enclosed from Laurens’ wife
• This seems to be the first Hamilton ever hears of Laurens having a wife, because he also says that the person who gave him the letter spoke of a daughter (of Laurens’)
• The way he words it implies he didn’t know this previously… odd for such close “friends”
• The theory is that Laurens kept the marriage from Hamilton
• Why???
• I’ll let you come to your own conclusions
• After Hamilton mentions this, he commands Laurens to find him a wife, and goes into great detail on what he’s looking for
• After a huge paragraph of description for his future wife, Hamilton says upon rereading it, he has no idea why he said it
• Yet he doesn’t rewrite the letter……
• He kept it in on purpose, likely to spite Laurens for not mentioning his wife and child at all
• Hamilton is being a jealous lover, basically, and it’s amazing
• But the best part??? 
• Hamilton tells Laurens to give any potential future wives “an account of the lover—his size, make, quality of mind and body,” (emphasis original to letter)
• This implies Laurens is familiar with Hamilton’s body
• Hamilton then tells Laurens to describe the length of his “nose”
• This is an innuendo for…….. something else……….
• Then, the famous scratched out words
• The line after the “nose” part was scratched out by Hamilton’s son much later on
• It is thought to say “I never spared you any pictures”
• Pretty much cementing that they shared something more than friendship
• Based on how Hamilton writes to Laurens in his letters, I would venture to say it was romantic as well as sexual 
• Many people point to the fact that we tend to have only one surviving side of the Ham/Laurens letters, that side being Hamilton’s
• One theory is that Laurens’ letters were destroyed upon his death because of their potentially revealing nature
• Let me, a historian, say this: most historians agree John Laurens was gay
• The questions then becomes “what did Hamilton feel?” 
• I think his letters make that pretty clear……

As I said before, I’m happy to talk about more letters in another post! I just didn’t want this one to get too long.