Laurens Street

Front inscription

Laurens Street, located one block south, is named for Lt. Col. John Laurens of South Carolina whose father, Henry, was president of the Continental Congress. Young Laurens studied in London several years and in 1777, while still in his early twenties, returned to America and was named aide-de-camp to General George Washington. After distinguishing himself at Germantown and Monmouth, he joined the troops fighting the British in the South.

Reverse inscription

Lt. Col. John Laurens of South Carolina, for whom Laurens Street is named, was made prisoner at the fall of Charlestown in May 1780. He was quickly exchanged and was named special envoy to France by Congress. With Benjamin Franklin and the French he planned the 1781 campaign, which led to the surrender of Cornwallis. Six months later he rejoined Washington and fought at Yorktown. Laurens was killed in South Carolina in 1782 in a Combahee River skirmish.