Biographical/Historical: Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a South Carolina merchant, plantation owner, and Revolutionary-era statesman. Laurens was president of the Continental Congress from November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778. On November 1, 1779 Congress elected him a commissioner to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with Holland. Laurens sailed for Europe on August 13, 1780, only to be captured at sea by the British on September 3, 1780. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London under the charge of treason from October 6, 1780 until his release on bail December 31, 1781. Laurens briefly joined the American peace commission, signing the preliminary Treaty of Paris on November 30, 1782. He returned to the United States in 1784, and was a member of the South Carolina convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1788.
Funding: Digitization was made possible by a lead gift from The Polonsky Foundation

Physical Description

Extent: .21 linear feet 1 volume

Abstract

Henry Laurens (1724-1792) was a South Carolina merchant, plantation owner, and Revolutionary-era statesman. The Henry Laurens diary, 1780 August 13-1781 December 6 (1 volume) is a manuscript notebook recording his voyage to Europe as U.S. envoy to Holland, his capture at sea by the British on September 3, 1780, his transfer to England via Newfoundland, and his imprisonment in the Tower of London. Pencilled entries briefly record day-to-day experiences, serving as the foundation of a subsequent narrative compiled by Laurens of his time abroad. The last entry is incomplete.

Languages

English

Identifiers

NYPL Catalog ID (bnumber): b21133359
Archives ID: 1695
Archives Collections ID: 1695
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 0c90c3e0-ea3a-0134-795e-076dd017a035

Rights

The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Type Of Resource

Text

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MLA format

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Henry Laurens diary" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1780 - 1781. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0c90c3e0-ea3a-0134-795e-076dd017a035

APA format

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. (1780 - 1781). Henry Laurens diary Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0c90c3e0-ea3a-0134-795e-076dd017a035

Chicago/Turabian Format

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "Henry Laurens diary" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed December 5, 2025. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0c90c3e0-ea3a-0134-795e-076dd017a035

Wikipedia citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/0c90c3e0-ea3a-0134-795e-076dd017a035 | title= (text) Henry Laurens diary (1780 - 1781) | author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library | accessdate=December 5, 2025 | publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>