Of QUEENS and FOUNDING FATHERS: Spirit of 76 14 April 2005 Vol 2 Issue 8 Salt Lake Metro

Of Queens and Founding Fathers

Prince Henry of Prussia

We don’t celebrate April 19 anymore. April 19 is Patriots Day. In New England this is a big deal, but not such a big deal in Utah where Pioneer Day is king of the holidays. Speaking of kings, it’s a little known fact that after the revolution many of the “founding fathers” wanted to create an American monarchy instead of a presidency. Along with James Monroe, Alexander Hamilton was dissatisfied with the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and contemplated installing a liberal-minded monarch for the position of executive. Hamilton supported Prince Henry of Prussia, the younger brother of King Frederick the Great, for that post and diplomatic letters were sent.  However the 1787 Constitutional Convention convened, to form a new Constitution, before Prince Henry could reply and the concept of a monarchy among the conventioneers was rejected. Had events turned out otherwise, America's first king would have been a queen! Prince Henry like his brother King Frederick, had never made much effort to hide his interest in young men and an expose’ on the prince was even published in 1789 explicitly referring to Prince Henry's "passion for pederasty". 

Baron Von Steuben

The Prussian Court of King Frederick the Great was rife with "man on man" sex.  In fact, one such Prussian aide, to Frederick the Great, came to America to help train the Continental Army, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben. According to many sources, Von Steuben originally had been forced to leave Prussia because he had taken indecent liberties with various young men of which he was overly fond.  In American he joined the Continental Army and was later made Inspector General by George Washington. Von Steuben and shared the bitter winter at Valley Forge 1777-1778. After the war Congress voted him a pension and land in his retirement for being "Indispensable to the achievement of American Independence". 

Another Prussian, not as honored as Von Steuben, was Frederick Gotthold Enslin. In 1778 this lieutenant in George Washington's army was dishonorably discharged for attempted sodomy on the person of another soldier. This is the only known case of sodomy in the Continental Army and is found in George Washington's general orders dated March 10 1778.

"At a General Court Martial whereof Colo. Tupper was President Lieu. Ensiling of Colo. Malcolm’s Regiment tried for attempting Sodomy with John Moonwort, a soldier. Secondly for perjury in swearing to false accounts, found guilty of the charges exhibited against him being breaches of the 5th Article 18th section of the Articles of War and do sentence him to be dismissed from the service with Infamy. His Excellency the Commander and Chief approves the sentence and with abhorrence and Detestation of such infamous crimes orders Lt. Ensiling to be drummed out of Camp tomorrow morning by all the Drummers and Fifers in the army never to return; the Drummers and Fifers to attend on the Grand Parade at Guard mounting for that purpose.

Ganymede Cup bearer to Zeus

The 1789 expose’ on Prince Henry of Prussia noted that "The aristocracy of the army knows that with Prince Henry, the Ganymede’s shall always be in control." Never heard of Ganymede?  Your public school education has failed you. Or perhaps you just slept through high school.  Ganymede of course was the Greek youth who was so beautiful that Zeus fell in love with him and brought the teenager to Mount Olympus to serve the king of the god’s every pleasure. Some historians, okay the Gay ones, see Alexander Hamilton as a sort of Ganymede to George Washington- the Father of Our Country! Indeed Hamilton, who was a young handsome youth, quickly rose to power by flattering powerful older men during the Revolutionary War.

Throughout George Washington's life, he showed little interest in women. As a young single man, he even told friends that there was only one woman that he would ever consider marrying and that she was already married to his friend George William Fairfax. George eventually caved in to pressure after being persuaded that it was unseemly for a public figure to remain unmarried and thus he married a wealthy widow, Martha Cutis. And while known as the father of his country, Washington actually never fathered anyone. 

Washington's closest attachments were always young men, particularly Alexander Hamilton. Throughout the Revolution, the young Hamilton served as aide-de-camp to the middle aged Washington, serving as personal secretary and closest companion. However Hamilton had his own romantic friendship with John Laurens, a well heeled aristocrat from a prominent Charleston, South Carolina family.

Alexander Hamilton

In 1776, at the age of 19, Hamilton became a captain of the American artillery and joined General Washington's staff in 1777, where he met 24 year old Laurens. Laurens and Hamilton, both young revolutionaries and part of the close male circle surrounding General Washington, formed an intense and many say romantic attachment, which was revealed in letters written from 1779 until 1782. 

John Laurens

One, written April 1779 by Hamilton to Laurens, stated, "I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power by action rather than words to convince you that I love you. …You should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent.” Later in the letter, Hamilton asked Lauren to find him a wife. “To excite their emulation, it will be necessary for you to give an account of the lover- his size, make quality of mind and body, achievements, expectations, fortunes &c. In drawing my picture, you will no doubt be civil to your friend; mind you do justice to the length of my nose and don't forget (five words are crossed out). After reviewing what I have written I am ready to ask myself, what could have put it into my head to hazard this jet de follies. Do I want a wife? No- I have plagues enough without desiring to add to the number that greatest of all.. And if I were silly enough to do it, I should take care how I employ a proxy. ..I have gratified my feelings, by lengthening out the only kind of intercourse now in my power with my friend. Adieu”   

On August 27 1782 in a minor shoot-out with a British foraging party, John Laurens was killed at the age of 28 and Hamilton remained a trusted confidant of George Washington until February 1781 when they quarreled.

Hamilton and Laurens

After the war Hamilton and Washington renewed their friendship and Washington chose Hamilton to serve as first Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton was a founder of the Federal Party, advocating a strong central government. He was instrumental in securing the victory of Thomas Jefferson, his political foe, over Aaron Burr in the Presidential Elections of 1800 which led to Hamilton's death in 1804 in a duel with Burr. Hamilton was 47 years old.