Definitely not Leo

"I was Chaos, he was Order, together we made the Universe"

John Mulligan and Charles Addams i love you guys

art inspired by this amazing fanfic!

Just a doodle of Washington's military fam in 1780

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.

may I offer you more affectionate lams in this trying time