James McHenry
BIRTH
Nov 16, 1753
Ballymena, Ireland
DEATH
May 3, 1816
Baltimore, Maryland
Delegate to the Constitutional Convention (MD)
1787
FAMILY
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McHenry, James
(1753-1816)
James McHenry was a Scotch-Irish American military surgeon, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland, initiated the recommendation for Congress to form the Navy, and was the eponym of Fort McHenry. He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress. He was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1796 to 1800, bridging the administrations of George Washington and John Adams.
GRAVE:
MARKER
Grave of James McHenry
733 W Redwood St, Baltimore, MD 21201
11
Places | Image | Address | GPS | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Valley Forge National Historic Park | 1400 N Outer Line Dr, King of Prussia, PA 19406 | MUSEUM | ||
George Washington's Mount Vernon | 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy, Mt Vernon, VA 22121 | MUSEUM | ||
US Military Academy - Westpoint | 606 Thayer Rd, West Point, NY 10996 | MUSEUM | ||
Fraunces Tavern Museum | 54 Pearl St 2nd floor, New York, NY 10004 | MUSEUM | ||
DeWint House | 20 Livingston St, Tappan, NY 10983 | MUSEUM | ||
Yorktown - Surrender Field | Historical Tour Road, Yorktown, Virginia, 23690, USA | MUSEUM | ||
Grave of James McHenry | 733 W Redwood St, Baltimore, MD 21201 | MARKER | ||
Stephen Moore House Marker | River Road, Town of Highlands, New York, 10996, USA | MARKER | ||
76 House - Andre's Jail | 110 Main St, Tappan, NY 10983 | MARKER | ||
Major John Andre Hanging Site Marker | 161 Old Tappan Rd, Tappan, NY 10983 | MARKER | ||
Arnold's Flight Marker | 1 State Highway 9D, Garrison, New York, 10524, USA | MARKER |
DIED:
Baltimore, Maryland
May 3, 1816
McHenry was born into a Presbyterian Scots-Irish/Ulster Scots family in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, in 1753. Alarmed that he was becoming sick from excessive studying, his family in 1771 sent him to North America to recuperate. Recent scholarship suggests that the family may have also sent him to the colonies as an "advanced scout" to see if the entire family would wish to relocate, which they did a year later. Upon arrival, McHenry lived with a family friend in Philadelphiabefore finishing his preparatory education at Newark Academy in Delaware. Afterward, he returned to Philadelphia, where he apprenticed under Benjamin Rush and became a physician.
On August 10, 1776, he was appointed surgeon of the Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion, stationed at Fort Washington (New York). He was taken prisoner the following November when the fort was taken by Sir William Howe. While in British custody, he observed that prisoners were given very poor medical attention and initiated reports to that effect, to no avail.
He was paroled in January 1777, then released from parole in March 1778. Having sufficiently impressed George Washington, he was appointed aide as secretary to the commander-in-chief in May 1779. McHenry was present at the Battle of Monmouth. In August 1780, he was transferred to Lafayette's staff, where he remained until he retired from the army in the autumn of 1781.