McHenry, James, 1753-1816

<p>James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) 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.</p>

<p>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 Philadelphia before finishing his preparatory education at Newark Academy in Delaware. Afterward, he returned to Philadelphia, where he apprenticed under Benjamin Rush and became a physician.</p>

<p>McHenry served as a skilled and dedicated surgeon during the American Revolutionary War. 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.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>01/26/1796 Secretary of War Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1784 MD Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1783 MD Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1782 MD Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

MCHENRY, James, a Delegate from Maryland; born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, November 16, 1753; pursued classical studies; immigrated to the United States about 1771 and settled in Philadelphia, Pa.; attended Newark Academy in Delaware; studied medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush, Philadelphia, Pa.; during the Revolution was appointed assistant surgeon in 1776 and later surgeon in the Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion; British prisoner of war during the Revolutionary War, 1776-1778; assistant secretary to General George Washington, 1778-1780; appointed in 1780 to the staff of General Marquis de Lafayette and served in that capacity until the end of the war; Md. justice of the peace, c. 1782; member of the state senate 1781-1786, 1791-1796; member of the state house of delegates, 1788-1790; Member of the Continental Congress 1783-1786; delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and signed the Constitution; delegate to the Maryland ratification convention, 1788; appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of Presidents Washington and Adams and served from January 29, 1796, to May 13, 1800; resided at ``Fayetteville,'' his country estate, near Baltimore, Md., until his death on May 3, 1816; interment in Westminster (Presbyterian) Churchyard, Baltimore, Md.