James McHenry (1745-1813)

Like the millions of immigrants who would come after him, James McHenry was not born in the United States. But less than five years after first landing in Philadelphia, McHenry was serving with the continental forces which surrounded Boston in 1775. The young Irish immigrant became a member of Washington's personal staff, a member of the Constitutional Convention, Secretary of War, and the president of the first Bible society in Baltimore.

McHenry was born at Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, in 1753 and received a classical education in Dublin. Though his family was fairly prosperous in Ulster, James became the first to immigrate in 1771 at age 18. Within a year he was followed by the rest of his family and they set about establishing an import business in the growing port of Baltimore, Maryland. But James had no desire to participate in the family business and studied medicine for two years under the well-known Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia.

Not much is known of McHenry's religious beliefs, but he does refer to "an estate, whose title is guaranteed by Christ, whose delicious fruit ripens every season, survives the worm, and keeps thorough all eternity." He describes the Bible as "a book of councils and direction, fitted to every situation in which man can be placed. It is an oracle which reveals to mortals the secrets of heaven and the will of the Almighty."

Studying in Philadelphia, the young student quickly acquired the skills and knowledge expected of an eighteenth century doctor, but more important for the Revolutionary cause, he also received an important political education from Rush, who was one of Pennsylvania's leading opponents of British rule and a future signer of the Declaration of Independence. .

McHenry came to accept the belief that independence from Great Britain was the only option so he offered his services to the Continental Army when hostilities broke out in New England in 1775. McHenry, still a civilian, joined the American forces participating in the siege of Boston. He worked in the military hospital in Cambridge as a volunteer assistant surgeon, but before long he was asked to accept the demanding assignment of surgeon in one of the hospitals being established in northern New York to care for the wounded in the wake of an abortive American attack on Canada. Before reporting for duty, however, McHenry returned to Philadelphia to collect additional medical supplies.

Late in 1776, while he was on the staff of the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion, the British captured him at Fort Washington, NY. He was paroled early the next year and exchanged in March 1778. Returning immediately to duty, he was assigned to Valley Forge, PA, and in May became secretary to George Washington. About this time, McHenry apparently quit the practice of medicine to devote himself to politics and administration; he apparently never needed to return to it after the war because of his excellent financial circumstances. As a member of Washington's personal staff, McHenry formed a lifelong friendship with the dynamic Lafayette and the young Alexander Hamilton.

McHenry resigned his commission at the end of 1781 to enter Maryland politics. Elected to the state legislature, he served for thirteen years, using this forum to argue the cause of federalism. Between 1783 and 1786 he sat in the Continental Congress, and in the following year he represented Maryland at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Although he played no leading part in the deliberations of the Convention, McHenry continued to support the call for a strong central government. His military staff training was reflected in his meticulous notes of the Convention's proceedings - notes that have proved invaluable for generations of American historians.

In 1796 President Washington once again called on his old wartime aide, this time to assume the duties of Secretary of War. McHenry, who would preside over the Army under both Washington and John Adams, was the third of seven Continental soldiers to hold that position. As Secretary of War, McHenry was instrumental in the establishment of West Point.

McHenry continued in office for some months after the threat of war with France ended in 1800, but disputes with Adams over the future of the Federalist Party finally made his presence in the cabinet untenable. His last years were spent in quiet retirement at his Maryland estate, "Fayetteville," named after his general at Yorktown. As a staunch Federalist, he opposed America's slide into war in 1812, although he lived to see his son follow in his footsteps as a wartime volunteer. Ironically, the son participated in the 1814 defense of the Baltimore fort named for his father, the battle which inspired Francis Scott Key, McHenry's nephew, to write the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Active in community affairs, he served as president of the first Bible society in Baltimore in 1813. In an article to solicit funds he writes, "Neither, in considering this subject, let it be overlooked, that public utility pleads most forcibly for the general distribution of the Holy Scriptures. It is for the purpose of distributing this divine book more effectually and extensively among the multitudes… that your cooperation is most earnestly requested."

The Baltimore Bible Society became the Maryland Bible Society and is still in ministry today.

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