 McHenry
was born at Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, in 1753. He enjoyed a
classical education at Dublin, and emigrated to Philadelphia in
1771. The following year, the rest of his family came to the
colonies, and his brother and father established an import business
at Baltimore. During that year, James continued schooling at Newark
Academy in Delaware and then studied medicine for 2 years under the
well-known Dr. Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia.
During the War for Independence, McHenry served as a
military surgeon. 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.
McHenry stayed on Washington's staff until
1780, when he joined that of the Marquis de Lafayette, and he
remained in that assignment until he entered the Maryland Senate
(1781-86). During part of this period, he served concurrently in the
Continental Congress (1783-86). In 1784 he married Margaret Allison
Caldwell.
McHenry missed many of the proceedings at the
Philadelphia convention, in part because of the illness of his
brother, and played an insubstantial part in the debates when he was
present. He did, however, maintain a private journal that has been
useful to posterity. He campaigned strenuously for the Constitution
in Maryland and attended the state ratifying convention.
From 1789 to 1791, McHenry sat in the state
assembly and in the years 1791-96 again in the senate. A staunch
Federalist, he then accepted Washington's offer of the post of
Secretary of War and held it into the administration of John Adams.
McHenry looked to Hamilton rather than to Adams for leadership. As
time passed, the latter became increasingly dissatisfied with
McHenry's performance and distrustful of his political motives and
in 1800 forced him to resign. Subsequently, the
Democratic-Republicans accused him of maladministration, but a
congressional committee vindicated him.
McHenry returned to his estate near Baltimore
and to semiretirement. He remained a loyal Federalist and opposed
the War of 1812. He also held the office of president of a Bible
society. He died in 1816 at the age of 62, survived by two of his
three children. His grave is in Baltimore's Westminster Presbyterian
Cemetery. |
