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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; secretary to General Washington 1778-1780; appointed in
1780 on the staff of General Lafayette and served in that capacity until the end of the war; member of
the State senate 1781-1786; Member of the Continental Congress 1783-1785; delegate to the
Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787; 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.
BibliographySteiner, Bernard C. The Life and
Correspondence of James McHenry, Secretary of War under Washington and Adams.
1907. Reprint, New York: Arno Press, 1979.
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