U.S. History: Biographies

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Further reading

James McHenry

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

James McHenry 1753-1816, American political leader, b. Ireland. He emigrated to Philadelphia in 1771 and, after studying medicine under Benjamin Rush, served as a surgeon in the Continental Army in the American Revolution. Captured by the British at Fort Washington on Harlem Heights, N.Y., he was exchanged in the spring of 1778. He was George Washington's secretary from 1778 to 1780, when he became attached to General Lafayette's staff. McHenry was (1781-86) a member of the Maryland senate, served (1783-86) as a delegate to the Confederation Congress, and attended (1787) the U.S. Constitutional Convention, where he maintained a conservative course. Later he advocated adoption of the Constitution. As secretary of war (1796-1800), he followed the political leadership of Alexander Hamilton rather than that of President John Adams. Adams finally demanded and received his resignation, and thereafter McHenry lived in retirement. Fort McHenry at Baltimore was named for him.

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McHenry, James

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

McHenry, James (1785–1845),Irish‐born poet and novelist, emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1817. His works include The Pleasures of Friendship (1822), miscellaneous verse; Waltham (1823), a poem dealing with the Revolution; The Wilderness; or, Braddock's Times (1823), a historical novel concerning Ulstermen during Braddock's campaign in Pennsylvania in the French and Indian War; The Spectre of the Forest (1823), a romance of 17th‐century New England; and Irish historical fiction, a blank‐verse drama on the Druids, and other miscellaneous literature.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "McHenry, James." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "McHenry, James." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-McHenryJames.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "McHenry, James." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-McHenryJames.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	James J. Egem of McHenry.(Obituaries)(Obituary) Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 10/9/2005
	James H. Gillette of McHenry.(Obituaries)(Obituary) Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 11/21/2006
	James S. Iwanski formerly of McHenry.(Obituaries)(Obituary) Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 1/5/2006