Pastel of James McHenry (c. 1795) I was having a small chat with Chris Smith last week or so and he asked if I happened to know a guy that shared the name McHenry. I told Chris that I didn't know him specifically but that if he was a McHenry then in all likelihood we were somehow related. "Yeah. He used to talk about a Fort McHenry, in the Chesapeake area I think", he said. And then I immediately and enthusiastically dashed out some history highlights surrounding Fort McHenry. And then I confirmed that, yes, if Chris' friend Matt McHenry had ever went on about Fort McHenry history like I did just then I'd be even more certain we were related.
Anyway. So I say that just to illustrate that I just never feel inconvenienced for an opportunity to talk about this stuff. I don't need a segue at all. But if I ever did then the Fourth of July is, as far as I'm concerned, about as good of a time as any to talk about Fort McHenry.
I've done a lot of genealogy over the last decade or so and somewhere down the line my family is related to James McHenry.
Anyway. So I say that just to illustrate that I just never feel inconvenienced for an opportunity to talk about this stuff. I don't need a segue at all. But if I ever did then the Fourth of July is, as far as I'm concerned, about as good of a time as any to talk about Fort McHenry.
I've done a lot of genealogy over the last decade or so and somewhere down the line my family is related to James McHenry.
Signatures on the Constitution James McHenry was born in County Antrim, Ireland in 1753 and when he was 17 he came to America. He was incredibly smart by any account and he was known to have literally 'studied himself sick' to the terrific worry of his family. He formally studied medicine and became a surgeon. During the Revolutionary War in August of 1776, at the age of 22, he was appointed surgeon in the Fifth Pennsylvania Battalion and would also serve as secretary to General Washington from 1778-1780. And eventually he was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President George Washington. [And again in the Cabinet of President Adams.]
On September 17, 1787 he was one of 40 people to have signed the United States Constitution. [You can read the whole thing if you're up for it.]
He died on May 3, 1816 at the age of 62 and upon the death of her beloved husband, Mrs. McHenry wrote this:
"Here we come to the end of a life of a courteous, high-minded, keen-spirited, Christian gentleman. He was not a great man, but participated in great events and great men loved him, while all men appreciated his goodness and purity of soul. His highest titles to remembrance are that he was faithful to every duty and that he was the intimate and trusted friend of Lafayette, of Hamilton, and of Washington."
On September 17, 1787 he was one of 40 people to have signed the United States Constitution. [You can read the whole thing if you're up for it.]
He died on May 3, 1816 at the age of 62 and upon the death of her beloved husband, Mrs. McHenry wrote this:
"Here we come to the end of a life of a courteous, high-minded, keen-spirited, Christian gentleman. He was not a great man, but participated in great events and great men loved him, while all men appreciated his goodness and purity of soul. His highest titles to remembrance are that he was faithful to every duty and that he was the intimate and trusted friend of Lafayette, of Hamilton, and of Washington."
They named Fort McHenry in Baltimore after him and in 1814 during the War of 1812 the British Navy attacked the fort. On September 13, 1814 at around 6AM the fleet of British ships sat out in the Chesapeake Bay and just hammered their cannons and rockets at the fort for 25 hours straight. The fort was defended as best as possible under the circumstances and eventually the British gave up as they ran out of ammunition.
The story goes that Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment from a nearby truce ship. An amazingly over-sized American flag had been sewn by Mary Pickersgill and was flown at the fort in anticipation of the British attack.
[Click that picture! That's the same exact flag. The thing was huge. And apparently cost a bit over $400 bucks to make. And that's a lot of loot in 1814.]
And when Key saw the flag emerge intact in the dawn of the following day he was so moved that he began that morning to compose the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry" which would later be renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and become the United States' national anthem.
So that's it.
[Click that picture! That's the same exact flag. The thing was huge. And apparently cost a bit over $400 bucks to make. And that's a lot of loot in 1814.]
And when Key saw the flag emerge intact in the dawn of the following day he was so moved that he began that morning to compose the poem "The Defence of Fort McHenry" which would later be renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and become the United States' national anthem.
So that's it.
Except for one more thing;
When I first started doing some family genealogy and learned about James McHenry I remember being struck by the fact that in the few images I could find of him he kind of resembled my Uncle Alphonsus Andrew McHenry in some real ways. The curly hair, filtrum, chin, eyes. A lot of resemblances if you ask me. Anyway, maybe this photo of him [and my Aunt Kate] isn't the very best example to offer as comparison but I'm including it anyway as I love it so much.
Okay. That's it.
Have a great weekend.
When I first started doing some family genealogy and learned about James McHenry I remember being struck by the fact that in the few images I could find of him he kind of resembled my Uncle Alphonsus Andrew McHenry in some real ways. The curly hair, filtrum, chin, eyes. A lot of resemblances if you ask me. Anyway, maybe this photo of him [and my Aunt Kate] isn't the very best example to offer as comparison but I'm including it anyway as I love it so much.
Okay. That's it.
Have a great weekend.
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