James McHenry

James McHenry
3rd United States Secretary of War
In office January 27, 1796 – May 13, 1800
President	George Washington John Adams
Preceded by	Timothy Pickering
Succeeded by	Samuel Dexter
Personal details
Born	(1753-11-16)November 16, 1753 Ballymena, Ireland
Died	May 3, 1816(1816-05-03) (aged 62) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Westminster Hall and Burying Ground
Political party	Federalist
Spouse	Peggy Caldwell
Signature

James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was a Scotch-Irish American military surgeon, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland, initiated the recommendation for Congress to form the Navy, and was the eponym of Fort McHenry. He represented Maryland in the Continental Congress. He was a delegate to the Maryland State Convention of 1788, to vote whether Maryland should ratify the proposed Constitution of the United States.^[1] He served as United States Secretary of War from 1796 to 1800, bridging the administrations of George Washington and John Adams. At the time of his death, McHenry owned 10 slaves, most of whom either worked as household servants or maintained his estate.^[2][3][4]