James McHenry Papers mssMH
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
June 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Note
Finding aid last updated on October 10, 2022 by Melissa Haley.
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: James McHenry papers
Creator:
McHenry, James, 1753-1816
Identifier/Call Number: mssMH
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear Feet
(2 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1776-1815
Date (bulk): 1796-1800
Abstract: A collection of the professional, personal, and political papers and correspondence of American statesman James McHenry.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more
information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. James McHenry papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from George D. Smith, 1919.
James McHenry (1753-1816) was an American statesman, soldier, and physician. Native of Ireland, McHenry settled in Philadelphia
in 1771 and studied medicine under Benjamin Rush. From 1775 to 1778, he served as a surgeon in the Continental Army in the
American Revolution. Captured by the British at Fort Washington on Harlem Heights, New York, he was exchanged in the spring
of 1778. From 1778 to 1780, he served as secretary to George Washington, and in 1780 to 1781, as an aid to Marquis de Lafayette.
From 1796 to 1800, he served as the Secretary of War but as a Federalist, McHenry found himself in conflict with John Adams
who demanded his resignation. McHenry retired to his estate near Baltimore, Maryland, where he died in 1816, at the age of
63.
A collection of 161 items from 1776 to 1815; it consists of the professional, personal, and political papers and correspondence
of James McHenry. The bulk of the collection consists of letters addressed to McHenry during his term as the Secretary of
War, from 1796 to 1800. Also included are: petitions to Sir William Howe and report to George Washington concerning the condition
of American prisoners of war (1776 to 1777); a regimen and diet prescribed by him to Alexander Hamilton (1778); correspondence
and documents relating to the American Revolution accumulated by McHenry during his service as Washington's secretary (1778
to 1780); and Lafayette's aid (1780 to 1781), including a journal that McHenry kept in July 10-15, 1778 en route with Washington's
Army to the North River.
The collection contains five John Adams items: autograph request signed to Secretary of War James McHenry, 1797 March 14 (MH
1); autograph letter signed to James McHenry, 1797 Ocotober 27 (MH 2); contemporary copy of letter to Timothy Pickering,
1798 June 12 (MH 3); autograph letter signed to James McHenry, 1798 July 6; and autograph letter signed to James McHenry,
1798 August 18 (MH 159).
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1925. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy
summary report. In 2022, Melissa Haley enhanced description of the presidential material present in the collection as part
of the American Presidential Papers Project.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssMH 1-116.
Arranged chronologically.
Some letters were published or referred to in: Steiner, Bernard Christian, 1867-1926, The life and correspondence of James
McHenry : Secretary of War under Washington and Adams / Bernard C. Steiner (Cleveland: Burrows Bros. Co., 1907).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cabinet officers -- United States
Physicians -- United States
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
United States -- History -- 1783-1815
United States -- Politics and Government -- 1789-1815
Diaries -- United States -- Revolution, 1773-1783
Letters (correspondence) -- United States
Military records -- United States -- 18th century
Personal papers -- United States
Professional papers -- United States -- 18th century
Adams, John, 1735-1826
Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804
Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829
Washington, George, 1732-1799
United States. Continental Army -- Officers
United States. Continental Army -- Surgeons
United States. War Department -- History -- 18th century
Box 1, Folder 1-60
1776 December-1797 July 28
Box 2, Folder 1-73
1797 August 10-1815 September 1
Folder 1
Correspondence and documents 1778-1797