James McHenry papers

This collection consists of eight letters, six of which are correspondence between James McHenry and his fiance and later wife, Margaret "Peggy" Caldwell. The earliest letter is a draft of a letter James wrote to Peggy from Annapolis, dated November 19-21, 1783. He laments his separation from her, and writes at length about his desire to leave his work behind and be by her side in domestic happiness. He discusses plans for their impending marriage, noting that Peggy is hesitant to leave her family in Philadelphia. The next letter is again a draft of a message to Peggy, dated December 14, in which James further discusses their upcoming nuptials.

In the following letter written over the course of March 28-April 4, 1784, James McHenry writes to his now wife, again lamenting their separation and expressing his desire to "get you to Baltimore, to see you mistress of your own house, and pleased in your new situation." He complains at the delay of the post which will likely bring him a letter from her, even telling her that should it arrive while he is in Congress, "be assured I shall not complain if it should interrupt me in the midst of a speech."

On April 18th, James writes to Peggy about the recent marriage of mutual acquaintances, expressing disapproval. "In a word, she ought to have married a wise man, and he ought to have married a fool." Though he does not explicitly state their identities, he refers to the new bride as "poor Betsey," and then mentions later in the letter that "the parties themselves have appeared as if to justify or condemn me for what I have written," naming them as Mr. and Mrs. Weems. The bride was most likely Elizabeth Miller of Philadelphia (born circa 1765), who married John Weems of Calvert County, Maryland (born 1737) on April 8, 1784 in the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Other context clues included in the letter are McHenry's mention of her outliving her husband, and his existing children. Elizabeth Weems would die later this year at only 19 years of age.

The singular letter in this collection written from Peggy to James is dated July 10, 1789. She writes to her husband from Baltimore, expressing anxiety "for you three travellers." McHenry, who is travelling with his brother and their young son Daniel, "will have a great deal of trouble with him." As a concerned mother, Peggy writes that Daniel will certainly "be amused in the day, but at night I fear he will fret for some time." She notes James' "uncommon tenderness" as a father, expressing her deep admiration and love for him.

The final piece of correspondence between the couple is a short, undated note from James to Peggy expressing to her his enduring affection. There are no context clues included to ascertain a date aside from mention of his work in Congress.

There are three additional items included in this collection, the first of which is a letter from Dr. Benjamin Rush to Dr. James McHenry, dated August 27, 1776. The letter includes a copy of a resolution from Congress dated the day prior: "Resolved. That Congress have a proper sense of the merit and services of Doctor McHenry and recommend it to the directors of the different hospitals belonging to the United States to appoint Doctor McHenry to the first vacancy that shall happen of a surgeon's birth in any of the said hospitals."

Rush writes to McHenry that he has been given a great honor, and advises him to follow through if there are any vacancies.

The second additional item is McHenry's commission as major, dated May 30, 1781 and signed by Samuel Huntington.

The third and final item in the collection is a letter from John Eager Howard, Jr. to his brother, Benjamin Chew Howard, dated October 8, 1822. Written from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, John recounts the burial service of his brother-in-law, John McHenry, whom he refers to as "McHenry." He died suddenly of a fever on October 6. Ten days after he wrote this letter, John Eager Howard Jr., himself died in Mercersburg, likely of the same fever.