Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-02-28
Il SGORr SHETCH OF TIE
PUBLIC LIFE efJ1MES MONROE.
[FRoM THE II. Y. NATIONAL Apyo-
CArE1

James Monr having been. for consi
derabie time held up 10 the view ofthe ma
ton, as the person who ought to succeed
the present chief mag strate of tAe United
States, g short sketch OF the principal Incl
dents of his public life may not be unac-
Ceptabie.
In this sketch, We cannot go into much
detail. The work would &c too extensive
II We were to give full view of his con
duct i'll all the transactions TO which h
was party. More than thirty years pub
lie service, the greater part Of them employ
ed IN the greatest trusts, connected him
with its most important and vita interests.
We shall, therefore, conhne ourselves to
such prominent facts only ~ are nrcessary
TO convey g distinct idea Of the nature and
extent of his services. These facts we
have collected from sources that may be
relied on, and We state them without Z
comment.
Mr.. Monroe is about SIS years of age.
lie was born in 1879, ia West ncrcland
county, Virginia, 90 the Potomac, OIL the
lana OF which his ancestor, WHO first mi
grated 10 Amer ca, century aud half
ago, was the original grantee. he was
educated at William and Mary Eoll.e-,. K
IN l77o, enteled with sevErai othSi' Young
men OF respectable Connections. IT the same
College, as = Cadet in The 81 Virginia re-
giment. then commanded by colonel, alter
wards Gen. Mcrcer-the sam who fell at
Princeton. lie was very soon appointed
Lieutenant III Ihorntons company, aud in
the summer Of that year, he mare he'd with
the reg;mcnt uader the command of col.
Weedon, to New York, where it Joined
the army OF Gen. Washington, immediate
ly after the affair Of Long-Island. He
was engaged with his regiment in the bat
tic of Harlem Heig ,ts-in that of White
P!ainS--in the retreat through the Jerseys
and IN the alta K on Trenton. In lie lat
ter, he was in the vanguard, commended
by Capt. w. Washington. The Captain &
himself were both severely wounded. Mr..
Monroe received ball through his left
shoulder.
For their gallant .uct in that action.
Capt. w. was promoted to the rank of ma
Jor in regiment OF cavalry, and Afr. M to
that of captain in a regiment of inf ,ntry,
which were ordered to be raised the lat
ter under the Comma d of Col. Thurston.
Soon alter this event, l. 1rl String invited
Mr.. NJ. into his ,rnly as aid dc camp. In
this capacity, he served in the campaigns
OF ny and l778, and was engaged in the
actions of Brandywiue, Germantown, AID
Monmouth, in which he obtained, in dis
tnBulshsd manner, the Appreciation not on
~ OF ms lordship, but of the commander
In chief Lord 5. commanded in tnose
campaigns, Wayne's and Maxwell's bri-
grades, By whose officers, Mr.. M. was al.
ways much esteemed, and by the survivors
he is still remembered with affection.
By entering the family of lord S Mr.. NJ.
had lost his rank in the line, which he
was anxious TO regain. AS this could not
he done in the continental army, he form
ed. in 1888, the plan Of transferring his
services to the south, by raising a corps in
the state OF Virginia. Gen. Washington
approved his des'gn, and gave him a let
ter OF strong recommendation to promote
IT. Inc Virginia lsg stature also approved
1t. IN at was pass ID, aut loris ng the rails
ing or regiment, the comm nd ofwhich
WIS gwen to Mr.. M. This regiment, how
ever, in the then Exhausted st1te Of the
couatry, luld not be raised. Thus disap-
pointed, Mr.. M. resumed his studies &
having been originally destined for the bar.
he commenced the udy of the law in the
tier part Of that year, under the direction
OF Mr.. J-if-rson, then governor of Virginia.
In the Subsequent iuv,s ions OF that State,
Mr.. NJ. was active, as volunteer with
the m liGa. After the fall Of Charleston.
in 1850, at the request Of gov. Jefferson. lac
visited, in the character OF military COM
missioner, the southern army. under De
kalb. In this service, his Conduct was
highly approved.
In 1882, Mr.. Monroe was elected. from
the couaty Of King George, member of
the assembly OF Virginia, an in the same
year, was chosen by that body a member
OF the executive council. in 1888. at the
aye of twenty four he was a,r,,,;niaI q
member Of the old congress, IN VIII ch ne
served the constitution term of three
years. AS the debates Of that body were
conducted 9TH closed doors, we can speak
OF him as ole Of the members. only from
pubic report, and the journal Of IT'S proceed
Ings. by thcs~,we find that he W rs always
at his pos, and engaged in the ms: impor-
tant duties. The fllowihg instances de-
serve to be particularly mott CD
The incompe ency OF thepowcrs Of Con-
gresss under the confederation, was felt
after the revolution, as we'll as during its
progress. Mr. Monroe appear to have
Oeen sensible Of the, defects Of tlIe sys en-,
and DESTROYS Of removing them we lind
in nc IJurnal of Congress for 1896, mo-
ton introduced by him, to vest that body
with power tn regulate the trade WITH all
the states. This motion was several times
discussed, hnt never decided. The conven-
ton at Annapolis, which led TO that OF
Philadelphia, aud to the adoption Of
our pres nj Constitution, was perhaps she
cause. Oac Of the Conditions on which the
state OF Virginia had ceded that portion nf
her territory which lay to the north west
81 the Ohio, was, that it should be laid OF
iot0 states, nc: exceeding miles IN
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