Monroe, James, 1758-1831

James Monroe was born on April 28, 1758, in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones. He married Elizabeth Kortright and together they had three children, though only two, Eliza and Maria, lived to adulthood. He was educated at the Campbelltown Academy and the College of William and Mary, where he studied Latin, Mathematics, and Law. He served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War in the 3rd Virginia Regiment, earning the rank of Colonel, and fought at the Battle of Trenton where he was injured, Valley Forge, and the Battle of Monmouth. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates, the Fourth Congress of the Confederation, the Virginia Ratifying Convention to adopt the US Constitution, the US Senate, minister to France, Governor of Virginia, and minister to Great Britain. He was named as Secretary of State after Robert Smith’s resignation then later, Secretary of War at the same time. After the War of 1812, he was elected as the fifth President of the U.S and was the last Founding Father to hold that position. His Presidency is best known for establishing the borders between the US and Canada, gained Florida as a territory, and the Monroe Doctrine. He died on July 4, 1831, the third former US President to die on this date. He is interred at the President’s Circle in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia and his tomb is a National Historic Landmark.