Fifth President James Monroe was born April 28, 1758 in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
While attending the College of William and Mary he joined in the struggle for independence from Great Britain. James Monroe served with distinction during the Revolutionary War, fighting in six battles and severely wounded at Trenton. He was praised by George Washington for his bravery and ability, and finished the war
serving as an aide to Governor Thomas Jefferson.
Monroe spent must of his lite in public service, including the Virginia legislature, the Continental Congress, the U.S. Senate, as Minister to France, England and Spain, as Governor of Virginia, as Secretary of State and Secretary of War before his election as President. His two terms as President, 1817-1825, were
known as the Era of Good Feelings and he remained immensely popular throughout his
public career. His 1823 Munroe Doctrine on the rights of national self—determination remains the cornerstone of American foreign policy.
James Monroe died July 4, 1831 in New York City, where he was living with a daughter, and was buried there. In the 1850's, Virginia requested that Monroe be reburied in Richmond. In 1858, the centennial of his birth, Monroe's casket was brought back to Richmond by steamboat, accompanied by New York's Seventh
Regiment with impressive ceremonies in New York and Richmond. Monroe was reburied in Hollywood Cemetery, ensuring its prominence in Richmond.
The Monroe monument, erected in 1859, was designed in an ornate Gothic revival style
by prominent Richmond architect Albert Lybrock, and manufactured of cast iron by Perot and Wood of Philadelphia.
The monument, nicknamed the "Birdcage", will be restored by the Commonwealth of Virginia and replaced by November 2016, the bicentennial of James Monroe's election as President.
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James Monroe by John Vanderlyn 1816.
Tomb of James Monroe. 1905, by Detroit Publishing Co.
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