A Founding Father Comes to Town
NBHS Historian/Claudia Houston
It is not often that a town can boast a Founding Father has visited their city. New Bern actually hosted two Founding Fathers who became Presidents, George Washington during his Southern Tour in April 1791, and James Monroe during his April 1819 tour. While many know something about the pomp and circumstance surrounding Washington’s visit, few know anything about Monroe’s visit.
James Monroe was a Revolutionary War hero who was wounded at the Battle of Trenton and suffered with the continental troops at Valley Forge. Monroe was also with George Washington on the famous Christmas night in 1776 when the army crossed the Delaware river to make a surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton. Monroe is immortalized in the famous painting by Emmanuel Leutze that is on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He is depicted holding the flag behind Washington in the boat, however, Monroe actually crossed the Delaware earlier under a different commander, William Washington of the Third Virginia Regiment. Along with his Revolutionary War heroics, Monroe was elected the 12th and 16th Governor of Virginia, the American minister to France, served as the Secretary of War, and was elected as the fifth President of the United States.
President Monroe participated in an 1819 Southern Tour, the purpose of which was to observe coastal defenses including inspecting military installations, ocean inlets, and fortifications. Most of his stops were a day or two, though he spent more time in some of the larger southern cities like Wilmington and Charleston. His tour had also allowed him to become acquainted with the people of the region.
New Bern was in a festive spirit and prepared to roll out the red carpet for President James Monroe. On the afternoon of Saturday, April 10, 1819, a committee from the town met the President and his party, which included Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, and escorted them into town. They arrived around 6:30 pm and were shepherded through citizens waiting in anticipation. They arrived at their temporary lodging, the Coor-Bishop Home, owned by local planter, George Pollock. After the President settled in, the local US Revenue Service cutter fired a salute, and bells rang throughout the town!
Lucas J. Benners, worshipful master of St. John’s Masonic Lodge, No. 3 of New Bern, then visited with President Monroe and offered a special greeting and welcome from the Lodge. The next day, Sunday, was spent with Monroe and his party attending Church services at Christ Episcopal Church.
The big event on Monday, April 19th was a meal at St. John’s Lodge in the afternoon. Prior to that event, the President and his party stopped at the nearby New Bern Academy where over two hundred students awaited to greet him. Over one hundred locals from the town and surrounding area attended the dinner at the Masonic Hall where twenty- two toasts were offered. After the President and his party left the hall, more toasts were offered including one to John Louis Taylor, who was the Chief Justice of North Carolina and the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina.
President Monroe left early the next morning, April 13th, 1819, to continue south on his tour. While many remember President Monroe as the architect of the Monroe Doctrine, New Bern citizens remembered him with fondness for his visit in 1819. In a bit of irony, two other Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July Fourth, 1826. James Monroe died five years later, in 1831 on the Fourth of July.