The Kortrights were longtime residents of the city. Through connections and trade, the family had been wealthy at one time. Elizabeth's father had not picked a side in the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), but the conflict altered the Kortrights' fortunes. For James and Elizabeth, though, it was a love match.
When James's term in the Continental Congress ended that October, the Monroes moved to Fredericksburg, oe Virginia. James opened a law office. The family lived there for about three years.
Over the next decades, James and Elizabeth juggled their family life around James's busy political life. Their first child, Elizabeth "Eliza" Kortright, was born in December 1786. A son, James Spence, was born in May 1799. He died of whooping cough when he was 16 months old. The youngest Monroe child, Maria Hester, was born in April 1802.
Whenever possible, the Monroes traveled with James when public duties called him away from home. They lived in Europe for a total of seven years. Beginning in 1794 and ending two and a half years later, James served as minister to France under President George Washington. Then, under President Thomas Jefferson, James served as minister to France, Great Britain, and Spain from 1803 to 1807. When not serving abroad, James was active in Virginia politics. During those times, the Monroes mostly resided at Oak Hill, near Leesburg, Virginia. James had inherited property there from his uncle in 1808. In the mid1820s, he oversaw the construction of an elegant home.
This story is from the September 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the September 2023 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
