| Visit of President James Madison to Annapolis
Text from If These Walls Could Speak draft:
While Government House served as the residence of Maryland governors and their families during this period, the dwelling remained a premier spot for entertaining foreign and domestic
dignitaries. In 1816, early in the administration of Governor Charles Ridgely, President James Madison, accompanied by his wife, Dolley, arrived in Annapolis to inspect a new 74-gun
ship, 'The Washington.' President Madison and his wife stayed in the city from May 16 to 25, accompanied by a number of dignitaries, including the Secretary of the Navy and several
commodores. Newspaper reports indicated that the President "received the respect due to his station and elevated character," and it is reasonable to assume that such respect included
entertainment at Government House by Governor Ridgely. (Daily National Intelligencer, May 20 & May 30, 1816) (Maryland Republican, May 15, 1816). The governor's wife, Priscilla
Dorsey Ridgely, died two years before he assumed office, and it is likely that one of the Ridgelys' daughters, Prudence Gough Ridgely Howard, was present for the reception of the
President. Five years earlier, in 1811, Prudence had married George Howard, the son of former governor John Eager Howard and Peggy Osward Chew Howard. George Howard was elected
to the governorship himself in 1831, and became the first, and to this day, the only Maryland governor to have been born at Government House. |
