In vain, without the Bible, we increase penal laws and draw entrenchments around our institutions.

During President John Adams's first administration he also appointed McHenry as Secretary of War as he had decided to keep the cabinet intact. McHenry is memorialized at Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. McHenry Pickering and Wolcott all resigned.

McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland and the namesake of Fort McHenry. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from Maryland and the third United States Secretary of War (1796–1800) under the first and second presidents George Washington and John Adams.