Virgil Maxcy

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American politician (1785–1844)

title: "Virgil Maxcy" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1785-births", "1844-deaths", "slave-owners-from-maryland", "brown-university-alumni", "people-from-attleboro,-massachusetts", "politicians-from-bristol-county,-massachusetts", "politicians-from-annapolis,-maryland", "members-of-the-maryland-house-of-delegates", "maryland-state-senators", "maryland-lawyers", "united-states-department-of-the-treasury-officials", "19th-century-american-diplomats", "accidental-deaths-in-virginia", "deaths-by-explosive-device", "john-tyler", "19th-century-members-of-the-maryland-general-assembly"] description: "American politician (1785–1844)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Maxcy" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1785–1844) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

FieldValue
nameVirgil Maxcy
imageMaxcy.jpg
imagesize245px
captionLithograph of Virgil Maxcy, with Tulip Hill Estate in background
order12nd
title1United States Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium
term_start1October 24, 1837
term_end1September 17, 1842
president1Martin Van Buren
predecessor1Hugh S. Legaré
successor1Henry Washington Hilliard
order21st
title2Solicitor of the United States Treasury
term_start2May 29, 1830
term_end2June 15, 1837
president2Andrew Jackson
predecessor2None
successor2Henry D. Gilpin
title3Maryland House of Delegates
term_start31824
term_end31825
title4Maryland Senate
term_start41817
term_end41821
title5Maryland Executive Council
term_start5December 1815
term_end5December, 1816
alongside5
Alexander Contee Magruder
James Shaw
John Murray
William H. Ward
predecessor5Alexander Contee Magruder
William H. Ward
Thomas G. Addison
Samuel Ridout
John Murray
successor5William Potter
Henry Henley Chapman
Richard Frisby
James Shaw
William H. Ward
birth_date
birth_placeAttleboro, Massachusetts, U.S.
death_date
death_place(at sea near) Fort Washington, Maryland, U.S.
spouseMary Galloway Maxcy
alma_materBrown University
professionAttorney
Plantation owner
::

| name = Virgil Maxcy | image = Maxcy.jpg | imagesize = 245px | caption = Lithograph of Virgil Maxcy, with Tulip Hill Estate in background | order1 = 2nd | title1 = United States Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium | term_start1 = October 24, 1837 | term_end1 = September 17, 1842 | president1 = Martin Van Buren | predecessor1 = Hugh S. Legaré | successor1 = Henry Washington Hilliard | order2 = 1st | title2 = Solicitor of the United States Treasury | term_start2 = May 29, 1830 | term_end2 = June 15, 1837 | president2 = Andrew Jackson | predecessor2 = None | successor2 = Henry D. Gilpin | order3 = | title3 = Maryland House of Delegates | term_start3 = 1824 | term_end3 = 1825 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | order4 = | title4 = Maryland Senate | term_start4 = 1817 | term_end4 = 1821 | predecessor4 = | successor4 = | order5 = | title5 = Maryland Executive Council | term_start5 = December 1815 | term_end5 = December, 1816 | alongside5 = Alexander Contee Magruder James Shaw John Murray William H. Ward | predecessor5 = Alexander Contee Magruder William H. Ward Thomas G. Addison Samuel Ridout John Murray | successor5 = William Potter Henry Henley Chapman Richard Frisby James Shaw William H. Ward | birth_date = | birth_place = Attleboro, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = (at sea near) Fort Washington, Maryland, U.S. | spouse = Mary Galloway Maxcy | alma_mater = Brown University | profession = Attorney Plantation owner

Virgil Maxcy (May 5, 1785 – February 28, 1844) was an American political figure. He was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and spent his adult years in Maryland. He was killed in 1844 in a shipboard accident, when a cannon exploded aboard .

Early life

The younger brother of Jonathan Maxcy, Virgil Maxcy was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, on May 5, 1785. He graduated from Brown University in 1804, studied law with Robert Goodloe Harper, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and became an attorney in Baltimore, Maryland.

Author

In 1811 Maxcy authored The Laws of Maryland from 1692 to 1809, a multi-volume work that compiled Maryland's statutes, declaration of independence, constitution and amendments.

Maxcy also prepared and distributed The Maryland resolutions, and the objections to them considered (1822), which argued against proposals to appropriate public land for the building of schools and other purposes.

In 1833 he delivered A discourse before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown University, a lecture that was published as a pamphlet.

Political career

Originally a Federalist, Maxcy served on Maryland's Executive Council in 1815 and served terms in the Maryland Senate (1817–1821) and the Maryland House of Delegates (1824–1825).Virgil Maxcy entry , Archives of Maryland Historical List, House of Delegates, Anne Arundel County (1790–1974)

Maxcy later became a Democrat and supported Andrew Jackson for President in 1824 and 1828. When Jackson won the 1828 election, Maxcy's friend John C. Calhoun attempted to have him appointed as Treasurer of the United States, but Jackson and Secretary of the Treasury Samuel D. Ingham decided for political reasons to offer the position to John Campbell. Instead, Maxcy received appointment as Solicitor of the Treasury, where he served from 1830 to 1837.

Maxcy was active in the American Colonization Society (ACS), and in 1837 was one of the incorporators who successfully petitioned to change the organization's name; it had previously been known as the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America.

Also in 1837, President Martin Van Buren named William Haywood as US Chargé d'Affaires in Belgium. Haywood declined the appointment, and Van Buren then named Maxcy, who served until 1842.

In February 1844, Maxcy was considered for the position of Secretary of the Navy, but President Tyler appointed Thomas Walker Gilmer instead. Gilmer was killed in the same accident that killed Maxcy.

Death and burial

Main article: USS Princeton disaster of 1844

Maxcy died near Fort Washington, Maryland, on February 28, 1844, as a result of the explosion on board , which also killed five others, including two members of President John Tyler's cabinet. Maxcy was struck by metal shards from the "Peacemaker" cannon, a large artillery piece made by the Hogg & Delamater Ironworks which was being fired as part of a demonstration for visiting dignitaries. According to published accounts, Maxcy lost both arms and a leg in the explosion and was killed instantly.

Maxcy was originally entombed at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. He was later reinterred at Tulip Hill, a large estate near Annapolis, Maryland, that was owned by his wife's family.

Personal life

Virgil Maxcy was married to Mary Galloway, a member of one of Maryland's most prominent plantation owning families. He was thus a wealthy man, with most of his fortune consisting of slaves and land.

The children of Virgil and Mary Galloway Maxcy included Ann (1813–1891), Mary (1812–1878), Cornelia (1815–1823), and Juliana (1816–1818).

Ann Maxcy was the wife of George Wurtz Hughes, who served as a United States representative from Maryland.

Mary Maxcy married Francis Markoe (1801–1872) in 1834. Their children included Francis Markoe (1840–1914), who married Maria Perry Thomas of Talbot County, Maryland and Emilie Maxcy Markoe (1852–1925), who married D. C. F. Rivinus.

Maxcy was a longtime friend of John C. Calhoun. They exchanged frequent letters, many of which have been published.

Legacy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Coat_of_Arms_of_Virgil_Maxcy.svg" caption="Coat of Arms of Virgil Maxcy"] ::

He was the subject of a biography, 1981's A Federalist Converted: The Life of Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, 1785-1844, by Michael Cullen Reis.

Maxcy is a prominent figure in academic discussions about same-sex intimate relationships in the United States during the early 1800s, which results from a letter he sent to a friend. In the letter to William Blanding of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, Maxcy reminisces about sharing a bed with Blanding, including the line "Sometimes I think I have got hold of your doodle when in reality I have hold of the bedpost."

References

References

  1. (December 21, 1815). "Abstract of the Proceedings of the Legislature of Maryland: House of Delegates; Tuesday, December 12, P. M., half past 5 o'clock". Maryland Gazette.
  2. (January 9, 1817). "The Senate: Tuesday, Dec. 10". Maryland Gazette.
  3. "Governors' Councils, 1777-1838". Maryland State Archives.
  4. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xZUe1d_N49YC&dq=%22virgil+maxcy%22+brother+jonathan&pg=PA321 Edwin L. Green], A History of the University of South Carolina, 1915, page 321
  5. Eugene M. Wait, Adams vs. Jackson, 2001, page 92
  6. [https://archive.org/details/literaryremains00maxcgoog/page/n29 Jonathan Maxcy], The Literary Remains of the Rev. Jonathan Maxcy, 1844, page 29
  7. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl8RAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22virgil+maxcy%22+%22brown+university%22&pg=PA432 William Giles Goddard], The Political and Miscellaneous Writings of William G. Goddard, Volume 1, 1870, page 432
  8. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jF9CAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ibkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4603,1510210&dq=virgil+maxcy&hl=en American & Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore)], public notice of law office opening, James M. Brown and Virgil Maxcy, September 28, 1809
  9. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AbA-AAAAYAAJ&dq=virgil+maxcy&pg=PA339 The provincial councillors of Pennsylvania], by Charles Penrose Keith, 1883, p. 339
  10. [https://archive.org/details/marylandresolut00maxgoog The Maryland resolutions, and the objections to them considered], by Virgil Maxcy, 1822, title page
  11. [https://archive.org/details/adiscoursebefor00maxcgoog A discourse before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown University], by Virgil Maxcy, 1833, title page
  12. [http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/index/html/senndxm.html Virgil Maxcy entry] {{Webarchive. link. (March 15, 2011 , Archives of Maryland, Historical List, Maryland Senate Member Index, 1777-2000)
  13. Belgian-American diplomatic and consular relations 1830-1850, by John W. Rooney, 1969, Vol. 41, p. 84
  14. [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-r8BHHodzsC&dq=%22virgil+maxcy%22+maryland+delegates+senate&pg=PA69 Aggressive Nationalism: McCulloch v. Maryland and the Foundation of Federal Authority in the Young Republic], by Richard E. Ellis, 2007, p. 69
  15. John C. Calhoun and the Price of Union: A Biography, by John Niven, 1993, p. 26
  16. Poore, Benjamin Perley. (1878). "The political register and congressional directory: a statistical record of the Federal Officials...1776-1878". Houghton, Osgood and Co..
  17. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0HwFAAAAQAAJ&dq=virgil+maxcy+solicitor+treasury&pg=PA13 Niles' Weekly Register], August 28, 1830, p. 13
  18. Who Was Who in America, published by Marquis Who's Who, 1963, p. 340
  19. [https://books.google.com/books?id=YywrHAAACAAJ&q=virgil+maxcy+solicitor+treasury Report From Virgil Maxcy, Solicitor of the Treasury, on the Case of Francis Cazeau's Representatives], published by U.S. Senate, 1836, title page
  20. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dl8RAAAAYAAJ&dq=virgil+maxcy+solicitor+treasury&pg=PA432 The Political and Miscellaneous Writings of William G. Goddard], by William Giles Goddard, 1870, Vol. 1, p. 432
  21. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vBcXAAAAYAAJ&dq=virgil+maxcy+solicitor+treasury&pg=PA366 The New York Annual Register], by Edwin Williams, 1833, p. 366
  22. Executive Committee. (1841). "24th Annual Report". Washington, DC.
  23. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gID5RTGOEWQC&dq=%22virgil+maxcy%22+belgium&pg=PA39 The Papers of Henry Clay], by Henry Clay, edited by Robert Seager II and Melba Porter Hay, 1988, Vol. 9, p. 39
  24. [https://archive.org/details/literaryremains01maxcgoog/page/n32 The literary remains of the Rev. Jonathan Maxcy], by Romeo Elton, 1844, p. 29
  25. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LLATAAAAYAAJ&dq=virgil+maxcy+charge+belgium&pg=PA133 Message from the President of the United States to the Two Houses of Congress at the Commencement of the First Session of the Twenty-Seventh Congress], published by US Dept. of State, 1841, p. 133
  26. Detroit Free Press, Mr. Spencer has resigned the office of Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, February 3, 1844
  27. [https://archive.org/details/unitedstatesmanu00mars/page/482 James V. Marshall], The United States Manual of Biography and History, 1856, page 482
  28. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RqmdCe9ONLkC&dq=virgil+maxcy+charge+belgium&pg=RA1-PA111 Potter's American Monthly], published by John E. Potter & Co., Philadelphia, 1876, Vol. 6-7, p. 111
  29. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2kybvdPsBTYC&dq=virgil+maxcy+uss+princeton&pg=PA566 The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln], by Sean Wilentz, 2006, p. 566
  30. [https://archive.org/details/accidentonsteams01unit/page/n4 Congressional report: Accident on Steam-Ship "Princeton"], US House of Representatives Committee on Naval Affairs, 1844, p. 1
  31. (July 2024)
  32. (July 2024)
  33. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rsQyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KwEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6972,366213&dq=virgil+maxcy&hl=en Newspaper article, Heart Rending and Fatal Calamity], originally printed in New York Journal of Commerce, republished in Hartford Times, March 9, 1844
  34. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106090115/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1703891552.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jan+03,+1845&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)&desc=CHRONICLE+OF+IMPORTANT+EVENTS+DURING+THE+PAST+YEAR&pqatl=google Newspaper article, Chronicle of Important Events During the Past Year], Baltimore Sun, January 3, 1845
  35. [http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1965/1/1965_1_50.shtml Magazine article, "The beauty and chivalry of the United States assembled …"] {{Webarchive. link. (November 8, 2009 , by Donald B. Webster, Jr., American Heritage magazine, Vol. 17, Issue 1, December 1965)
  36. Walters, Kerry. (2013). "Explosion on the Potomac: The 1844 Calamity Aboard the USS Princeton". History Press.
  37. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5_wMAAAAYAAJ&q=%22virgil+maxcy%22+congressional+cemetery This was Potomac River], by Frederick Tilp, 1987, p. 113
  38. [https://books.google.com/books?id=xpSo6pzns_AC&dq=virgil+maxcy+uss+princeton&pg=PA131 Wild Rose: The True Story of a Civil War Spy], by Ann Blackman, 2006, p. 131
  39. Maryland Historical Magazine, published by Maryland Historical Society, 1965, Vol. 60, p. 383
  40. Maryland -- A History, 1632-1974, by Maryland Historical Society, 1974, p. 259
  41. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SNWCvMUCAhgC&dq=ann+maxcy+george+wurtz+hughes&pg=PA481 The Leverett Letters: Correspondence of a South Carolina Family, 1851-1868], edited by Frances Wallace Taylor, Catherine Taylor Matthews and J. Tracy Power, 2000, page 481
  42. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WVRDf1W8NPEC&dq=virgil+maxcy&pg=PA791 Correspondence of John C. Calhoun], by John Caldwell Calhoun, 1900, Vol. 2, Part 2, p. 791
  43. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HIo5QyGZqXcC&dq=virgil+maxcy+john+calhoun&pg=PA209 John C. Calhoun: American Portrait], Margaret L. Coit, 1950, p. 209
  44. [https://archive.org/details/communityleaders0000ridg Community Leadership in Maryland, 1790-1840], by Whitman H. Ridgway, 1979, p.e 345
  45. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ELkrOAAACAAJ&q=%22virgil+maxcy%22+federalist+converted A Federalist Converted: The Life of Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, 1785-1844], by Michael Cullen Reis, published by George Washington University, title page
  46. Reis, Elizabeth. (2012). "American Sexual Histories". John Wiley & Sons.
  47. Mintz, Steven. (2015). "The Prime of Life: A History of Modern Adulthood". Belknap Press.
  48. Godbeer, Richard. (2009). "The Overflowing of Friendship: Love between Men and the Creation of the American Republic". Johns Hopkins University Press.

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