James Madison's 273rd Birthday commemorated at Montpelier

The 273rd birthday of James Madison, Father of the Constitution of the United States and the Nation's 4th President was commemorated at Montpelier by a large group of Patriotic Organizations on Saturday, March 16. Madison was born March, 16 1751 in Port Conway, King George County, VA. During the Revolutionary War he served as a Colonel in the Orange County Militia. After the war he was elected to the House of Representatives where he served from 1789 to 1797, serving in the first Congress under the newly ratified Constitution.

Madison not only was the primary author of the Constitution, he was instrumental in ratification when he coordinated with John Jay and Alexander Hamilton to write the Federalist Papers, a series of articles arguing for adoption of the Constitution. He served as the Nation's 5th Secretary of State from 1801-1809 and as our 4th President from 1809-1817. He served as President during the War of 1812. His wife, Dolly Madison, became famous for removing a large picture of George Washington from the White House and saving other documents before the British Army burned many buildings in Washington DC, including the White House.

The Sgt Maj John Champe Chapter, Virginia SAR was represented by Rhett Wade who presented the Chapter wreath to honor founding Father James Madison.