James Heighe Blake (11 June 1768 – 29 July 1819) was an American physician, and the third
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, elected by the council of
aldermen
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...
in 1813 and serving until 1817.
Birth
Born on June 11, 1768, to Joseph Blake and Mary Heighe in
Calvert County
Calvert County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 92,783. Its county seat is Prince Frederick. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimore, the proprietors of t ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, descendant of
Admiral Robert Blake, The Blakes and Heighes were Maryland colonists, prominent in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
, active in political affairs, and planters with slave holdings.
Early years
He graduated in medicine at the American Medical Society in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
on 1789 at the age of twenty one.
In 1795, Blake built his home in Washington, D.C., where he was an eminent citizen in the Federal City.
In 1800 he moved to
Colchester, Virginia
Colchester is a historic unincorporated community on the Occoquan River in Fairfax County, Virginia.
History
Colchester is a former tobacco port established in 1753. The port town was located on the old post road and Thomas Mason (son of George ...
. After living for several years in Colchester he returned to District of Columbia in 1809. In the following year he was elected to the First Chamber, Ninth Council and held that position the year after because of informality in the election. On June 14, 1813, the Board convened to elect the Mayor of Washington, D.C. First, second, and third ballots were Mr. Brent and
Daniel Rapine
Daniel Rapine (June 11, 1768 – July 28 or July 29, 1826) was the second mayor of Washington, D.C., elected by the city council in June 1812 and serving for one year.
History
Rapine was a bookseller, printer and politician. He move to Wa ...
with 10 votes each. Blake substituted Mr. Brent and he and Rapine each had 10 votes. Eventually Blake won the election and mayorship. He was reelected 3 times and served as a mayor till 1817.
Mayorship
During his time as a mayor he advocated schools on the
Lancastrian system and a reformatory. He also urged the office of Health Officer and in result it was created. As a mayor he started improving city streets and the first navigation of the Eastern Branch, now known as the
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. ...
.
Blake was the mayor of Washington when
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
troops laid siege to the city on August 24, 1814, as part of the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. He put the city on alert a few days before the siege, insisting that "I would exert myself to the last moment and agree to die in the streets rather than give up the city, but, if all resistance was given over, and our military abandoned it, I would then also leave it and not surrender myself a prisoner to the enemy."
It was Blake who urged
Dolley Madison
Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...
, the
First Lady, to flee
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
before the British arrived. He then rounded up men to defend the city, so occupied with its fortification that his wife and four children were forced to make escape on their own.
"Washington was left completely unprotected for the first two years of the war. No fortifications or batteries were erected along either the Potomac or the Eastern Branch. Old Fort Washington was scarcely capable of defending the entire city. Resolutions to place the capital in a defensive state were voted down, largely through the influence of the Secretary of War, General
ohn Ohn is a Burmese name, used by people from Myanmar. Notable people with the name include:
* Daw Ohn (1913–2003), Burmese professor in Pali
* Ohn Gyaw (born 1932), Burmese Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1998
* Ohn Kyaing (born 1944), Bur ...
Armstrong. No system of alarms and outposts was established to warn the city of impending danger, and no steps were taken to use the natural advantages of an easily defended eastern boundary."
Once the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
forces in Washington had surrendered, and most of the city's residents fled, Blake made a desperate last effort to hold off the British, distributing flyers and handbills and placing an ad in the evening newspaper ''The Daily National Intelligencer'', urging "all able-bodied Citizens remaining here" to meet at the steps of the
U.S. Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...
and then proceed to an arsenal at
Bladensburg, Maryland
Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland. The population was 9,657 at the 2020 census. Areas in Bladensburg are located within ZIP code 20710. Bladensburg is from central Washington.
History
Originally called Garrison's Landi ...
, to arm themselves and defend the city. It was too late, however, to save the capital from being burned, and Blake himself finally fled across the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
on the night of the 24th when it became evident that his only alternative was to be taken prisoner.
He was the mayor during the most troublesome period of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. In the most doubtful days of existence with the least equipped to cope against a powerful adversary he stood up for his country. Despite much criticism of his inability to save the city, Blake was instrumental in its recovery and reconstruction after the British attack.
Contributions
During the 1820s, Blake was a member of the prestigious society,
Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences
The Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences (1816–1838) was a literary and science institution in Washington, D.C., founded by Dr. Edward Cutbush (1772–1843), a naval surgeon. Thomas Law had earlier suggested of such a soc ...
, who counted among their members former presidents
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
and
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...
and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.
Blake attended the organization meeting of the Columbian Institute and was a temporary chairman beginning on October 7, 1816. Later he became one of the permanent officers.
He was one of the first on the board of directors of the
Bank of the Metropolis
The Bank of the Metropolis was a bank in New York City that operated between 1871 and 1918. The bank was originally located at several addresses around Union Square in Manhattan before finally moving to 31 Union Square West, a 16-story Renaissa ...
. He was involved in preliminary organization of
St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square
St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square is an historic Episcopal church located at Sixteenth Street and H Street NW, in Washington, D.C., along Black Lives Matter Plaza. The Greek Revival building, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, i ...
and one of the first vestry. He was appointed by President
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...
as a Medical Supervisor with corps of doctors and surgeons. He is one of sixteen people who formed a Medical Society on September 26, 1817.
Personal
Blake had 5 children,
Thomas Holdsworth Blake, Dr. John Bond Blake, James Heighe Blake Jr., Joseph Richard Blake and one daughter, Glorvina Blake. Thomas was appointed U.S. Attorney for State of Indiana in 1817.
James Heighe Blake died on July 29, 1819, at the age of fifty two. His remains were interred in the Methodist Episcopal Burial Ground in Georgetown and then moved to the William A. Gordon lot in
Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C., on November 2, 1870.
In 1887, the Blake Public School on North Capital Street NW between K and L, named in his honor, opened. It was a white school that closed some time after 1935.
References
Bibliography
*Clark, A. 1921. ''James Heighe Blake, the Third Mayor of the Corporation of Washington DC''
*Peter, G. 1951. ''A Portrait of Old George Town''
*McCormick, Mike 2005. ''Terre Haute, Queen City of the Wabash''
External links
Pre-Civil War Defenses of Washington*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, James H.
1768 births
1819 deaths
Mayors of Washington, D.C.
Burials at the Congressional Cemetery
Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)
People from Calvert County, Maryland
People from Fairfax County, Virginia
Physicians from Maryland
Physicians from Virginia
Physicians from Washington, D.C.