Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. I.djvu/240

196 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS faculty and twenty-five or thirty students, Monroe among them, entered the military service. He joined the army in 1776 at the headquarters of Washington in New York, as a lieutenant in the 3d Virginia regiment under Col. Hugh Mercer. He was with the troops at Harlem, at White Plains, and at Trenton, where, in leading the ad vance guard, he was wounded in the shoulder. During 1777- 8 he served as a volunteer aide, with the rank of major, on the staff of the Earl of Stir ling, and took part in the battles of the Brandy- wine, Germantown, and Monmouth. After these services he was commended by Washington for a commission in the state troops of Virginia, but without success. He formed the acquaintance of Gov. Jeff erson, and was sent by him as a military commissioner to collect information in regard to the condition and prospects of the southern army. He thus attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel; but his services in the field were completely inter rupted, to his disappointment and chagrin. His uncle, Judge Jones, at all times a trusted and intimate counsellor, then wrote to him: "You do well to cultivate the friendship of Mr. Jefferson . . . and while you continue to deserve his esteem he will not withdraw his countenance." The future proved the sagacity of this advice, for Monroe s intimacy with Jefferson, which was then estab lished, continued through life, and was the key to