James Monroe (New York politician) several children. His paternal 2x-great grandfather, Patrick Andrew Monroe, emigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century. In 1650, he patented a large tract of land in Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia. Among James Monroe's ancestors were French Huguenot immigrants, who came to Virginia in 1700. Monroe graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1815, and was commissioned in the Artillery Corps. Shortly after graduating, he was sent to fight in the war with Algiers, and was wounded while serving as a gunnery officer on board the USS "Guerriere". From 1817 to 1822, he served as aide-de-camp to
James Monroe Family Home Site etchings of the birth home indicate a small four room, rough cut wooden farm house with few outbuildings on a 500-acre farm filled with wetlands. The archaeological study clearly indicated that James Monroe's beginnings were humble. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, with a boundary increase in 2008. James Monroe Family Home Site James Monroe Family Home Site, also known as James Monroe's Birthplace, is a historic archaeological site located near Oak Grove and Colonial Beach, Westmoreland County, Virginia. The site includes the ruins of the Monroe Family Home and birthplace of President James