Patrick henry revolutionary war biography reports

Her doctor told Patrick that she needed to be put in a asylum, but after visiting a few he was appalled by what he saw. He had his basement turned into a small apartment for her and arranged for her to have private home care. This was devastating to him. Peter F. Patrick Henry was a member of both the first and second Continental Congress. Forbid it Almighty God!

I know not what course others take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! However, the first documentation of his speech was not written down until 40 years after he was dead. To arms! Young Henry was an idler and by many accounts a derelict; though everyone knew he was bright, he simply would not lift a finger except to his own pleasure.

By the age of 10, his family knew that he would not be a farmer, and tried instead to train him toward academe. He would not apply himself to studies either. At age 21 his father set him up in a business that he bankrupted shortly thereafter. Finally the general public disgust in Hanover and pressure from his young family he had married at the age of eighteen caused him to study for six weeks and take the bar exam, which he passed, and begin work as a lawyer.

In he moved to Louisa county, Virginia, where, as a lawyer, he argued in defense of broad voting rights suffrage before the House of Burgesses. The following year he was elected to the House and soon became its leading radical member. It was that year that he proposed the Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions. Few members of the Burgesses, as aristocratic a group of legislators as existed in the colonies, would argue openly for defiance of Gr.

He died on June 6, , at his Red Hill home. While he never held national office, Patrick Henry is remembered as one of the great revolutionary leaders. He has been called the "Trumpet" and "Voice" of the American Revolution. His powerful speeches served as a call for rebellion, and his political proposals offered suggestions for a new nation.

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Thomas Jefferson. The 13 Most Cunning Military Leaders. Cesare Beccaria. Betsy Ross. Samuel Adams. John Adams. Andrew Jackson. George Rogers Clark. Roger Sherman. James Monroe. George III. Early Life Henry was born on May 29, , in Hanover County, Virginia, on a plantation that belonged to his mother's family.

Lawyer and Politician As a lawyer, Henry developed a reputation as a powerful and persuasive speaker with the case known as "Parson's Cause. American Revolutionary An active force in the growing rebellion against Britain, Henry had the remarkable ability to translate his political ideology into the language of the common man. Final Years and Legacy In , Henry left public service.

Watch Next. Where are your landmarks? I am not a Virginian, but an American. Instead, he was put on the next most important committee, one inquiring into commercial regulation. In the end, though, neither committee produced much of importance. In this, he found common cause with John Adams and Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, but not all were of that opinion.

When Congress on October 26 approved a draft prepared by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, who had consulted with Henry and also Richard Henry Lee , Henry had already departed for home, and Lee signed on his behalf. The petition was rejected in London. After the birth of their sixth child in , Patrick's wife Sarah Shelton Henry began to exhibit symptoms of mental illness, and one reason for the move from Louisa County to Scotchtown was so they could be near family members.

Henry's biographer, Jon Kukla believes she was the victim of postpartum psychosis , for which there was no treatment. At times, she was restrained in a form of straitjacket. Although Virginia had opened the first public mental facility in North America in , Henry decided that she was better off at Scotchtown and prepared a large apartment for her there.

She died in , after which Henry avoided all objects that reminded him of her and sold Scotchtown in John's Episcopal Church in the town of Richmond on March 20, Richmond was selected as better protected from royal authority. The convention debated whether Virginia should adopt language from a petition by the planters of the Colony of Jamaica.

This document contained complaints about British actions but admitted the king could veto colonial legislation, and it urged reconciliation. Henry offered amendments to raise a militia independent of royal authority in terms that recognized that conflict with Britain was inevitable, sparking the opposition of moderates. On March 23, he defended his amendments, concluding with the statement he is well known for:.

If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace.

The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! As he concluded, Henry plunged an ivory paper cutter towards his chest in imitation of the Roman patriot Cato the Younger. The text of Henry's speech first appeared in print in Wirt's biography, published 18 years after Patrick Henry's death.

Patrick henry revolutionary war biography reports

All agreed that the speech had produced a profound effect, but it seems that only one person attempted to render an actual text. Judge St. George Tucker , who had been present for the speech, gave Wirt his recollections and Wirt wrote back stating that "I have taken almost entirely Mr. Henry's speech in the Convention of '75 from you, as well as your description of its effect on your verbatim.

For years Wirt's account was taken at face value. In the s, historians began to question the authenticity of Wirt's reconstruction. On April 21, , Governor Dunmore had the Royal Marines under his command seize gunpowder from the magazine in Williamsburg and take it to a naval ship. The gunpowder belonged to the government, to be issued in case of need, such as a slave uprising.

Dunmore's actions outraged many Virginians. Henry had departed for Philadelphia, having been elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress , but a messenger caught up with him before he left Hanover County, and he returned to take command of the local militia. Seeking the restoration of the powder, or that the colonists be compensated for it, on May 2, Henry led his troops towards Williamsburg with, as Dunmore wrote, "all the Appearances of actual War".

With his troops reinforced by eager volunteers from nearby counties, [ 81 ] Henry likely had force enough to take Williamsburg and deal Dunmore a humiliating defeat, but increasingly prominent messengers urging caution slowed his advance, and in New Kent County , still some 16 miles 26 km from Williamsburg, three of Henry's fellow delegates to Congress helped persuade him to leave off his march.

As Henry insisted the colonists be compensated, a member of the Governor's Council agreed to pay the value of the powder by bill of exchange. Although Dunmore issued a proclamation against "a certain Patrick Henry , of the County of Hanover , and a Number of his deluded Followers", 15 county committees quickly approved Henry's action, and when he finally departed for Philadelphia, he was escorted to the Potomac by militia who lined the shore, cheering as his ferry pulled away.

They also saw him as a threat to the sanctity of property, for anyone's might be taken by Henry and his troops. As popular support for independence grew, opponents either joined in the movement or decided it was wiser to remain silent. Henry belatedly arrived at the Congress on May 18, The Congress appointed Washington as head of American forces, an appointment that Henry supported.

While Henry was returning, the Third Virginia Convention in August commissioned him as colonel of the 1st Virginia Regiment , and he took up the appointment later that month. Although Henry had little military experience, this was not considered a major drawback at the time, and he was held to have distinguished himself in the march on Williamsburg.

General Washington, though, felt that the convention had "made a Capital mistake when they took Henry out of the Senate to place him in the Field". Henry moved to organize his regiment and had no difficulty recruiting men. Henry wrote to all county lieutenants , stating that the proclamation "is fatal to the publick Safety" and urging an "unremitting Attention to the Government of the SLAVES may, I hope, counteract this dangerous Attempt.

Constant, and well directed Patrols, seem indispensably necessary. Henry saw no action himself, and there were murmurs in the convention against his command; some feared he was too radical to be an effective military leader. In February , Virginia's forces were reorganized as they were placed under Continental command. Henry was to retain his rank of colonel but was placed under a former subordinate.

Henry refused and left the army; his troops were outraged by the slight to him and considered leaving service, but he calmed the situation. Henry did not sit in the Fourth Virginia Convention which met in December , [ 93 ] as he was ineligible because of his military commission. Henry introduced a resolution declaring Virginia independent and urging the Congress to declare all the colonies free.

When he at last spoke, according to clergyman Edmund Randolph , Henry "appeared in an element for which he was born. To cut the knot, which calm prudence was puzzled to untie, was worthy of the magnificence of his genius. He entered into no subtlety of reasoning but was roused by the now apparent spirit of the people as a pillar of fire, which notwithstanding the darkness of the prospect would conduct to the promised land.

As well as declaring Virginia independent, the resolution instructed the state's delegates in Congress to press for American independence, which they would, with Lee introducing the motion and Jefferson penning the Declaration. The convention then proceeded to consider a constitution for Virginia's government. Henry was appointed to a committee under the leadership of Archibald Cary.

Mason's draft, more than the final declaration, would be highly influential, used by Jefferson in writing the Declaration of Independence and by writers of many 18th and 19th century state constitutions. When the draft was debated, Henry, at the request of a young delegate from Orange County , James Madison , produced an amendment changing Mason's call for religious tolerance to one requiring full freedom of religion.

This was seen as a threat to Virginia's established religion, Anglicanism, and did not pass. Madison reworked it and had another delegate introduce it, likely Edmund Randolph , and it passed. Mason's draft called for a ban on bills of attainder. Henry got it removed by telling the delegates that some high offender might be reached by no other means.

Virginia's form of government, to be placed in its constitution, became a national concern; Jefferson, in Philadelphia though he would have preferred to be in Williamsburg, sent a plan, and John Adams sent Henry a pamphlet containing his own views, to which Henry replied, "your sentiments are precisely the same I have long since taken up, and they come recommended by you".

Under the constitution, the governor, elected by the two houses of the legislature, was not even given the power to veto legislation and was required to act with the approval of the Governor's Council on important matters. Henry opposed the weakness of the governor, feeling it was risky at a time of war to have the executive so weak, but his views did not prevail.

He had reason to rue the office's lack of power, as on June 29, , the convention elected him as Virginia's first post-independence governor, by 60 votes to 45 for Thomas Nelson Jr. Henry was taken ill almost immediately upon being sworn in as governor on July 5 and recuperated at Scotchtown. He returned to Williamsburg in September and corresponded with General Washington about the military situation.

Washington, who was less effective because of the inadequacies of his troops, complained about the state militias, feeling a Continental Army committed for the duration of the war was needed. Henry helped recruit new troops for Washington, but his efforts were hampered by several issues, including the weakness of Henry's office. In December , with the General Assembly alarmed at reports Washington's army was in retreat as the British occupied Philadelphia, legislators granted Henry temporary expanded powers, something that Jefferson was still unhappy about years later, feeling that Henry was trying to set himself up as dictator.

In March , Henry wrote to Washington seeking permission to recruit soldiers for terms of up to eight months. Washington's anger in his response that such troops were not useful caused Henry to drop the matter, stating that he deferred to Washington's experience in military matters. Recruiting remained a problem; many Virginians were willing to be members of the county militia but did not want to join the Continental Army lest they be sent out of state or exposed to disease.

Henry was elected to a second one-year term without opposition and took the oath on July 2, She brought 12 slaves with her, adding to the 30 Patrick Henry already had. He sold Scotchtown in and moved to Leatherwood Plantation in Henry County , which the General Assembly had just created and named for him. When Washington and his troops encamped at Valley Forge in the winter of —78, Henry arranged for livestock and other food to be sent to their relief.

There was discontent against Washington, who was not seen by some as a successful general, and this resulted in the so-called Conway Cabal. Henry supported Washington when Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, one of those unenthusiastic about Washington, sent the governor an unsigned letter, discussing machinations against the general.

Henry immediately sent Washington the letter, and though it is uncertain if Henry recognized Rush's handwriting, Washington did, tipping him off to the conspiracy. President Washington wrote of Henry in , "I have always respected and esteemed him; nay more, I have conceived myself under obligation to him for the friendly manner in which he transmitted to me some insidious anonymous writings in the close of the year with a view to embark him in the opposition that was forming against me at that time".

In an effort to secure Virginia's vast claims in the West to the Mississippi River and north to present-day Minnesota against British and Native American forces, Henry in December sent George Rogers Clark on an expedition against Kaskaskia , site of a British and French settlement. This part of Clark's mission was secret; his public orders merely stated he was to raise a militia and go to Kentucky then part of Virginia.

Clark captured Kaskaskia in July and remained north of the Ohio River for the remainder of Henry's governorship. Although the expedition did not turn out as well as hoped, Henry trumpeted its successes, but after he left the governorship in and was elected to the House of Delegates, he became a foe of Clark. Henry was elected to a third term on May 29, , again without opposition.

Jefferson led the committee of notables sent to inform him of his election. In December , Henry sent an urgent appeal to Congress for naval aid in protecting Chesapeake Bay. None was forthcoming, [ ] and on May 8, , in the final days of Henry's governorship, British ships under Sir George Collier entered the bay, landed troops, and took Portsmouth and Suffolk , destroying valuable supplies.

The British departed on May 24, and Henry, limited to three consecutive terms in office by the constitution, left office soon after, succeeded by Jefferson, and with his family returned to Leatherwood. At Leatherwood, Henry devoted himself to local affairs in the thinly-populated county and was given seats on the county court the local governing body , as prominent landowners were, and on the parish vestry.

He refused to be elected a delegate to Congress, stating that his personal business and past illness made that impossible. When Governor Jefferson sent a note to him in early , Henry replied with gratitude, complaining of his isolation, and wrote of his many concerns about the state of affairs as the war continued. The freeholders of Henry County soon thereafter sent its eponym to the House of Delegates.

But within weeks, health problems recurred, causing his return to Leatherwood. He was successful in defeating it, but after he left Richmond, supporters persuaded the legislature to pass it. Henry rode with the troops, though he did not lead them, and they were generally successful in suppressing the resistance. The volunteers were disbanded in September In January , British forces under the renegade former American general, Benedict Arnold , sailed up the James River and captured Richmond with little opposition as Henry joined the other legislators and Governor Jefferson in fleeing to Charlottesville.

Although Arnold soon withdrew to Portsmouth, in February, troops under Lord Cornwallis entered the state from North Carolina; the war, which had for the most part been fought out of state, would have many of its final moves played in Virginia. With Washington's army near New York, Henry sought to recruit soldiers to defend the state and in March helped draft an angry remonstrance from the House of Delegates to Congress, demanding help.

Nevertheless, in May, British forces under Colonel Banastre Tarleton raided Charlottesville, nearly capturing the Virginia government, which fled to Staunton. But on learning Henry was with the group, she decided it must be all right, and offered them the best she had. Jefferson did not go to Staunton: his term as governor had just expired, but the legislature had not met to hold an election.