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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

SKETCHES

THE LIFE AND CHARACTER

PATRICK HENRY.

BY WILIilAM WIRT
OF BICHUOKD, VtBSIKIA,

" la quo hoc maximum est, quod neque ante Ulum, quern ille Imltarateur neque post Ulum qui
eiim Imltanltioosset. inveptus.eis;!," Pafere. \Ui, i. is«B> v.
* Bit dUtin^uUhirtg^eharaettriaHc'ia- thist thta ?ievKtm preesdedyi^inorU lohtm fte..
nor did any come Oifter who could imiiate him,"

REVISED EDITION,
WITH BEADIH08 TO EACH CHAPTER, AND SCCH AN ARRAI^OEMEHT
OF THE NOTES CONTAINED IN THE FORMER EDITlONSj
AS TO RENDER THE -WORK SUITABLE FOR
A CLASS BOOK IN ACADEMIES
AllD SCHOOLS.

ITHACA, N. Y. :
PUBLISHED BY MACK, ANDRUS & CO.,
No. 6D CWEGO STBEBT.
1848.

PlSTRIOT OF FeNNSYLTAMZA, TO WIT :
Be it Remembered. That, on the twenty-first day of March, !n the forty-second year ol
the Independence or the United States of America,- James Webster, of the said District,
hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor,
in the words following, to wit : "Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry.
By William Wirt, of Kicbmond, Virginia. Second edition, corrected by the Author, In
quo hoc maximum est, quod nequ^ ante illum^ qu^m ille imitaretur, neque post iUum, qui
eum imitari posset, inventus est. Paterc. Lib. i. cap. v." In conformity to the act of
Congress of the United Slates, entitled,. "An act. for the encouragement of learning, by
securing the copies of Maps, Charts, aiid Books, to the authors and proprietors of such
copies, during the time therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled, '^ An act supple
mentary to an act, entitled, 'An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the
copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during
Ihe time therein mentioned,' and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing
engraving, and etching, historical and other Prints." D. Caldwsll,
Clerk of the District qf Penncy^vam'a.
Re-entered, according to the act of Congress, in the year 1839, by Thouas M'Elrati^ in
Iha Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.

CV>/J I .^5 (o p

I^A^.

TO
THE YOUNG MEN OF VIRGINIA,
THIS WORK
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY
THE AUTHOR.

Ch'^lZS^h

PREFACE.

1 HE leader has a right to know what degree of credit is due to the following
narrative ; and it k the object of this preface to give him that satisfaction.
It was in thb summer of eighteen hundred and five, that the design of writing
this biography was first conceived. It was produced hy an incident of feeling,
which, however it affected the author at the time, might now be thought light
and trivial by the reader ; and he shall not, therefore, be detained by the recital
of' it. The author knew nothing of Mr. Henry, personally. He had never
seen him, and was of course compelled to rely wholly on the information of
others. As soon, therefore, as the design was formed of writing his life,
aware of the necessity of losing no time in collecting, from the few remaining
coevals of Mr. Henry, that personal knowledge of the subject which might ere
long be expected to die with them, the author despatched letters to every
quarter of the state in which it occurred to him as probable that interesting
matter might be found ; and he was gratified by the prompt attention which
was paid to his inquiries.
There were, at that time, living in the county of Hanover, three gentlemen
of the first respectability, who had been the companions of Mr. Henry's child
hood and youth ; these were, Col. Charles Dabney, Capt. George Dabney,
and Col. "William 0. -Winston ; the two first of whom are still living. Not
having the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with these gentlemen, the
author interested the late Mr. Nathaniel Pope in his object, and, by his instru
mentality, procured all the useful' information which was in their possession.
Mr. Pope is well known to have been a gentleman of uncommonly vigorous
and discriminating mind ; a sacred observer of truth, and a man of the purest
sense of honour. The author cannot recall the memory of this most amiable
and excellent man, to whom (if there be any merit in this work) the friends
of Mr. Henry and the state of Virginia owe so many obligations, without
paying to that revered memory the tribute of his respect and affection. Mr.
Pope was one of those ardent young Virginians, who embarked before they
had attained their maturity, in the cause of the American revolution : he joined
an animated and active corps of horse, and signalized himself by an impetuous
gallantry, which drew upon him the eyes and the applause of his commander.
In peace, he was as mild as he had been brave in war ; his bosMn was repleta
A3

n PREFACE.
with the kindest affections ; he was in truth, one of fhe best of companiOBa,
and one of the warmest of friends. The fact that he was the acknowledged
head of the several bars at which he practised in the country, may assure the
reader of his capacity for the commission which he so cheerfully undertook, ia
regard to Mr. Henry ; and the unblemished integrity of his life may assure
him also of the fidelity with which that commission was executed. So many
important anecdotes in the following work depend on the credit of this gentle
man as a witness, that the slight sketch Which has been given of his character,
will not, it is hoped, be thought foreign to the purpose of this preface. Mr.
Pope did not confine his inquiries to the county of Hanover : he was indefati
gable in collecting information from every quarter ; which he never accepted,
Jiowever, but from the purest sources j and his authority for every inpid'ent
wasi given with ike most scrupulous' accuracy. The-author had hoped to havs
'had it Bi rhis :powerto:gtatify this gentleman, by submitting to his view-the
joint result of their labours, and lobtaining the benefit <of his last corrections ;
ibut'he was (disappointed by his untimely and melancholy death. He fell a
victim to that savage practice, which, under the false name of honour, con
tinued' tolpretail too long i and his death ia believrod to have been highly
instrumental in hastening that.aystemof legislation in restraint of. this practice,
which how^eiists in Virginia.
Besides the contributions furnished by Mr. Pope, the writer derived material
aid from various other quarters. The widow of Mr. Henry was still living,
and had intermarried with Judge Winston ; from this gentleman. (who was
¦also related'to Mr.' Hftary by blood, and had been intimately acquainted with
¦him through/thefar greater part of his life,) the author received a succinct.
but eitremely accurate and comprehensive memour.
-Col. Meredith, of Amherst, was a few years oWer than iMr. Henry, 'had
been raised in the same neighbourhood, and .had finally married one of his
sisters. Having known Mr. Henry from his birth to his death, h&had it in
his power to supply very copious details, which were taken dovmfrom his
liarration'bythe present Judge Cabell, -and forwarded to the author.
One of the most intimate and confidential friends tof Mr. Henry was.t.lie
late Judge Tyler. The judge had a kind of Roman frankness, and oven
btantness, in W» manners, together vwth a decision of character and a benevo
lence of spirit, wfhieh 'had attached Mr. Henry to him, from bis first appear-
¦aiiceon thei public-stage. They Were, fora long time, membera of'the Houss
of Delegates together, and their friendship continued cuntil it was severed by
death. Prom Judge Tylerthe author received a very minute and interesting
communication of incidents, the whole of vfhioh had eitherj passed in his own
'presence, or had been related to him by Mr. Henry himself.
¦^ewriter is indebted to Judge Tucker for two or three of his best inci-
¦dents; oneof'them willprobably fee; pronounced the most interestir.g. passage
of the I'vmrk. Heowes to the same jgentfcmaji, too,, the fullest -and li'veliost
^fasEtiptionof rtie person of Mr. Henry, which has been furnished from any

PREFACE- Vii
quarter j and he stands farther indebted to him for a rare and (to the purpose
of this work) a very important book — ^the Journals of the House of Burnesses
for the years seventeen hundred and. sixty- three, four, five, si)c, and seven.
From Judge Roane the author has received one of the fairest and most
satisfactory communications that has been made to him ; and the vigour and
elegance with which that gentleman writes, has frequently enabled the author
to relieve the dulness of his own narrative, by extracts from his statements.
Mr. Jefferson, too, has exercised his well-known kindness and candour on
this occasion ; having not only favoured the author with a very full communi
cation in the flrst instance ; but assisted him, subsequently and repeatedly,
with his able counsel, in reconciling apparent contradictions, and clearing
away difiiculties of fact.
Besides these statements, drawn from the memory of his correspondents,
the writer was favoured, by the late Governor Page, with the reading of a
pretty extended sketch, which he had himself prepared, of the life of Mr.
Henry i and he has, furthermore, availed himself of the kind permission ot
Mr. Peyton Randolph, to examine an extremely valuable manuscript history ot
Virginia, written by his father, the late Mr. Edmund Randolph ; which em
braces the whole period of Mr. Henry's public life.
In addition to these stores of information the author has had the good
fortune to procure complete files of the public newspapers, reaching from the
year seventeen hundred and sixty-five down to the close of the American
revolution ; by these he has been enabled to correct, in some important
instances, tl^e memory of his correspondents, in relation not only to dates, but
to facts themselves.
He has been fortunate, too, in having procured several original letters,
which s^ied much light on important and hitherto disputed facts, in the life of
Mr. Henry.
The records of the General Court, and the archives of the state, having
been convenient to the author, and always open to him, he has endeavoured
assiduously and carefully to avail himself of that certain and permanent
evidence which they afford ; and has been enabled, by this means, as the
reader will discover, to correct some strange mistakes in historical facts.
The author's correspondents will find, that he has departed, in some in
stances, from their respective statements ; and he owes them an explanation
for having done so : the explanation is this — their statements were, in several
instances, diametrically opposed to each other ; and were sometimes all con
tradicted by the public prints, or the records of the state. It ought not to be
matter of surpriset that these contradictions should exist, even among those
most respectable gentlemen, relying, as they did, upon human memory mere
ly ;_ and- speaking of events so very remote, without a previous opportunity of
communicating with each other. It will be seen by them, that the author has
been obliged in several instances, to contradict even the several histories ef
the times, concerning which he writes ; but this he has never done, without

tin PREFACE.
the most decisive proofs of his own correctness, which he has always cited ;
nor has he ever departed from the narratives of his several correspondents,
except Under the direction of preponderating evidence. As among those
contradictory statements, ail cduld not be true, he has sought the correction
'\iy public documnets, when such correction was attainable ; and when it was
'not, he has selected, among his narrators, those whose opportunities to know
the fact in question seemed to be the best. This he has done, without the
slightest intention to throw a shadow of suspicion on the credit of any gentle-
taan who has been so obliging as to answer his inquiries ; but merely from the
necessity which he was under, either of making some selection, or abandomng
the work altogether ; and because he knew of no better rule of selection, than
that which he has adopted.
Although it has been so long since the collection of these materials was
begun, it was not until the summer of eighteen hundred and fourteen that the
last communication was received. Even then, when the author sat down to
the task of imbodying his materials, there were so many intricacies to disen
tangle, and So many inconsistencies, from time to time, to explain and settle,
and that, too, through the tedious agency of cross-mails, that his progress was
continually impeded, and has been, to him, most painfully retarded.
Other causes, too, haye contributed to delay the publication. The author
is a practising lawyer ; and tiie courts which he attends, keep him perpetually
and exclusively occupied in that attendance, through ten months of the year ;
nor does the summer recess of two months afford a remission from professional
labour. In Virginia, the duties of attorney, counsellor, conveyancer, and
advocate, are all performed by the same individual ; hence, the summer vaca
tion, instead of being a time of leisure, is not only the season of preparation
for the approaching courts, but is subject, moreover, to a perpetual recurrence
of what are here called office duties, which renders a steady application to any
other subject impossible.
These sketches are now submitted to the public, with unaffected difiidence ;
not of the facts which they detail, for on them the author has the firmest
relia:;co ; but of the manner in which he has been able to accomplish his
undertaking. For, (to say nothing of his inexperience and want of ability fbr
such a work) he has been compelled to write (when he was suffered to write
at all) amidst that incessant professional annoyance which has been mentioned,
and which is known by every man who has ever made the trial, to forbid the
hope of success in any composition of this extent. Conld the writer have
looked forward, with any reasonable calculation, to a period of greater ease,
his respect for the memory of Mr. Henry, as well as his regard for himself,
would have induced him to suspend this undertaking until that period should
have arrived. But having no ground for any hope of this kind, he has thought
ii better; to hazard even these crude sketches, than to suffer the materials,
which he had accumulated with so much toil, arid for an object which he
thought BO laudable, to perish bn his hands.

PREFACE. i%
These remarks are not made with the view of deprecating the censures of
critics by profession ; but merely to bespeak the candour of that larger portion
of readers, who are willing to be pleased with the best efforts that can be
reasonably expected from the curcumstances of the case. The author, however,
is well satisfied that the most indulgent reader (although benevolently disposed
to overlook defects of execution) will be certainly disappointed in the matter
itself of this work ; for, notwithstanding all his exertions, he is entirely con
scious that the materials, which he has been able to collect are scanty and
meager, and utterly dispropof tionate to the great fame of Mr. Henry. It is
probable, that much of what was once known of him had perished, before the
author commenced his researches ; and, it is very possible, that much may
still be known, vrhich he has not been able to discover ; because it lies in
unsuspected sources, or with persons un-wrillin^,' for somereason or other,to
communicate their information. Jt is the conviction, ^that he has not been
,able to inform himself of the whole events of Mr. Henry's life,'and that his
collection can be. considered only as so many detaehed sketches. If, in this
humble-and unassuming' i?bar.acter, it,shall,give any .pleasure to the numerous
admirers of Mr. Henry, in Virginia, the author will have attained all that ho
has a right to expect.
RiCHMOMD, Va. 'Sept.i 5th, 1817.

NOTE A,
It appears by the journals of the house of burgesses, of the 14th November,
seventeen hundred and ¦ sixty-four, (p^ge 38,)that'a committee wasappomt^
to draw up the following address, memorial, and remonstrance ; which com
mittee was composed of the following persons, to wit : Mr. Attorney, (Peyton
-Randoljih;) <Mr. Richard 'Henry -Lee, 'Mr. Landon (barter, Mr. Wythe, 'Mr.
Edmund Pendleton, Mr. Benjamin Harrison Mr. Gary, and Mr. iFleming, tu
whom, afterward, Mr. Bland was added. The address to the king is from the
pen of the attorney.* • On the authority of Mr. Jefferson.
" To the king's most excellent Majesty.
" Most Gracious Sovereign,
" We, your majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the council and burgesser
of your ancient colony and dominion of Virginia, now met in general assembly,
beg leave to assure your majesty of our firm and inviolable attachment to yous
sacred person and government ; and as your faithful subjects here have at all
times been zealous to demonstrate this truth, by a ready compliance with the
royal requisttion during the late war, by which a heavy and oppressive debt
of near half a million had been incurred, so at this time they implore permis
sion to approach the throne with humble confidence, and to entreat that your
majesty will be graciously pleased to ptotect our people of this colony in the
enjoyment of their ancient and inestimable right of being governed by such
laws, respecting their internal polity and taxation, as are derived from their
own consen(, with the approbation of their sovereign or his substitute : a right
which, as men, and descendants of Britons, they have ever quietly possessed,
since, first by royal permission and encouragement, they left the mother king
dom to extend its commerce and dominion.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The appearance of a duodecimo edition of Marshall's Life of Wash
ington, suggested to the proprietors of The Life of Patrick Henry, tha
desirableness and utility of the present edition. As that masterly
sketch of the heroic deeds and character of the Father of his country,
lurmshes to the youth of our land the most impressive lessons of pa
triotism and manly energy, so it was presumed that this graphic de
lineation of the genius of the ^^forest-horn Demosthenes," was admira
bly calculated to elicit in the youthful mind, feelings of emulation
which time might develop into action and honourable usefulness. It
was not, however, alone for youth, or for the use of the School Libra'
ries of our several states, that this work has assumed its present form —
it was equally designed for those who would have purchased the
former edition, had it been less expensive, who will find under a less
commanding appearance, the same as is contained in the octavo edi
tion—the only alteration being in a mors eonvenient wrsngement of

WIRT'S
LIFE OF PATRICK HENRY.

CHAPTER I.
Birth of Patrick Henry — Family Reminiseences^-Early Propensities — 1»
placed under the Care of a Merchant — Engages in Business with his Broth
er — Becomes bankrupt — Is married — Commences farming---Abandons Agri
culture and recommences mercantile Business — Is again unfortunate — •
Becomes acquainted^ with Mr. Jefferson — Determines to study Law — Is
licensed — Contest on the Subject of the Tobacco Law— Mr. Henry retained
as Counsel — Success of his first Effort.
Patrick Henry, the second son of John and Sarah Henry,
and one of nine children, was born on the twenty-ninth of
May, seventeen hundred and thirty-six, at the family-seat, called
Studley, in the county of Hanover and colony of Virginia. In
his early childhood, his parents removed to another seat, in the
same county, then called Mount Brilliant, now the Retr^eat ; at
which latter place Patrick Henry was raised and educated. His
parents, though not rich, were in easy circumstances ; and, in
point of personal character, were among the most respectable
inhabitants of the colony.
His father, Col. John Henry, was a native of Aberdeen in
Scotland. He was, it is said, a first cousin to David Henry,
who was the brother-in-law and successor of Edward Cave, in
the publication of that celebrated work, " The Gentleman's
Magazine," and himself the author of several literary tracts :
Jphn Henry is also said to have been a nephew, in the mater
nal line, to the great historian Dr. W^illiam Robertson. He
came over to Virginia, in quest of fortune, some time prior to
the year seventeen hundred and thirty, and the tradition is, that
hp enjoyed the friendship and patronage of Mr. Dinwiddle, af
terward the governor of the colony. By this gentleman, it is
reported, that he was introduced to the elder Col. Syme of
Hanover, in whose family, it is certain, that he became domes
ticated during the life of that gentleman ; after whose death he
intermarried with his widow, and resided on the estate which
he had left. 11

12 wirt's life of
It is considered as a fair proof of the personal merit of Mr.
John Henry, that, in those days, when offices virere bestowed
with peculiar caution, he was the colonel of his regiment, the
principal surveyor of the county, and, for many years, the
presiding magistrate of the county court. His surviving ac
quaintances concur in stating, that he was a man of liberal
education ; that he possessed a plain, yet solid understanding ;
and lived long a life of the most irreproachable integrity and
exemplary piety.
His brother Patrick, a clergyman of the church of England,
followed him to this country some years afterward ; and be
came, by his influence, the minister of St. Paul's parish in
Hanover, the functions of which office he sustained throughout
life with great respectability. Both the brothers were zealous
members of the established church, and warmly attached; to the
reigning family. CoJ. John Henry was conspicuously so.
"There are those yet alive," says a correspondent, (Mr. Pope,
in eighteen hundred and five,) " who have seen him at the head
of his regiment, celebrating the birth-day, of George III. with
as much enthusiasm as his son Patrick afterward displayed in
resisting the encroachments of that monarch."*'
Mrs. Henry, the widow of Col. Syme, as we have seen, and
the mother of Patrick Hfenry, was a native of Hanover county,
and of the fanaily of Winstons. She possessed, in an eminent
diegree, the mild and benevolent disposition, the und'eviating
probity, the correct understanding, and easy elocution, by which
that ancient family has been so long distinguished. Her brother
William, the father of the present Judge Winston, is said to
have been highly endowed with that peculiar cast of eloquence,
for which Mr. Henry became, afterward, so justly celebrated.
Of this gentleman, I have an anecdote from a correspondent,
(Mr. Pope,) which I shall give in his own words : —
" I have often heard my father, who was intimately acquaint-^
ed with this William Winston, say, that he was the greatest
orator whom he ever heard, Patrick Henry excepted; that
(luring the last French and Indian war, and soon after Brad-
dock's defeat, when the militia were marched to the frontiers
of Virginia, against the enemy, this William Winston was the
lieutenant of a company ; that the men, who were indifferently.
clothed, without terits, and exposed to the rigour and inclem
ency of the Vveather, discovered great aversion to the service,
and were anxious aiid even clamorous to return to their families ;
* Mr. Burk's account of Mr. Henry is extremely careless and full of errors
He begjns by making him the son of his uncle : — " Patrick Henry, the son of
a Scotch gentleman of the same name," &c. — 3d vol. of the History of Vir
ginia, page 300,

PATRICK HENRY. 13
when this William Winston, mounting a stump, (the common
rostrum, you know, of the field-orator of Virginia,) addressed
them with such keenness of invective, and declaimed with such
force of eloquence, on liberty and patriotism, that when he
concluded, the general cry was, ' Let us march on ; lead us
against the enemy !' and they were now willing, nay, anxious
to encounter all those difficulties and dangers which, but a few
moments before, had alinost produced a mutiny.
Thus much I have been able to collect of the parentage and
family of Mr. Henry ; and this, I presume, will be thought quite
sufficient, in relation to a man, who owed no part of his great
ness to the lustre of his pedigree, but was, in truth, the soul
founder of his own fortunes.
Until ten years of age, Patrick Henry was sent to a school in
the neighbourhood, where he learned to read and write, and
made some small progress in arithmetic. He was then taken
home, and under the direction of his father, who had opened a
grammar-school in his own house, he acquired a superficial
knowledge of the Latin language, and learned to read the char
acter, but never to translate Greek. At the same time, he made
a considerable proficiency in the mathematics, the only branch
of education for which, it seems, he discovered in his youth,
the slightest predilection.
But he was too idle to gain any solid advantage from the
opportunities which were thrown in his way. He was passion
ately addicted to the sports of the field, and could not support
the confinement and toil which education required. Hence,
instead of system, or any semblance of regularity in his studies,
his efforts were always desultory, and became more and more
rare ; until at length, when the hour of his school exercises
arrived, Patrick was scarcely ever to be fouBd. He was in the
forest with his gun, or over the brook with his angle-rod ; and,
in these frivolous occupations, when not controlled by the
authority of his father, (which was rarely exerted,) he would, it
is said, spend whole days and weeks, with an appetite rather
whetted than cloyed by enjoyment. His scliool-fellows, having
observed his growing passion for these amusements, and having
remarked that its progress was not checked either by the want
of companions or the want of success, have frequently watched
his movements to discover, if they could, the secret source of
that delight which they seemed to affiDrd him. But they made
no discovery which led them to any other conclusion than (to
use their own expression) that " he loved idleness for its own
sake." They have frequently observed him lying along, under
the shade of some tree that overhung the sequestered stream,
watching, for hours, at the same spot, the motionless cork of
2

14 wirt's life or
his fishing line, without one encouraging symptom of success,
and without any apparent source of enjoyment, unless he could
find it in the ease of his posture, or in the illusions of hope, or,
which is most probable, in the stillness of the scene and the
silent workings of his own imagination.
This love of solitude, in his youth, was often observed.
Even when hunting with a party, his choice was not to join the
noisy band that drove the deer ; he preferred to take his stand,
alone, where he might wait for the passing game, and indulge
liimself, meanwhile, in the luxury of thinking. Not that he
was averse to society ; on the contrary, he had, at times, a
very high zest for it. But even in society, his enjoyments
while young, were of a very peculiar cast ; he did not mix in
the wild mirth of his equals in age ; but sat, quiet and demure,
taking no part in the conversation, giving no responsive smile
to the circulatingjest, but lost, to all appearance, in silence and
abstraction. This abstraction, however, was only apparent;
for on the dispersion of a company, when interrogated by his
parents as to what had been passing, he was able, not only to
detail the conversation, but to sketch, with strict fidelity, the
character of every speaker. None of these early delineations
of character are retained by his contemporaries; and, indeed,
they are said to have been more remarkable for their justness,
than for any peculiar felicity of execution.
I cannot learn that he gave, in his youth, any evidence of that
precocity which sometimes distinguishes uncommon genius.
His companions recollect no instance of premature wit, no
striking sentiment, no flash of fancy, no remarkable beauty or
strength of expression ; and no indication, however slight,
either of that impassioned love of liberty, or of that adventure
ous daring and intrepidity, which marked so strongly, his fu
ture character. So far was he, indeed, from exhibiting any one
prognostic of this greatness, that every omen foretold a life, at
best, of mediocrity, if not of insignificance.
His person is represented as having been coarse, his man
ners uncommonly awkward, his dress slovenly, his conversa
tion very plain, his aversion to study invincible, and his facul^
ties almost entirely benumbed by indolence. No persuasions
could bring him either to read or to work. On the contrary,
he ran wild in the forest, like one of the aborigines of the"
country, and divided his life between the dissipation and uproar
of the chase and the languor of inaction.
His propensity to observe and comment upon the human
character was, so far as I can learn, the only circumstance
which distinguished him, advantageously, from his youthful
companions. This propensity seems to have been born with

PATRICK HENRY. 15
him, and to have exerted itself, instinctively, the moment that
a new subject was presented to his view. Its action was in
cessant, and it became, at length almost the only intellectual
exercise in which he seemed to take delight. To this cause
may be traced that consummate knowledge of the human heart
which he finally attained, and which enabled him, when he
came upon the public stage, to touch the springs of passion
with a master-hand, and to control the resolutions and decis
ions of his hearers, with a power, almost more than mortal.
From what has been already stated, it will be seen how little
education had to do with the formation of this great man's
mind. He was, indeed, a mere child of nature, and nature
seems to have been too proud and too jealous of her work, to
permit it to be touched by the hand of art. She gave him
Shakspeare's genius, and bid him, like Shakspeare, to depend
on that alone.
Let not the youthful reader, however, deduce, from the ex
ample of Mr. Henry, an argument in favour of indolence and
the contempt of study. Let him remember that the powers
which surmounted the disadvantage of those early habits,
were such as very rarely appear upon this earth. Let him re
member, too, how long the genius, even of Mr. Henry, was
kept down and hidden from the public view, by the sorcery of
those pernicious habits ; through what years of poverty and
wretchedness they doomed him to struggle ; and, let him re ,
member, that, at length, when in the zenith of his glory, Mr.
Henry himself had frequent occasion to deplore the conse
quences of his early neglect of literature, and to bewail " the
ghosts of his departed hours."
His father, unable to sustain, with convenience, the expense
of so large a family as was now multiplying on his hands,
found it necessary to qualify his sons, at a very early age, to
support themselves. With this view, Patrick was placed at the
age of fifteen, behind the counter of a merchant in the country.
How he conducted himself in this situation, I have not been
able to learn. There could not, however, I presume, have
been any flagrant impropriety in his conduct, since, in the next
year, his father considered him qualified to carry on business
on his own account. Under this impression, he purchased a
small adventure of goods for his two sons, William and Pat
rick, and, according to the language of the country, " set them
up in trade." William's habits of idleness were, if possible,
still more unfortunate than Patrick's. The chief management
of their concerns, devolved, therefore, on the younger brother,
and that management seems to have been most wretched.
Left to himself, all the indolence of his character returned.

16 wirt's life of
Those unfortunate habits which he had formed, and whose
spell was already too strong to be broken, comported very
poorly with that close attention, that accuracy and persevering
vigour, which are essential to the merchant. The drudgery of
retailing and of book-keeping soon became intolerable ; yet he
was obliged to preserve appearances by remaining continually
at his stand. Besides these unpropitious habits, there was
still another obstacle to his success, in the natural kindness
of his temper. " He could not find it in his heart" to disap
point any one who came to him for credit; and he was very
easily satisfied by apologies for non-payment. He condemned,
in himself, this facility of temper, and foresaw the embarrass
ments with which it threatened him ; but he was unable to over
come it. Even with the best prospects, the confinement of
such a business would have been scarcely supportable ; but
with those which now threatened him, his store became a pris
on. To make the matter still worse, the joys of the chase,
joys now to him forbidden, echoed around him every morning,
and by their contrast, and the longings which they excited,
contributed to deepen the disgust which he had taken to his
employments. From these painful reflections, and the gloomy forebodings
which darkened the future, he sought, at first, a refuge in mu
sic, for which it seems he had a natural taste, and he learned to
play well on the violin and on the flute. From music he passed
to books, and, having procured a few light and elegant authors,
acquired, for the first time, a relish for reading. ,
He found another relief, too, in the frequent opportunities
now affijrded him of pursuing his favourite study of the human
character. The character of every customer underwent this
scrutiny ; and that, not with reference either to the integrity
or solvency of the individual, in which one would suppose that
Mr. Henry would feel himself most interested ; but in relation
to the structure of his mind, the general cast of his opinions,
the motives and principles which influenced his actions, and
what may be called the philosophy of character.
' In pursuing these investigations, he is said to have resorted
to arts, apparently so far above his years, and which looked so
much like an afterthought, resulting from his future eminence,
that I should hesitate to make the statement, were it not attested
by so many witnesses, and by some who cannot be suspected
of the capacity for having fabricated the fact. Their account
of it, then, is this : — that whenever a company of his customers
met in the store, (which frequently happened on the last day of
the week,) and were themselves sufficiently gay and animated
to talk and act as nature prompted, without concealment, with-

PATRICK HENRY. 17
out ' reserve, he would take no part in their discussions, but
listen with a silence as deep and attentive as if under the influ
ence of some potent charm. If, on the contrary, they were
dull and silent, he would, without betraying his drift, task him
self to set them in motion, and excite them to remark, collision,
and exclamation. He was peculiarly delighted with comparing
their characters, and ascertaining how they would severally act
in given situations. With this view he would state a hypo
thetic case, and call for their opinions one by one, as to the
conduct which would be proper in it. If they difi"ered, he would
demand their reasons, and enjoy highly the debates in which
he would thus involve them. But multiplying and varying
those imaginary cases at pleasure, he ascertained the general
course of human opinion, and formed, foy himself, as it were, a
graduated scale of the motives and conduct which are natural to
man. Sometimes he would entertain them with stories, gathered
from his reading, or, as was more frequently the case, drawn
from his own fancy, composed of heterogeneous circumstances,
calculated to excite, by turns, pity, terror, resentment, indigna
tion, contempt ; pausing in the turns of his narrative, to ob
serve the effect; to watch the diflierent modes in which the pas
sions expressed themselves, and learn the language of emotion
from those children of nature.
In these exercises, Mr. Henry could have had nothing in
view beyond the present gratification of a natural propensity.
The advantages of them, however, were far more permanent,
and gave the brightest colours to his future life. For those
continual efforts to render himself intelligible to his plain and
unlettered hearers, on subjects entirely new to them, taught
him that clear and simple style which forms the best vehicle
of thought to a popular assembly ; while his attempts to in
terest and affect them, in order that he might hear from them
the echo of nature's voice, instructed him in those topics of
persuasion by which men were the most certainly to be moved,
and in the kind of imagery and structure of language, which
were the best fitted to strike and agitate their hearts. These
constituted his excellences as an orator ; and never was there
a man, in any age, who possessed, in a more eminent degree,
the lucid and nervous style of argument, the command of the
most beautiful and striking imagery, or that language of pas
sion which burns from soul to soul.
In the meantime, the business of the store was rushing
headlong to its catastrophe. One year put an end to it. Wil
liam was then thrown loose upon society,* to which he was
* I have seen an original letter from Col. John Henry to his son VTilliam, in
which he remonstrates with him on his wild and dissipated course of life.
2*

19 wirt's LIFE OF
never afterward usefully attached ; and Patrick was engaged
for the two or three following years, in winding up this disas
trous experiment as well as he could.
His misfortunes, however, seem not to have had the effect
either of teaching him prudence or of chilling his affections.
For, at the early age of eighteen, we find him married to a
Miss Shelton, the daughter of an honest farmer in the neigh
bourhood, but in circumstances too poor to contribute effect
ually to her support. By the joint assistance of their parents,
however, the young couple were settled on a small farm, and
here, with the assistance of one or two slaves, Mr. Henry had
to delve the earth, with his own hands, for subsistence. Such
are the vicissitudes of human life ! It is curious to contem
plate this giant genius, destined in a few years to guide the
councils of a mighty nation, but unconscious of the intellectual
treasures which he possessed, encumbered, at the early age of
eighteen, with the cares of a family ; obscure, unknown, and,
almost unpitied ; digging, with wearied limbs and with an ach
ing heart, a small spot of barren earth, for bread, and blessing
the hour of night which relieved him from toil.
Little could the wealthy and great of the land, as they rolled
along the highway in splendour, and beheld the young rustic at
work in the coarse garb of a labourer, covered with dust and
melting in the sun, have suspected that this was the man who was
destined not only to humble their pride, but to make the prince
himself tremble on his distant throne, and to shake the bright
est, jewels from the British crown. Little, indeed, could he
himself have suspected it ; for amid the distresses which
thickened around him at this time, and threatened him not only
with obscurity but with famine, no hopes came to cheer the
gloom, nor did there remain to him any earthly consolation,
save that which he found in the bosom of his own family.
Fortunately for him, there never was a heart which felt this
consolation with greater force. No man ever possessed the
domestic virtues in a higher degree, or enjoyed, more exquis
itely, those pure delights which flow from the endearing rela
tions of conjugal life.
Mr. Henry's want of agricultural skill, and his unconquer-'
able aversion to every species of systematic labour, drove him,
necessarily, after a trial of two years, to abandon this pursuit
There is reason to believe, however, that at a later period, ho. m_a^ hsii^e re
formed, since a gentleman, to whom the manuscript of this worfc wgs' suteit-
ted, notes on this passage, that when he was at college at WilliamsburgQ'he
recollects to have seen William Henry a member of the .assembly, fromTthe
county of Fluvanna ; that he was called colonel, and was, he afterward under
stood, pretty well provided as to fortune.^

PATRICK HENRY. 19
altogether. His next step seems to have been dictated by ab
solute despair ; for, selling off his little possessions, at a sac
rifice for cash, he entered, a second time, on the inauspicious
business of merchandise. Perhaps he flattered himself that
he would be able to profit by his past experience, and conduct
this experiment to a more successful issue. But if he did so,
he deceived himself. He soon found that he had not changed
his character, by changing his pursuits. His early habits still
continued to haunt him. The same want of method, the same
facility of temper, soon became apparent by their ruinous ef
fects. He resumed his violin, his flute, his books, his curious
inspection of human nature ; and not unfrequently ventured to
shut up his store, and indulge himself in the favourite sports
of his youth.
His reading, however, began to assume a more serious char
acter. He studied geography, in which it is said that he be
came an adept. He read, also, the charters and history of the
colony. He became fond of historical works generally, par
ticularly those of Greece and Rome ; and, from the tenacity of
his memory and the strength of his judgment, soon made him
self a perfect master of their contents. Livy was his favour
ite ; and having procured a translation, he became so much en
amoured of the work, that he made it a standing rule to read it
through, once at least, in every year, during the early part of
his life.* The grandeur of the Roman character, so beautiful
ly exhibited by Livy, filled him with surprise and admiration ;
and he was particularly enraptured with those vivid descrip
tions and eloquent harangues with which the work abounds.
Fortune could scarcely have thrown in his way, a book better
fitted to foster his republican spirit, and awaken the still dor
mant powers of his genius ; and it seems not improbable, that
the lofty strain in which he himself afterward both spoke and
acted, was, if not originally inspired, at least highly raised, by
the noble models set before him by this favourite author.
This second mercantile experiment was still more unfortu
nate than the first. In a few years it left him a bankrupt, and
placed him in a situation than which it is difficult to conceive
one more wretched. Every atom of his property was now
gone, his friends were unable to assist him any further ; he had
tried every means of support, of which he could suppose him
self capable, and every one had failed; ruin was behind him;
poverty, debt, want, and famine, before ; and, as if his cup of
misery was not already full enough, here were a suffering wife
and children to make it overflow.
¦¦ ludga I«efeon had this statement from Mr. Henry himself.

20 wirt's LIFE OF
But with all his acuteness of feeling, Mr. Henry possessed
great native firmness of character ; and, let me add, great re
liance, too, on that unseen ai-ni which never long deserts the
faithful. Thus supported, he was able to bear up_ under the
heaviest pressure of misfortune, and even to be cheerful, under
circumstances which would sink most other men into despair.
It was at this period of his fortunes, that Mr. Jefferson be
came acquainted with him ; and the reader, I am persuaded,
will be gratified with tliaj gentleman's own account of it.
These are his words : — " My acquaintance with Mr. Henry
commenced in the winter of seventeen hundred and fifty-nine —
sixty. On my way to the college I passed the Christraas-
hblydays at Col. Dandridge's, in Hanover, to whom Mr. Henry
was a near neighbour. During the festivity of the season,,!
met him in society every day, and we became well acquainted,
although I was much his junior, being then in my seven
teenth year, and he a married rnan.
"His manners had something of coarseness in them; his pas
sion was music, dancing, and pleasantry. He excelled in the last,
.'ind it attached every one to him. You ask some account of
his mind and information at this period ; but you will recollect
that we were almost continually engaged in the usual revelries
«f the season. The occasion, perhaps, as much as his idle dis
position, prevented his engaging in any conversation which
might give the measure either of his mind or information.
Opportunity was not, indeed, wholly wanting ; because Mr.
John Campbell was there, who had married Mrs. Spotswood,
the sister of Col. Dandridge. He was a man of science, and
often introduced conversation on scientific subjects. Mr. Hen
ry had, a little before, broken up his store, or rather it had
broken him up ; but his misfortunes were not to be traced,
either in his countenance or conduct."
This cheerfulness of spirit, under a reverse of fortune so
severe, is certainly a very striking proof of the manliness of
his character. It is not, indeed, easy to conceive that a mind
like Mr. Henry's could finally sink under any pressure of ad-
ve^•sit)^ Such a mind, although it may not immediately per
ceive whither to direct its efforts, must always possess a con
sciousness of power sufficient to buoy it above despondenc)'.
But, be this as it may, of Mr. Henry it was certainly true, as
Dr. Johnson has observed of Swift, that "he was not one of
those who, having lost one part of life in idleness, are tempted
to throw away the remainder in despair."
It seems to be matter of surprise, that ever* yet, amid all
those various struggles for subsistence, the powers of his mind
had not so far developed themselves as to suggest to any friend

PATRICK hENRY. 2J
the pursuit for which he was formed. He seems to have been
a plant of slow growth ; but, like other plants of that nature,
formed for duration, and fitted to endure the buffetings of the
rudest storm.
It was now, when all other experiments had failed, that, as
a last effort, he determined, of his own accord, to make a tria'
of the law. No one expected him to succeed in any eminent
degree. His unfortunate habits were, by no means, suited to
so laborious a profession : and even if it were not too late in
life for him to hope to master its learning, the situation of his
affairs forbade an extensive course of reading. In addition to
these obstacles, the business of the profession, in that quarter,
was already in hands from which it was not easily to be taken ;
for (to mention no others) Judge Lyons, the late president of
the court of appeals, was then at the bar of Hanover, and the
adjacent counties, with an unrivalled reputation for legal learn
ing ; and Mr. John Lewis, a man, also, of very respectable
legal attainments, occupied the whole field of forensic eloquence.
Mr. Henry himself seems to have hoped for nothing more
from the profession than a scanty subsistence for himself and
his family, and his preparation was suited to these humble ex
pectations ; for to the study of a profession, which is said to
require the lucubrations of twenty years, Mr. Henry devoted
not more than six weeks.* On this preparation, however, he
obtained a license to practise the law. How he passed with
two of the examiners, I have no intelligence ; but he himself
used to relate his interview with the third. This was no other
than Mr. John Randolph, who was afterward the king's attor
ney-general for the colony ; a gentleman of the most courtly
elegance of person and manners, a polished wit, and a profound
lawyer. At first, he was so much shocked by Mr. Henry's very un
gainly figure and address, that he refused to examine him : un
derstanding, however, that he had already obtained two signa
tures, he entered with manifest reluctance, on the business. A
very short time was sufficient to satisfy him of the erroneous
conclusion which he had drawn from the exterior of the can
didate. With evident marks of increasing surprise, (produced
no doubt by the peculiar texture and strength of Mr. Henry's
style, and the boldness and originality of his combinations,) he
continued the examination for several hours : interrogating the
* So say Mr. Jefferson and Judge Wmston. Mr. Pope says nine months .
Col. Meredith and Capt. Dabney, six or eight months. Judge Tyler, one
month ; and he adds : " This I had from his own lips. In this tim&, he read
Coke upon Littleton, and the Virginia laws."

32 wirt's LIFE OF
candidate, not on the principles of municipal law, in which he, no
doubt, soon discovered his deficiency, but on the laws of na
ture and of nations, on the policy of the feudal system, and
on general history, which last he found to be his stronghold.
During the very short portion of the examination which was
devoted to the common law, Mr. Randolph dissented, or affect
ed to dissent from one of Mr. Henry's answers,^ and called
upon him to assig-n the reasons of his opinion. This produced
an argument ; and Mr. Randolph now played off on him the same
arts which he himself had so often practised on his country-
customers ; drawing him out by questions, endeavouring to
puzzle him by subtleties, assailing him with declamation, and
watching continually the defensive operations of his mind.
After a considerable discussion, he said : " You defend your
opinions well, sir; but now to the law and to the testimony."
Hereupon, he carried him to his office, and opening the au
thorities, said to him : " Behold the face of natural reason ; you
have never seen these books, nor this principle of the law ; yet
you are right, and I am wrong ; and from the lesson which
you have given me (you must excuse me for saying it) I will
never trust to appearances again. Mr. Henry, if your industry
be only half equal to yOur genius, I augur that you will do
well, and become an ornament and an honour to your profes
sion." It was always Mr. Henry's belief that Mr. Randolph
had affected this difference of opinion, merely to afford him the
pleasure of a triumph, and to make some atonement for the
wound which his first repulse had inflicted. Be this as it may,
the interview was followed by the most marked and permanent
respect on the part of Mr. Randolph, and the most sincere
good-will and gratitude on that of Mr. Henry.*
It was at the age of four-and-twenty that Mr. Henry obtain-
* This account of Mr. Henry's examination is given by Judge Tyler, who
states it as having come from Mr. Henry himself. It was written before I had
received the following statement from Mr. Jefferson ; and although there is
some difference in the circumstances, it has not been thought important enough
to make an' alteration of the text necessary. This is Mr. Jefferson's state-i
ment : — " In the spring of seventeen hundred and sixty, he came to Williams-
burgh to obtain a license as a lawyer, and he called on me at college. He told
me he had been reading law only six weeks. Two of the examiners, however,
Peyton and John Randolph, men of great facility of temper, signed his license
with as much reluctance as their dispositions would permit them to show. Mr.'
Wythe absolutely refused. Robert C. Nicholas refused also at first ; but, on
repeated importunities and promises of future reading, he signed. These!
facts I had afterward from the gentlemen themselves ; the two Randolphs ac
knowledging he was very ignorant of the law, but that they perceived him to
be a young man of genius, and did not doubt that he would soon qualify him
self."

PATRICK HENRY. 23
ed his license.- Of the science of law, he knew almost noth
ing : of the practical part he was so wholly ignorant, that he
was not only unable to draw a declaration or a plea, but inca
pable, it is said, of the most common or simple business of his
profession, even of the mode of ordering a suit, giving a no
tice, or making a motion in court. It is not at all wonderful,
therefore, that such a novice, opposed as he was by veterans,
covered with the whole armour of the law, should linger in the
background for three years.*
During this time, the wants and distresses of his family were
extreme. The profits of his practice could not have supplied
them even with the necessaries of life ; and he seems to have
spent the greatest part of his time, both of his study of the law
and the practice of the first two or three years, with his father-
in-law, Mr. Shelton, who then kept the tavern at Hanover
courthouse. Whenever Mr. Shelton was from home, Mr.
Henry supplied his place in the tavern, received the guests,
and attended to their entertainment. All this was very natural
in Mr. Henry's situation, and seems to have been purely the
voluntary movement of his naturally kind and obliging dispo
sition. Hence, however, a story has arisen, that in the early part of
his life, he was a barkeeper by profession. The fact seems
not to have been so : but if it had been, it would certainly have
redounded much more to his honour than to his discredit ; for
as Mr. Henry owed no part of his distinction either to birth or
fortune, but wholly to himself, the deeper the obscurity and
poverty from which he emerged, the stronger is the evidence
which it bears to his powers, and the greater glory does it shed
around him.
About the time of Mr. Henry's coming to the bar, a contro
versy arose in Virginia, which gradually produced a very
strong excitement, and called to it, at length, the attention ot
the whole state.
This was the famous controversy between the clergy on the
one hand, and the legislature of the people of the colony on
the other, touching the stipend claimed by the former ; and as
this was the occasion on which Mr. Henry's genius first broke
forth, those who take an interest in his life, will not be dis
pleased by a particular account of the nature and grounds of
the dispute. It will be borne in mind, that the church of En
gland was at this period the established church of Virginia;
* " He was not distinguished at tne bar for near four years."— Judge Win-
Bton : yet Mr.' Burke intimates that he took the lead in his profession at once»
Vol 3d, 301.

34 wirt's life of
and by an act of assembly, passed so far back as the year six
teen hundred and ninety-six, each minister of a parish had been
provided with an annual stipend of sixteen thousand pounds of
tobacco. This act was re-enacted, with amendments, in seven
teen hundred and forty-eight, and in this form had received the
royal assent. The price of tobacco had long remained sta
tionary at two pence in the pound, or sixteen shillings and
eight pence per hundred. According to the provisions of the
law, the clergy had the right to demand, and were in the prac
tice of receiving, payment of their stipend in the specific to
bacco ; unless they chose, for convenience, to commute it for
money at the market-price.
In the year seventeen hundred and fifty-five, however, the
crop of tobacco having fallen short, the legislature passed " an
act to enable the inhabitants of this colony to discharge their
tobacco-debts in money for the present year :" by the pro
visions of which, " all persons, from whom any tobacco was
due, were authorized to pay the same either in tobacco or in
money, after the rate of sixteen shillings and eight pence per
hundred, at the option of the debtor." This act was to con
tinue in force for ten months and no longer, and did not contain
the usual clause of suspension, until it should rbceive the royal
assent. Whether the scarcity of tobacco was so general and so no
torious, as to render this act a measure of obvious humanity
and necessity, or whether the clergy were satisfied by its gen
erality, since it embraced sheriffs, clerks, attorneys, and all
other tobacco-creditors, as well as themselves, or whether they
acquiesced in it as a temporary expedient, which they supposed
not likely to be repeated, it is certain, that no objection was
made to the law at that time. They could not, indeed, have
helped observing the benefits which the rich planters derived
from the act; for they were receiving from fifty to sixty shil
lings per hundred for their tobacco, while they paid off their
debts, due in that article, at the old price of sixteen shillings
and eight pence. Nothing, however, was then said in defence
either of the royal prerogative or of the rights of the clergy,
but the law was permitted to go peaceably through its ten
months' operation.
The great tobacco-planters had not forgotten the fruits of
this act, when,^ in the year seventeen hundred and fifty-eight,
¦upon a surmise that another short crop was likely to occur,
the provisions of the act of seventeen hundred and fifty-five
were re-enacted, and the new law, like the former, contained
no suspending clause. The crop, as had been anticipated, did
fell short, and the price of tobacco rose immediately from six-

PATRICK HENRY. 25
teen and eight pence to fifty shillings per hundred. The clergy
now took the alarm, and the act was assailed by an indignant,
sarcastic, and vigorous pamphlet, entitled, " The Two-Penny
Act," from the pen of the Reverend John Camm, the rector of
York-Hampton parish, and the Episcopalian commissary for
the colony.*
He was answered by two pamphlets written, the one by Colo
nel Richard Bland, and the other by Colonel Landon Carter, in
both which the commissary was very roughly handled. He re
plied, in a still severer pamphlet, under the ludicrous title of "The
Colonels Dismounted." The colonels rejoined ; and this war
of pamphlets, in which, with some sound argument, there was
a great deal of what Dryden has called " the horse-play of
raillery," was kept up, until the whole colony, which had at
first looked on for amusement, kindled seriously in the con
test from motives of interest. Such was the excitement pro
duced by the discussion, and at length so strong the current
against the clergy, that the printers found it expedient to shut
their presses against them in this colony, and Mr. Camm had
at last to resort to Maryland for publication.
These pamphlets are still extant, and it seems impossible to
deny, at this day, that the clergy had much the best of the
argument. The king in his council took up the subject, de
nounced the act of seventeen hundred and fifty-eight as a usur
pation, and declared it utterly null and void. Thus supported,
the clergy resolved to bring the question to a judicial test; and
suits were accordingly brought by them, in the various county
courts of the colony, to recover their stipends in the specific
tobacco, ^ They selected the county of Hanover as the place of
the first experiment ; and this was made in a suit instituted by
the Reverend James Maury,t against the collector of that
county and his sureties.
The record of this suit is now before the. The declaration
is founded on the act of seventeen hundred and forty-eight,
which gives the tobacco ; the defendants pleaded specially the
act of seventeen hundred and fifty eight, which authorizes the

* The governor of Virginia represented the king ; the council, the house of
lords ; and the Episcopalian commissary (a member of the council) represent
ed the spiritual part of that house ; the house of burgesses was, of course,
the house of commons.
t Mr. Burk (vol. 3d, page 303) makes the Rev. Patrick Henry the plainti9
in this cause ; in this he is corrected by the records of the county. Mr. Burk
also sets down " The Two-Penny Act," to the speculations of a man by the
name of Dickinson ; in this he is confuted, by the act.itself ; the preamble^ ex
pressly founding it on the shortness of the crop.
3

26 wirt's life of
commutation into money, at sixteen and eight pence ; to thig
plea the plaintiff demurred, assigning for causes of demurrer,
first, that the act of seventeen hundred and fifty-eight, not hav-
ing receiyed the royal assent, had not the force of a law ; and,
secondly, that the king, in council, had declared the act null
and void. The case stood for argument on the demurrer to
the November term, seventeen hundred and sixty-three, and
was argued by Mr. Lyons for the plaintiff, and Mr. John Lewis
for the defendants ; when the court, very much to the credit of
their candour and firmness, breasted the popular current by
sustaining the demurrer.
Thus far, the clergy sailed before the wind, and concluded,
with good reason, that their triumph was complete : for the act
of seventeen hundred and fifty-eight having been declared void
by the judgment on the demurrer, that of seventeen hundred and
forty-eight was left in full force, and became, in law, the otily
standard for the finding of the jury. Mr. Lewis was so thor
oughly convinced of this, that he retired from the cause ; inform
ing his clients that it had been, in effect, decided against thera,
and that there remained nothing more for him to do. In this
desperate situation, they applied to Patrick Henry, and he under
took to argue it for them before a jury, at the ensuing term.
Accordingly, on the first day of the following December, he
attended the court, and, on his arrival, found in the courtyard
such a concourse as would have appalled any other man in his
situation. They were not the people of the county merely who
were there, but visiters from all the counties, to a consideralile
distance around. The decision upon the demurrer had pro
duced a violent ferment among the people, and equal exultation
on the part of the clergy ; who attended the court in a large
body, either to look down opposition, or to enjoy the final
triumph of this hard-fought contest, which they now consider'
ed as perfectly secure.
Among many other clergymen, who attended on this occa-,
sion, came the Reverend Patrick Henry, who was the plaintiff in
another cause of ihe same nature, then depending in court.
When Mr. Henry saw his uncle approach, he walked up to his
carriage, accompanied by Colonel Meredith, and expressed his
regret at seeing him there. " Why so ?" inquired the uncle.
" Because, sir," said Mr. Henry, " you know that I have never
yet spoken in public, and I fear that I shall be too much over
awed by your presence, to be able to do my duty to my clients ;
besides, sir, I shall be obliged to say some hard things of the
clergy, and I am very unwilling to give pain to your feelings."
His uncle reproved him for having engaged in the cause;
which Mr. Henry excused by saying, that the clergy had not

PATRICK HENRY. 27
thought him worthy of being retained on their side, and he
knew of no moral principle by which he was bound to refuse
a fee from their adversaries ; besides, he confessed, that in this
controversy, both his heart and judgment, as well as his pro
fessional duty, were on the side of the people ; he then request
ed that his uncle would do him the favour to leave the ground.
" Why, Patrick," said the old gentleman, with a good-natur
ed smile, " as to your saying hard things of the clergy, I ad
vise you to let that alone : take my word for it, you will do
yourself more harm than you will them ; and as to my leaving
the ground, I fear, my boy, that my presence could neither do
you harm nor good in sucji a cause. However, since you seem
to think otherwise, and desire it of me so earnestly, you shall
be gratified." Whereupon, he entered his carriage again, and
returned home.
Soon aftfer the opening of the court, the cause was called.
It stood on a writ of inquiry of damages, no plea having been
entered by the defendants since the judgment on the demurrer.
The array before Mr. Henry's eyes was now most fearful. On
the bench sat more than twenty clergymen, the most learned
men in the colony, and the most capable, as well as the sever
est criticsj before whom it was possible for him to make his
debut. The court-house was crowded with an overwhelming
multitude, and surrounded with an immense and anxious throng,
who, not finding room to enter, were endeavouring to listen
without, in the deepest attention.
But there was something still more awfully disconcerting
than all this ; for in the chair of the presiding magistrate sat
no other person than his own father. Mr. Lyons opened the
cause very briefly : in the way of argument he did nothing
more than explain to the jury, that the decision upon the de
murrer had put the act of seventeen hundred and fifty-eight en
tirely out of the way, and left the law of seventeen hundred
and forty-eight as the only standard of their damages ; he then
concluded with a highly-wrought eulogium on the benevo
lence of the clergy.
And now came on the first trial of Patrick Henry's strength.
No one had ever heard him speak, and curiosity was on tiptoe.
He rose very awkwardly, and faltered much in his exordium.
The people hung their heads at so unpromising a commence
ment; the clergy were observed to exchange sly looks with
each other ; and his father is described as having almost sunk
with confusion from his seat.
But these feelings were of short duration, and soon gave
place to others, of a very different character. For now were
those wonderful faculties which he possessed, for the first time,

WIR'T S LIFE OP

developed ; and now was first witnessed that mysterious and
almost supernatural transformation of appearance, which the
fire of his own eloquence never failed to work in him. 1^ or as
his mind rolled along, and began to glow from its own action,!
all the exuvia of the clown seemed to shed themselves sponta-l
neously. i i r rpi
His attitude, by degrees, became erect and lofty. Ihe
spirit of his genius awakened all his features. His countenance'
shone with a nobleness and grandeur which it never before
exhibited. There was a lightning in his eyes which seemed to
rive the spectator. His action became graceful, bold, and com
manding ; and in the tones of his voice, but more especially in
his emphasis, there was a peculiar charm, a magic of which any
one who ever heard him will speak as soon as he is named,
but of which no one can give any adequate description. They
can only say that it struck upon the ear and upon the heart, in
a manner which language cannot tell. Add to all these, his'
wonder-working fancy, and the peOuliar phraseology in which
he clothed its images ; for he painted to the heart with a force
that almost petrified it. In the language of those who heard
him on this occasion, " he made their blood run cold, and their
hair to rise on end."
It will not be difficult for any one who ever heard this most
extraordinary man, to believe the whole account of this trans
action, which is given by his surviving hearers ; and frOni their
account, the courthouse of Hanover county must have exhibit
ed on this occasion, a scene as picturesque, as has been ever
witnessed in real life.
They say that the people, whose countenance had fallen as
he arose, had heard but a very few sentences before they began!
to look up ; then to look at each other with surprise," as if i
doubting the evidence of their own senses; then, attracted byi
some strong gesture, struck by some majestic attitude, fascin
ated by the spell of his eye, the charm of his emphasis, and i
the varied and commanding expression of his countenance,
they could look away no more.
In less than twenty minutes, they might be seen in every
part of the house, on every bench, in every window, stooping'
forward from their stands, in deathlike silence ; their features
fixed in amazement and awe; all their senses listening and
riveted upon the speaker, as if to catch the last strain of some
heavenly visitant. The mockery of the clergy was soon turn
ed into alarm ; their triumph into confusion and despair ; and
at one burst of his rapid and overwhelming invective, they
fled from the bench in precipitation and terror. As for the
father, such was his surprise, such his arriazement, such his'

PATRICK HENRY. ^9
rapture, that, forgetting where he was, and the character which
he was filling, tears of ecstasy streamed down his cheeks, with
out the power or inclination to repress them,
The jury seem to have been so completely bewildered, that
they lost sight, not only of the act of seventeen hundred and
forty-eight, but that of seventeen hundred and fifty-eight also ;
for thoughtless «Ven of the admitted right of the plaintiff, they
had scarcely left the bar, when they returned with a ver
dict of one penny damages. A motion was made for a new
trial; but the court, too, had now lost the equipoise of their
judgment, and overruled the motion by a unanimous vote.
The verdict and judgment overruling the motion, were fol
lowed by redoubled acclamations, from within and without the
house. The people, who had with difficulty kept their hands off their
champion, from the moment of closing his harangue, no sooner
saw the fate of the cause finally sealed, than they seized him
at the bar, and in spite of his own exertions, and the continued
cry of " order" from the sheriffs and the court, they bore him
out of the courthouse, and raising him on their shoulders, car
ried him about the yard, in a kind of electioneering triumph.
O ! what a scene was this for a father's heart ! so sudden ;
so unlooked for ; so delightfully overwhelming ! At the time,
he was not able to give utterance to any sentiment ; but, a few
days after, when speaking of it to Mr. Winston, (the present
Judge Winston,) he said, with the most engaging modesty, and
with a tremour of voice, which showed how much more he felt
than he expressed, " Patrick spoke in this cause near an hour !
and in a manner that surprised me ! and showed himself well-
informed on a subject, of which I did not think he had any
knowledge !"
I have tried much to .procure a sketch of this celebrated
speech. But those of Mr. Henry's hearers who survive, seem
to have been bereft of their senses. They can only tell you,
in general, that they were taken captive ; and so delighted with
their captivity, that they followed implicitly, whithersoever he
led them : that, at his bidding, their tears flowed from pity,
and their cheeks flushed with indignation : that when it was
over, they felt as if they had just awaked from some ecstatic
dream, of which they were unable to recall or connect the par
ticulars. It was such a speech as they believe had never be
fore fallen from the lips of man ; and to this day, the old peo
ple of that county cannot conceive that a higher compliment
can be paid to a speaker, than to say of him, in their own
homely phrase: — "He is almost equal to Patrick, when he
plead against the parsons." 3»

30 wirt's life of
The ohjy topic of this speech of wliich any authentic account
remains, is the order of the king in council, whereby the act
of seventeen hundred and fifty-eight had been declared void.
This subject had in truth been disposed of by the demurrer ;
and, in strictness of proceeding, neither Mr. Henry nor the
jury had anything to do with it. The laxity of the county-l
court practice, however, indulged him in the widest career he:
chose to take, and he laid hold of this point, neither with a fee-,
ble nor hesitating hand ; but boldly and vigorously pressed it
upon the jury, and that, too, with very powerful effect.
He insisted on the connexion and reciprocal duties betweeui
the king and his subjects ; maintained that government was a
conditional compact, composed of mutual and dependant cove
nants, of which a violation by one party discharged the other;
and intrepidly contended that the disregard which had been
shown, in this particular, to the pressing wants of the colony,
was an instance of royal misrule, which had thus far dissolved
the political compact, and left the people at liberty to consult
their own safety; that they had consulted it by the act of
seventeen hundred and fifty-eight, which, therefore, iiotwith-,
standing the dissent of the king and his council, ought to be
considered as the law of the land, and the only legitimate meas
ure of the claims of the clergy.
The nature of this topic, and the earnest and undaunted man- 1
ner in which Mr. Henry is said to have pursued and maintain
ed it, proves that even at this period, which has been marked
as the era of our greatest attachment and devotion to the pa
rent country, his mind, at least, was disposed to pry into the
course of the regal administration, and to speak forth his sen
timents without any fear of the consequences. The reception
which the people gave to the argument, proves that they also
had no superstitious repugnance to the consideration of such'
topics, nor any very insuperable horror at the idea of a separa
tion. Not that there is ground to suspect that any one had,
at this time, realized such an event, or even contemplated it
as desirable.
The sujrgestion, therefore, which I have sometimes heard,.!
that Mr. Henry Was already meditating the independence of the
colonies, and sowing the seeds of those reflections which he
wished to ripen into revolt, is, in my opinion, rather curious
than just. I believe that he thought of nothing beyond success
in his cause ; and since the desperate posture in which he found
it demanded a daring and eccentric course, he adopted that
which has been already stated. The character of his argument
proves that he was haturally a bold and intrepid inquirer, who

PATRICK HENRY. 31
I sovereignty itself; and of, course that he was made of good
revolutionary materials.
But an adequate provocation had not at this time been given :
and it would be imputing to Mr. Henry a criminal ambition, of
which there is no proof, to suppose that he was meditating the
subversion of a government, against which the voice of serious
complaint had not yet been heard. Besides, Mr. Henry's
standing in society was at this period so humble, as to have
rendered the meditation of such a purpose, on his part, pre
sumptuous in the extreme ; and equally inconsistent .both with
his unassuming modesty, and that natural good sense and accu
rate judgment which are, on all hands, assigned to him.
Immediately on the decision of this cause, he was retained
in, all the- cases, within the range of his practice, which depend
ed on the same question. But no other case was ever brought
to trial. They were, all throughout the colony, dismissed by
the, plaintiffs ; nor was any appeal ever prosecuted in the case
of Mr. Maury. The reason assigned for this by Mr. Camm is,
that the legislature had voted money to support the appeal on
the part of the defendants, and that the clergy were not rich
enough to contend against the whole wealth and strength of
the colony.'*
The clergy took their revenge in an angry pamphlet from,
the pen of Mr. Camm, in which a very contemptuous account
is given both of the advocate and the court. Mr. Henry is
stigmatized in it as an obscure attorneys and the epithet was,
true enough as to the time past, but it was now true no longer.
His sun had risen with a splendour which had never before
been witnessed in this colony ; and never afterward did it dis
grace this glorious rising.
* Mr. Camm is right as to the interference of the legislature. I have not
been able, however, to find any resolution of the legislature to this effect, ear ¦
Her than the seventh of April, seventeen hundred and sixty-seven : where
Mr. Maury's case was decided in Hanover, on the first of December, seventee
hundred and sixty-three. The following is extracted from the journal of tho
day first mentioned : —
" On a motion made — Resolved, that the committee of correspondence be
directed to write to the agent, to defend the parish-collectors from all appeals
from judgments here given, in suits brought by the clergy, for recovering theit
salaries, payable on or before the last dav of May, seventeen hundred and fifty
nine ; and that this house will engage to defray the expense thereof."

32 wirt's life of

CHAPTER IL
State of Society in Virginia— Mr. Henry's Popularity— His Appearance bcfor*
the House of Burgesses— The Stamp-Act— Mr. Henry is elected a Mem
ber of the House— Anecdote of Washington— Sketches of Public Charac
ters : John Robinson, Peyton Randolph, Edmund Pendleton, George Wyth«
and Richard Henry Lee— He opposes the Aristocracy of the House on the
Proposition for a Loan-Office— Introduces his celebrated Resolutions against
the Stamp^Act— The Effect— Mr. Jefferson's Account of this Transaction—
Anecdote of the Debate.
It is almost unnecessary to state, that the display which Mr.
Henry had made in " the parsons' cause," as it was popularly
called, placed him at once at the head of his profession, in that
quarter of the colony in which he practised. He became the
theme of every tongue. He had exhibited a degree of elo
quence, which the people had nevfer before witnessed ; a spe
cies of eloquence, too, entirely new at the bar, and altogether
his own. He had formed it on no living model, for there was
none such in the country. He had not copied it from books,
for they had described nothing of the kind ; or if they had, he
was a stranger to their contents.
Nor had he formed it himself, by solitary study and exercise ;
for he was far too indolent for any such process. It was so
unexampled, so unexpected, so instantaneous, and so transcend
ent in its character, that it had, to the people, very much the
appearance of supernatural inspiration. He was styled " tia
orator of nature ;" and was, on that account, much more re
vered by the people than if he had been formed by the severest
discipline of the schools ; for they considered him as bringing
his credentials directly from heaven, and owing no part of his
greatness to human institutions.
There were other considerations, also, which drew him still
more closely to the bosom of the people. The society of Vir
ginia was at that time pretty strongly discriminated. A gen
tleman who lived in those days, and who had the best opportu
nities of judging on the subject, has furnished the following
interesting picture of it : —
" To state the differences between the classes of society, and
the lines of demarcation which separated them, would be diffi
cult. The law, you know, admitted none, except as to the
twelve counsellors. Yet, in a country insulated from the Euro*
pean world, insulated from its sister colonies, with whom there
was scarcely any intercourse, little visited by foreigners, and
having little matter to act upon within itself, certain families
had risen to splendour^Jiy wealth, and by the preservation of it
from generation to eeneration, under the law of entails ; some

PATRICK IIEWRY. 33
had produced a series of men of talents ; families in general
had remained stationary on the grounds of their forefathers,
for there was no emigration to the westward in those days ;
the Irish, who had gotten possession of the valley between the
Blue Ridge and the North Mountain, formed a barrier over
which none ventured to leap ; and their manners presented no
attrattion to the lowlanders to settle among'them.
" In such a state of things, scarcely admitting any change of
station, society would settle' itseif dbwn into several strata,
separated by no marked lines, but shading off imperceptibly
from top to bottom, nothing disturbing the order of their repose.
There were, then, first, aristocrats, composed of the great land^
holders, who had seated themselves below tidewater on the main
rivers, and lived in a style of luxury and extravagance jinsup-
portable by the other mhabitalnts, and which indeed, ended in,
several instances in the ruin of their own fortunes. Next
to these were what might be called half-breeds ; the de
scendants of the younger sons and daughters of the aristp-:
crats, who inherited the pride of their ancestors, without their
wealth. "Then came the pretenders, men, who, from vanity or the im
pulse of growing wealth, or from that enterprise which ks nat
ural to talents, sought to dptach themselves from the plebeian
ranks, to which they properly belonged, and imitated, at some
distance, the manners and habits of the great. Next to these,
were a solid and independent yeomanry, looking askance at
those above, yet not venturing to jostle them. And last and
lowest, a feculum of beings, called overseers, the most abject,
degraded, unprincipled race ; always cap in hand to the dons
who employed them, and furnishing materials for the exercise
of their pride, insolence and spirit of domination."
It was from the body of the yeomanry, whom my correspond
eiivt represents as " looking askance" at those above them, that
Mr. Henry proceeded. He belonged to the body of the people.
His birth, education, fortune, and manners, made him one of
themselves. They regarded him, therefore, as their own prop
erty, and sent to them expressly for the very purpose of hum
bling the pride of the mighty, and exalting the honour of his
own class.
Mr. Henry had too much sagacity not to see this advantage,
and too much good sense not to keep and to improve it. He seems
to have formed to himself, very early in life, just views of so
ciety, and to have acted upon them with the most laudable sys
tem and perseverance. He regarded government as instituted
solely for the good, of the people; and not for the benefit of
those who had contrived to make a job of it. He looked upon

24 wirt's lif£ of
the body of the people, therefore, as the basis of society, the
fountaip of all power, and, directly or indirectly, of all offices
and honours, which had been instituted originally for their use.
He made it no secret, therefore ; nay, he made it his bOast, that
on every occasion, " he bowed to the majesty of the people,"
With regard to himself, he saw very distinctly, that all his
hopes rested on the people's favour. He therefore adhered to
them with unshaken fidelity. He retained their manners, their
customs, all their modes of life, with religious caution. He
dressed as plainly as the plainest of them ; ate only thfe homely
fare, and drank the simple beverage of the country ; mixed
with them on a footing of the most entire and perfect equality,
and conversed with them, even in their own vicious and de
praved pronunciation.*
If this last were the effect of artful compliance, as has been
strenuously affirmed, it was certainly carrying the system far
ther than dignity would warrant. Mr. Henry should have
been the instructer as well as the friend of the people, and, by
his example, have corrected instead of adopting their errors.
It is very certain, that by this course he disgusted many of
those whom it was often his business to persuade ; not because
they considered it as a proof of vulgarity and ignorance, but
because they regarded it as a premeditated artifice to catch the
favour and affections of the people. That it was so, I am not
disposed to believe. I think it much more probable, that those
errors of pronunciation were the effect of early and inveterate
habit, which had become incurable before he was informed of
his mistake. .1
He had no occasion to resort to such petty artifices, either to
gain or to hold the affections of the people. He held them by
a much higher and a much firmer title : the simplicity of his
manners ; the benevolence of his disposition ; the integrity of
his life ; his real devotion to their best interests ; that uncom
mon sagacity, which enabled him to discern those interests in
every situation ; and the unshaken constancy with which he
pursued them, in spite of every difficulty and danger that could
threaten him. From the point of time, of which we are now
speaking, it is very certain that he suffered no gale of fortune,
however high or prosperous, to separate him from the people :
nor did the people, on their part, ever desert him. He was
• Governor Page relates, that he once heard him express the following sen
timents, in this vicious pronunciation : — " Naiteral parts is better than all the
larnin upon yearth ;" but the accuracy of Mr. Page's memory is questioned in
this particular, by the acquaintances of Mr. Henry, who say, that he was too,
good a grammarian to have uttered such a sentence, although they admit tho
iniceuracy of his pronunciation, in some of the words imputed to him."

PATRicK HENRY. 35
the man to whom they looked in every crisis of difficulty, and
the favourite on whom they were ever ready to lavish all the
honours in their gift.
Middleton, in his life of Cicero, tells us, that the first great
speech of that orator, his defence of Roscius of Ameria, was
made at the age of twenty-seven ; the same age, he adds,
at which the learned have remarked, that Demosthenes distin
guished himself in the assembly of the Athenians : — " as if this
were the age," I quote his own words, " at which these great
genios regularly bloomed toward maturity."
It is rather curious, than important, to observe, that Mr.
Henry furnishes another instance in support of this theory ;
since it was precisely in the same year of his life, that his tal
ents first became known to himself and to the \vorld. Nor let
the admirer of antiquity revolt at our coupling the name of
Henry with those of Cicero and Demosthenes : it can be no
degradation to the orator either of Greece or Rome, that his
name stands enrolled on the same page with that of a man of
whom such a judge of eloquence as Mr. Jefferson has said,
that " he was the greatest orator that ever lived."
But the taste of professional fame which Mr. Henry had de
rived from the " parsons' cause," exquisite as it must have been,
was not sufficient to inspire him with a thirst for the learning
of his profession. He had an insuperable aversion to the old
black-letter of the law-books, (which was often a topic of rail
lery with him,) and he was never able to conquer it, except for
preparation in some particular cause. No love of distinction,
10 necessity, however severe, were strong enough to bind him
down to a regular course of reading.
He could not brook the confinement. The reasoning of the
law was too artificial, and too much cramped for him. While
unavoidably engaged in it, he felt as if manacled. His mind
was perpetually struggling to break away. His genius delight
ed in liberty and space, in which it might roam at large, and
feast on every variety of intellectual enjoyment. Hence, he
was never profound in the learning of the law. On a question
merely legal, his inferiors, in point of talents, frequently em
barrassed and foiled him ; and it required all the resources of
his extraordinary mind to support the distinction which he had
now gained.
The most successful practice in the county courts was, in
those days, but a slender dependance for a family. Notwith
standing, therefore, the great addition to his business, which
we have noticed, Mr. Henry seems still to have been pressed
by want. With the hope of improving his situation, he re
moved, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-four, to the

36 wirt's life of
county of Louisa, and resided at a place called the Round
about. . Here 1 have learned nothing remarkable of him, unless
it may be thought so, that he pursued his favourite amusement
of hunting with increased ardour.
' "After his removal to Louisa," says my informant, "he has
been known to hunt deer, frequently for several days_ together,
carrying his provision with him, and at night encamping in the
iWoods. After the hunt was over, he would go from the ground
to Louisa court, clad in a coarse cloth coat, stained with all the
trophies of the chase, greasy leather breeches, ornamented in
the same way, leggings for boots,. and a pair of saddle-bags on
his arm. Thus accoutred, he would enter the courthouse,
take up the first of his causes that chanced to be called ; and if
there was any scope for his peculiar talent, throw his adversary
linto the background, and astonish both court and jury, by thp
powerful effusions of his natural eloquence."
There must have been something irresistibly captivating in
Mr. Henry's mode of speaking, even on the most trivial sub
jects. The late Judge Lyons has been heard to say of himself,
while practising with Mr. Henry, that "he could write a letter,
or draw a declaration or plea at the bar, with as much accu
racy, as he could in his office, ^nder all circumstances, except
when Patrick rose to speak ; but that whenever he rose, al
though it might be on so trifling a subject as a summons and
petition for twenty shillings, he was obliged to lay down his
pen, and could not write another, word, until the speech was
finished." Such was the charm of his voice and manner, and
the interesting originality of his corjceptions ! ,
In the fall of seventeen hundred and sixty-four, Mr. Henry
had an opportunity of exhibiting himself on a new theatre. A
contest occurred in the house of burgesses, in the case of Mr.
James Littlepage, the returned member for the county of Han
over. The rival candidate and petitioner was Nathaniel West
Dandridge.* The charge against Mr. Littlepage was bribery
and corruption. The parties were heard by their counsel, be
fore the committee of privileges and elections, and Mr. Henry
was on this occasion employed by Mr. Dandridge.
Williamsburgh, then the seat of (government, was the foc7is
of fashion and high life. The residence of the governor, (the
immediate representative of the sovereign,) the royal state in
* Here is another mistake of Mr. Burk. He states the contest to have
been between Col. Syme (Mr. Henry's half-brother) and Col. Richard Little
page. The journal contradicts him, and supports the text. "There was no
8,uch contest as that of which he speaks ; at least, between the years seventeen
hundred and sixty-tvvo and seventeen hundred and sixty-eight.

PATRICK HENRY. 37
which he lived, the polite and brilliant circle which he always
had about him, diffused their influence through the city and the
circumjacent county, and filled Williamsburgh with a degree of
emulation, taste, and elegance, of which we can form no con
ception by the appearances of the present day. During the
session of the house of burgesses, too, these stately modes of
life assumed their richest forms ; the town was filled with a
concourse of visiters, as well as citizens, attired in their gayest
colours ; the streets exhibited a continual scene of animated
and glittering tumult ; the houses, of costly profusion.
Such was the scene in which Mr. Henry was now called
upon, for the first time, to make his appearance. He made no
preparation for it, but went down just in the kind of garb which
he had been accustomed to exhibit all his life, and is said to have
worn on this occasion particularly, a suit which had suffered
very considerably in the service. The contrast which he ex
hibited with the general elegance of the place, was so striking,
as to call upon him the eyes of all the curious and the mis
chievous ; and, as he moved awkwardly about, in his coarse
and threadbare dress, with a countenance of abstraction and
total unconcern as to what was passing around him, (interest
ing as it seemed to every one else,) he was stared at by some
as a prodigy, and regarded by others as an unfortunate being,
whose senses were disordered.
When he went to attend the committee of privileges and elec
tions, the matter was still worse. " The proud airs of aristoc
racy," says Judge Tyler, detailing this incident of Mr. Henry's
life, " added to the dignified forms of that truly august body,
were enough to have deterred any man possessing less firm
ness and independence of spirit than Mr. Henry. He was
ushered with great state and ceremony into the room of the
committee, whose chairman was Colonel Bland.*
" Mr. Henry was dr«rssed in very coarse apparel ; no one
knew anything of him ;t and scarcely was he treated with
* Mr. Tyler says, " that enlightened and araiaMe man, John Blair ;" but in
this he is corrected by the journal, which shows that Mr. Bland was the chair
man of the committee of privileges and elections for that year. I should have
thought, from the general accuracy of Mr. Tyler's statement, that Mr. Blair
might have been officiating as chairman p'o tempore, in the absence of Col.
Bland ; but that Mr. Blair does not appear, by the journal, to have belonged to
the committee, or even to have been a member of the house in seventeen hun
dred and sixty-four. His name does not appear till seventeen hundred and
sixty-six. Mr. Tyler, reciting Mr. Henry's own narrative, after a lapse of several years,
might very easily have confounded two names as similar as those of Bland aad
Blair. * That is, I presume, of his person ; for after the very splendid exhibftioq
4

38 wiet's LIFK OF
decent respect by any one except the chairman, who could not
do so much violence to' his feelings aiid prinbiplesj as to de
part, on ariy occasion, from the delicj^cy Of the gentleman. But
the general contempt was soon changed into &s general admi
ration ; for Mr. Henry distinguished himself by a copious and
brilliant display on the great subject of the rights of suffrage,
superior to anything that had been heard before within, those
walls. Such a burst of eloquence, from a man so very plain
and ordinary in his appearance, struck the committee with
amazement ; so that a deep and perfect silence took place du
ring the speech, and not a sound but from his lips was to be heard
in the room."
So far. Judge Tyler. Judge Winston relating the same inci
dent, says : " Some time after, a member of the house, speaking
to me of this occurrence, said, he had, for a day or two, ob
served an ill-dressed young man sauntering in the lobby ; that
he seemed to be a stranger to everybody, and he had not the
curiosity to inquire his name ; but that, attending when the
case of the contested election came on, he was surprised to find
this same person counsel for one of the parties ; and still more
so when he delivered an argument superior to anything he had
ever heard." The case, according to the report of the com
mittee of privileges and elections, is not one which seems to
present much scope for a very interesting discussion ; but Mr.
Henry's was one of those minds which impart interest to every
subject they touch.
The same year, seventeen hundred and sixty-four, is mem
orable for the origination of that great question which led final
ly to the independence of the United States. It has been said
by a gentleman, at least as well qualified to judge as any other
now alive, (Mr. Jefferson,) that " Mr. Henry certainly gave the
first impulse to the ball of the revolution." In order to show
the correctness of this position, it is proper to ascertain the
precise point to which the controversy with Great Britain had
advanced, when Mr. Henry first presented himself in the char
acter of a statesman.
_ In March, seventeen hundred and sixty-four, the British par
liament had passed resolutions, preparatory to the levying a
revenue on the colonies by a stamp-tax. These resolutions
were communicated to the house of burgesses of Virginia,
through their committee of correspondence, by the colonial
agent ; and having been maturely considered, resulted in the
appointment of a special committee to prepare an address to
which he made in the parsons' cause, his name could not have been wholly
lioknown : the text, however, gives the words of my correspondent faithfully.

PATRICK HENRY. 39
the king, a memorial to the lords, andja remonstrance to the
house of commons. ,
On the eighteenth of December, seventeen hundred and six
ty-four, these papers were reported, ahd (after yarious amend
ments, which considerably dilpted their spirit) received the con
currence of the council. The reader will perceive, on perusing
them, (see Appendix, note A',) that while they affirm, in clear
and strong terms, the constitutional exemption of the colony
from taxation by the British parliament, they breathe, never
theless, a tone so supplianil, and exhibit such a picture of anti
cipated suffering from the pressure of the tax on the exhausted
resources of the colony, as to indicate that no opposition be
yond remonstrance was, at this time, meditated. Remon
strance, however, was Vain. In January, seventeen hundred
•nd sixty-nve, the famous stamp-act was passed, to take effect
in the colonies on the first of November following.
The annunciation of this measure seems at first to have stun
ned the comment from one extremity to the other. The pres-
bes, which spread the intelligence amon^ the people, were
liiemselves manifestly confounded ; and so far from inspiring
the energy of resistance, they seemed rather disposed to have
looked out for topics of consolation, under submission.* The
truth IS, that ail ranks of society were confounded. No one
knew ¦what to hope, what more to fear, or what course was best
to be taken. Bome, indeed, were fohd enough to entertain
hopes that the united remonstrances of the colonial legislatures,
the fate of which had not yet been heard, might induce the
mother-country to change her policy ; these hopes, however,
were faint ; and few there were that entertained them. Many,
considered subniission, in the present state of the colonies, as
unavoidable ; and that thiS was the opinion of Doctor Franklin
himself, is apparent from the remark with which he took leave
of Mr. Ingersol, on his departure for America.f
The idea of resistance, by force was nowhere glanced at in
the most distant manner; "no heart seems to have been bold
enough, at first, to conceive it. Men, on other occasions mark
ed for intrepidity and decision, now hung back, unwilling to
submit, and yet afraid to speak out in the language of bold and
* Thus in the Pennsylvania Gazette of the thirtieth of May, seventeen hun
dred and sixty-five : " We hear the sums of money arising from the new stamp
duties in North America, for the first fiVe years, are chiefly to be applied tow
ard making commodious post-roadS from one province to another, erecting
bridges where necessary, and oth?r njeasures equally important to facilitate an
extensive trade."
t " Go home and tell your countrymen to get children as fast as they
can." — GoRDoir.

40 wirt's life of
open defiance. It was just at this moment of despondency in
some quarters, suspense in others, and surly and reluctant sub
mission wherever submission appeared, that Patrick Henry
stood forth to raise the drooping spirit of the people, and to
unite all hearts and hands in the cause of his country.
With the view of making way for him, and placing him in
the public councils of his country, Mr. William Johnsori, who
had been elected a member of the house of burgesses for the
county of Louisa, vacated his seat by accepting the commission
of coroner. The writ of election to supply his place was
awarded on the first of May, seventeen hundred and sixty-five,
and on the twentieth day of that month, it appears by the jour-
nals, that Mr. Henry was added to the committee for courts of
justice. •
Here, again, he was upon a new theatre, and personally un
known, except to those few who might have heard his argu
ment on the contested election of Mr. Littlepage, the preceding
winter. His dress and manners were still those of the plain
planter, and, in his personal appearance, there was nothing to
excite curiosity, or awaken expectation. The forms of the
house, of which he was now for the first time a member, were,
as has been stated, most awfully dignified ; its active members
were composed of the landed aristocracy and their adherents ;
and among them were men to whose superiority of talents, as well
as influence and power, the yeomanry of the country had long
been accustomed to bow with tacit and submissive deference.
John Robinson, the speaker of the house, was one of the
most opulent men in the colony, and the acknowledged head of
its landed aristocracy. He had now filled the chair of the
house with great dignity, and without interruption, for five-and-
twenty years. He was, also, the colonial treasurer ; and from
the high offices which he held, in connexion with the regal
government, was as warmly attached to its authority by inter
est, as he was by taste and fashion to all the grandeur of itS'
forms. But, notwithstanding this close alliance with the court, his
personal influence, in every class of society, was very great;
and he held that influence by a tenure far superior to any that
his own vast wealth or the power of the crown could confer.
For he possessed a strong and well-informed mind, enlarged
and corrected by great experience, and he united with it a be
nevolence of spirit and a courtesy of manners which never fail
ed to attach every heart that approached him. The poor drew
near to him without awe or embarrassment ; they came, indeed,
with filial confidence ; for they never failed to find in him a
sympathetic friend and an able counsellor. The rich enjoyed

PATRICK HENRir. 41
in him an easy, enlightened, and instructive companion ; and,
next to the governor, regarded him as the highest model of
elegance and fashion.
An anecdote is related of this gentleman, which displays in
a strong and amiable light, the exalted force of his feelings,
and the truly noble cast of his manners. When Colonel Wash
ington (the immortal saviour of his country) had closed his
career in the French and Indian war, and had become a mem
ber of the house of burgesses, the speaker, Robinson, was
directed, by a vote of the house, to return their thanks to that
gentleman, on behalf of the colony, for the distinguished mili
tary services which he had rendered to his country. As soon
as Colonel Washington took his seat, Mr. Robinson, in obedi
ence to this order, and following the impulse of his own gen
erous and grateful heart, discharged the duty with great dig
nity ; but with such warmth of colouring and strength of
expression, as entirely confounded the young hero.
He rose to express his acknowledgments for the honour ; but
such was his trepidation and confusion, that he could not give
distinct utterance to a single syllable. He blushed, stammer
ed, and trembled, for a second ; when the speaker relieved him
by a stroke of address that would have done honour to Louis
XIV. in his proudest and happiest moment. " Sit down, Mr.
Washington," said he, with a conciliating smile ; " your mod
esty is equal to your valour ; and that surpasses the power of
any language that I possess."*
Peyton Randolph, the king's attorney-general, held the next
rank to the speaker. He was not distinguished for eloquence ;
but he derived great weight from the solid powers of his un
derstanding, and the no less solid virtues of his heart. He
was well acquainted with all the forms of parliamentary pro
ceeding ; was an eminent lawyer, and a well-informed and prac
tical statesman.
Richard Bland was one of the most enlightened men in the
colony. He was a man of finished education, and of the most
unbending habits of application. His perfect mastery of every
fact connected with the settlement and progress of the colony,
had given him the name of the Virginian antiquary.f He was
a politician of the first class ; a profound logician, and was also
considered as the first writer in the colony.^
Edmund Pendleton, the protege of the speaker Robinson,
was also among the most prominent members in the house.
* On the authority of Edmund Randolph. t Edmund Randolph.
t " He was," says a correspondent, " the most learned and logical man of
those who took a prominent lead in public affairs ; profound in constitutional
4*

M wirt's LIFK OF
He had, in a great measure, overcome the disadvantages of an
extremely defective education, and by the force of good com
pany and the study of correct authors, had attained to great
accuracy and perspicuity of style. The patronage of the
speaker had introduced him to the first circles, and his man
ners were elevated, graceful and insinuating. His person was
spare, but well-proportioned ; and his countenance one of the
finest in the world ; serene — contemplative — benignant— with
that expression of unclouded intelligence and extensive re
search, which seemed to denote him capable of anything that
could be effected by the power of the human mind.
His mind itself was of a very fine order. It was clear, com
prehensive, sagacious and correct ; with a most acute and sub
tile faculty of discrimination ; a fertility of expedient which
could never be exhausted ; a dexterity of address which never lost
an advantage and never gave one ; and a capacity for continued
and unremitting application, which was perfectly invincible.
As a lawyer and a statesman, he had few equals ; no supe
riors. For parliamentary management, he was without a rival.
With all these advantages of person, manners, address, and
intellect, he was also a speaker of distinguished eminence.
He had that silver voice* of which Cicero makes such fre
quent and honourable mention — -an articulation uncommonly
distinct — a perennial stream of transparent, cool, and sweet
elocution ; and the power of presenting his arguments with
great simplicity and striking effect. He was always graceful,
argumentative, persuasive ; never vehement, rapid, or abrupt.
He could instruct and delight ; but he had no pretensions to
those high powers which are calculated to "'shake the human
soul." George Wythe, also a member of the House, was confessed
ly among the first in point of abilities. There is a story circu
lated, as upon his own authority, that he was initiated by his
lore; but a most ungraceful speaker in debate. He wrote the first pamphlet
on the nature of the connexion with Great Britain, which had any pretensions
to accuracy of view on that subject ; but it was a singular one : he would set
out on sound principles, pursue them logically, till he found them leading to
the precipice which we had to leap ; start back, alarmed ; then resume his
ground, go over it in another direction, be led again, by the correctness of his
reasoning, to the same place, and again tack about and try other processes to
reconcile right and wrong ; but left his reader and himself bewildered between
the steady index of the compass in their hand, and the phantasm to which it
seemed to point. Still, there was more sound matter in this pamphlet than in
the celebrated Farmer's Letters, which were really but an ignis fatuus, mi»-
'eading us from true principle."
* Vox argentea. See the Brutus, passim.

PATRICK HENRY. 43
mother in the Latin classics. f Be this as it may, it is certain
that he had raised upon the original foundation, whencesoever
acquired, a superstructure of ancient literature which has been
rarely equalled in this country. He was perfectly familiar
with the authors of Greece and Rome ; read them with the
same ease, and quoted them with the -same promptitude that he
could the authors in his native tongue. He carried his love of
antiquity rather too far ; for he frequently subjected himself to
the charge of pedantry ; and his admiration of the gigantic
writers of Queen Elizabeth's reign, had unfortunately betrayed
him into an imitation of their quaintness.
Yet, with all this singularity of taste, he was a man of great
capacity ; powerful in argument ; frequently pathetic ; and ele
gantly keen and sarcastic in repartee. He was long the rival
of Mr. Pendleton at the bar, whom he equalled as a common
lawyer, and greatly surpassed as a civilian : but he was too
open and direct in his conduct, and possessed too little man
agement, either with regard to his own temper or those of
other men, to cope with so cool and skilful an adversary.
Though a full match for Mr. Pendleton in the powers of fair
and solid reasoning, Mr. Pendleton could, whenever he pleased,
and would, whenever it was necessary, tease him with quibbles,
and vex him with sophistries, until he destroyed the composure
of his mind, and robbed him of his strength.
No man was ever more entirely destitute of art than Mr.
Wythe. He knew nothing, even in his profession, and never
would know anything of " crooked and indirect by-ways."
Whatever he had to do, was to be done openly, avowedly, and
above-board. He would not, even at the bar, have accepted
of success on any other terms.
This simplicity and integrity of character, although it some
times exposed him to the arts and sneers of the less scrupulous,
placed him before his countrymen on the ground which Cesar
wished his wife to occupy ; he was not only pure, but above
all suspicion. The unaffected sanctity of his principles, united
with his modesty and simple elegance of manners, his attic wit,
his stores of rare knowledge, his capacity for business, and the
real power of his intellect, not only raised him to great emi
nence in public, but rendered him a delightful companion, and
a most valuable friend.
But Richard Henry Lee was the Cicero of the house. His
face itself was on the Roman model ; his nose Cesarean ; the
port and carriage of his head, leaning persuasively and grace
fully forward ; and the whole contour noble and fine. Mr. Lee
was, by far, the most elegant scholar in the house. He had
* I heard it from the late Judge Nelson, his relation.

44 wirt's life of
studied the classics in the true spirit of criticism. His taste
had that deUcate touch, which seized with intuitive certainty
every beauty of an author, and his genius that native affinity
which combined them without an effort. Into every walk of
literature and science, he had carried this mind of exquisite
selection, and brought it back to the business of life, crowned
with every light of learning, and decked with every wreath,
that all the muses and all the graces could entwine.
Nor did those light decorations constitute the whole value of
its freight. He possessed a rich store of historical and politi
cal knowledge, with an activity of observation, and a certainty
of judgment, that turned that knowledge to the very best ac
count. He was not a lawyer by profession"; but he understood
thoroughly the constitution both of the mother-cOuntry and
her colonies ; and the elements also of the civil and municipal
law. Thus, while his eloquence was free from those stiff and
technical restraints which the habits of forensic speaking are
so apt to generate, he had all the legal learning which is neces
sary to a statesman. He reasoned well, and declaimed freely
and splendidly. The note of his voice was deeper and more
melodious than that of Mr. Pendleton. It was the canorous
voice* of Cicero.
He had lost the use of one of his hands, which he kept con
stantly covered with a black-silk bandage, neatly fitted to the
palm of his hand, but leaving his thumb free ; yet, notwith
standing this disadvantage, his gesture was so graceful and so
highly finished, that it was said he had acquired it by practising
before a mirrbr.t Such was his promptitude, that he required
no preparation for debate. He was ready for any subject, as
soon as it was announced ; and his speech was so copious, so
rich, so mellifluous, set off with such bewitching cadence of
voice, and such captivating grace of action, that, while you
listened to him, you desired to hear nothing superior, and in
deed thought him perfect. He had a quick sensibility and a
fervid imagination, which Mr. Pendleton wanted. Hence his
orations were warmer and more delightfully interesting ; yet
still, to him those keys were not consigned which could unlock
the sources either of the strong or tender passions.
His defect was, that he was too smooth and too sweet. His
style bore a striking resemblance to that of Herodotus, as de
scribed by the Roman orator : " He flowed on, like a quiet
and placid river, without a ripple."| He flowed, too, tbrowgh
banks covered with all the fresh verdure and variegated bloom
* Vox canora. See the Brutus, passim. t Edmund Randolph.
t Sine ullit sdebris, qtiasi sedatus amnis, flmt. Orat. XII. 39.

PATRICK HENRT. 45
of the spring ; but his course was too subdued, and too beauti
fully regular. A cataract, like that of Niagara, crowned with
overhanging rocks and mountains, in all the rude and awful
grandeur of nature, would have brought him nearer to the
standard of Homer and of Henry.
These were some of the stars of first magnitude that shone
in the house of burgesses in the year seventeen hundred and
sixty-five. There was yet a cluster of minor luminaries, which
it were endless to delineate, but whose blended rays contrib
uted to form that uncommon galaxy in which the plebeian
Henry was now called upon to take his place. What had he
to enable him to cope with all this lustre of talents and erudi
tion ? Very little more than the native strength of his charac
ter ; a constancy of soul, which no array of power could
shake ; a genius that designed with all the boldness of Angelo,
and an imagination that coloured with all the felicity of Titian.
It has been already stated, that Mr. Henry was elected with
express reference to an opposition to the stamp-act. It was
not, however, expected by his constituents, or meditated by
himself, that he should lead the opposition. The addresses of
the preceding year, made to the king, lords, and commons, in
which so strong a truth had been stated, as that the stamp-act,
if persisted in, would reduce the colony to a state of slavery,
founded a hope that those who had commenced the opposition
by remonstrance, would continue to give it the eclat of their
high names, by resistance of a bolder character, if bolder
should be necessary. Mr. Henry waited, therefore, to file in
under the first champion that should raise the banner of colo
nial liberty. In the meantime, another subject unexpectedly
occurred to call him up, and it was on this other that he made
his debut in the house.
The incident has been stated to me in the following terms,
by a gentleman (Mr. Jefferson) who heard the debate : " The
gentlemen of this country had, at that time, become deeply in
volved in that state of indebtment which has since ended in so
general a crush of their fortunes. Mr. Robinson, the speaker,
was also the treasurer, an officer always chosen by the assem
bly. He was an excellent man, liberal, friendly, and rich. He
had been drawn in to lend, on his own account, great sums of
money to persons of this description ; and especially those
who were of the assembly.
"He used freely for this purpose the public money, confiding
for its replacement in his own means, and the securities he had
taken on those loans. About this time, however, he became
sensible that his deficit to the public was become so enormous,
as that a discovery must soon take place, for as yet the public

46 wirt's life of
had no suspicion of it. He devised, therefore, with his friends
in the assembly, a plan for a public loan-office, to a certain
amount, from which moneys might be lent ,on piibhc account,
and on good landed security to individuals;
" I find, in Royle's Virginia Gazettfe of the seventeenth of
May, seventeen hundred and sixty-iive, this proposition for a
loan-office presented, its advantages detailed, and the plan ex
plained. It seems to have been done by a borrowing member,
from the feeling with which the motives are expressed, and to
have been preparatory to the intended motion. Between the
seventeenth and thirtieth, (the latter being the date of Mr.
Henry's resolutions on the stamp-act,) the motion for a loan-
office was accordingly brought forward in the house of bur
gesses ; and had it succeeded, the debts due to Robinson on
these loans would have been transferred to the public, and his
deficit thus completely covered.
" This state of things, however, was not yet known : but
Mr. Henry attacked the scheme on Other general grounds, in
that style of bold, grand, and overwhelming eloquence, for
which he became ^o justly celebrated afterwai-d. I had been
intimate with him'from the y^ar seventeen hundred and fifty-
nine and sixty, and felt an interest in what concerned him ; and
I can never forget a particular exclamation of his in the debate,
which electrified his hearers. ¦ It had beta urged, that, from
certain unhappy circumstances of the colony, men of substan
tial property had contracted debts, which, if exacted suddenly,
must ruin them and their families, but with a little indulgence
,of time, might be paid with ease.
' " ' What, sir !' exclaimed Mr. Henry, in animadverting on
this, 'is it proposed then to reclaim the spendthrift from his
dissipation and extravagance, by filling his pockets with
^oney V These expressions are indelibly impressed on my
memory. He laid open with so much energy the spirit of fa
vouritism, on which the propositipn was founded, and the
abuses to which it would lead, that it was crushed in its birth.
He carried with him all the. members of the upper counties,
and left a minority composed merely of the aristocracy of the
country. From this time his popularity swelled apace ; and
Mr. Robinson dying the year afterward, his deficit was brought
to light, and discovered the true object of the proposition."*
* In reply to this communication, I stated my surprise that no evidence of
this motion was to be found on the journals of the day, and begged my corres
pondent to explain it, which he does very satisfactorily in the following terms :
"Abortive motions are not always entered on the journals, or rather they are
rarely entered. It is the modern introduction of yeas and nays which has
given the means of placing a rejected motion on the journals : and it is likel/

PATRICK HENRY. 47
The exclamation above quoted by my correspondent as hav-.
ing electrified Mr. Henry's hearers, is a striking specimen of
one of his great excellences in speaking ; which was, the
power of 'condensing the substance of a long argument, into
one short pithy question. The hearer was surprised, in find
ing himself brought so suddenly and so clearly to a just con
clusion. He could scarcely conceive how it was effected ; and
could not fail to regard, with high admiration, the power of that
intellect which could come at its ends by so short a course ;
and work out its purposes with the quickness and certainty of
magic. The aristocracy were startled at such a phenomenon from
the plebeian ranks. They could not be otherwise than indig
nant at the presumption of an obscure and unpolished rustic,
who, without asking the support or countenance of any patron
among themselves, stood upon his own grOund, and bearded
them even in their den. That this rustic should have been
able, too, by his single strength, to baffle their whole phalanx
and put it to rout, was a mortification too humiliating to be
easily borne. They affected to ridicule his vicious and de
praved pronunciation, the homespun coarseness of his lan
guage, and his hypocritical canting in relation to his humility
and ignorance.
But they could not help admiring and envying his wonderful
gifts ; that thorough knowledge of the human heart which he
displayed ; that power of throwing his reasoning into short
and clear aphorisms; which, desultory as they were, supplied,
in a great degree, the place of method and logic ; that imagina
tion so copious, poetic, and sublime ; the irresistible power
with which he caused every passion to rise at his bidding ; and
all the rugged might and majesty of his eloquence. From this
moment, he had no friends on the aristocratic side of the
house. They looked upon him with envy and with terror.
They were forced at length to praise his genius ; but that praise
that the speaker, who, as treasurer, was to be the loan-officer, and had the di
rection of the journals, would choose to omit an entry of the motion in this
ease. This accounts sufficiently for the absence of any trace of the motion on
the journals. There was no suspicion then, (so far at least as I knew,) that
Mr. Robinson had used the public money in private loans to his friends, and
that the secret object of this scheme was to transfer those debtors to the pub
lic, and thus clear his accounts. I have diligently examined the names of the
members on the journals of seventeen hundred and sixty-four, to see if any
were still living, to whose memory we might recur on this subject ; but I find
not a single one now remaining in life." This debate must have been in sev
enteen hundred and sixty-five instead of seventeen hundred and sixty-four.
The only surviving member of that year is Paul Carrington, sen., esq., who
took his seat in the bouse after the debate in question.

48 wirt's life of
was wrung from them, with painful reluctance. They would
have denied it if they could. They would have overshadowed
it ; and did at first try to overshadow it, by magnifying his
defects ; but it would have been as easy for them to have eclip
sed the splendour of the sun, by pointing to his spots.
If, however, he had lost one side of the house by his un
daunted manner of blowing up this aristocratic project, he had
made the other side his fast friends. They had listened with ad
miration, unmixed with envy. Their souls had been struck with
amazement and rapture, and thrilled with unspeakable sensa
tions which they had never felt before. The man, too, who
had produced these effects, was one of themselves. This was
balm to them ; for there is a wide difference between that dis
tant admiration, which we pay as a tax, due to long-standing
merit, in superior rank, and that throbbing applause which
rushes spontaneously and warm from the heart, toward a new
man and an equal.
There is always something of latent repining, approaching
to resentment, mingled with that respect which is exacted from
us by rank ; and we feel a secret gratification in seeing it hum
bled. In the same proportion, we love the man who has given
us this gratification, and avenged, as it were, our own past in
dignities. Such was precisely the state of feeling which Mr.
Henry produced, on the present occasion. The lower ranks
of the house beheld and heard him with gratitude and venera
tion. They regarded him as a sturdy and wide-spreading oak,
beneath whose cool and refreshing shade they might take ref
uge from those beams of aristocracy that had played upon them
so long, with rather an unpleasant heat.
After this victorious sally upon their party, the former lead
ers of the house were not very well-disposed to look with a fa
vourable eye on any proposition which he should make. They
had less idea of contributing to foster the popularity and pam
per the power of a man, who seemed born to be their scourge,
and to drag down their ancient honours to the dust. It was in
this unpropitious state of things, after having waited in vain for
some step to be taken on the other side of the house, and
when the session was within three days of its expected close,
that Mr. Henry introduced his celebrated resolutions on the
stamp-act. I will not withhold from the reader a note of this transaction
from the pen of Mr. Henry himself. It is a curiosity, and high
ly worthy of preservation. After his death, there was found
among his papers one sealed, and thus endorsed : " Enclosed
are the resolutions of the Virginia assembly in seventeen hun
dred and sixty-five, concerning the stamp-act. Let my execu-

PATRICK HENRY. 49
tors open this paper." Within was found the following copy
of the resolutions, in Mr. Henry's handwriting : —
" Resolved, That the first adventurers and settlers of this,
his majesty's colony and dominion, brought with them, and
transmitted to their posterity, and all other his majesty's sub
jects, since inhabiting in this, his majesty's said colony, all the
privileges, franchises, and immunities, that have at any time
been held,, enjoyed, and possessed by the people of Great
Britain. " Resolved, That by two royal charters, granted by King
James the first, the colonists, aforesaid, are declared entitled to
all the privileges, liberties, and immunities of denizens and nat
ural-born subjects, to all intents and purposes, as if they had
been abiding and born within the realm of England.
"Resolved, That the taxation of the people by themselves,
or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, who
can only know what taxes the people are able to bear, and the
easiest mode of raising them, and are equally affected by such
taxes themselves, is the distinguishing characteristic of British
freedom, and without which the ancient constitution cannot
subsist. " Resolved, That his majesty's liege people of this most an
cient colony, have uninterruptedly enjoyed the right of being
thus governed by their own assembly, in the article of their
taxes and internal police, and that the same hath never been
forfeited, or any other way given up, but hath been constantly
recognised by the king and people of Great Britain.
" Resolved, therefore. That the general assembly of this col
ony have the sole right and power to lay taxes and impositions
upon the inhabitants of this colony ; and that every attempt to
vest such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other
than the general assembly aforesaid, has a manifest tendency
to destroy British as well as American freedom."
On the back of the paper containing those resolutions, is the
following endorsement, which is also in th^ handwriting of Mr.
Henry himself : "The within resolutions passed the house of
burgesses in May, seventeen hundred and sixty-five. They
formed the first opposition to the stamp-act, and the scheme of
taxing America by the British parliament. All the colonies,
either through fear, or want of opportunity to form an opposi
tion, or from influence of some kind or other, had remained si
lent. I had been for the first time elected a burgess, a few
days before, was young, inexperienced, unacquainted with the
forms of the house, and the members that composed it. Find
ing the men of weight averse to opposition, and the commence
ment of the tax at hand, and that no person was likely to step
5

BO wirt's life of
forth, I determined to venture, and alone, unadvised, and unas
sisted, on a blank leaf of an old law-book* wrote the within.
" Upon offering thera to the house, violent debates ensued.
Many threats were uttered, and much abuse cast on me, by the
party for submission. After a long and warm contest, the res
olutions passed by a very small majority, perhaps of one or two
only. The alarm spread throughout America vrith astonishing:
quickness, and the ministerial party were overwhelmned. The
great point of resistance to British taxation was universally
established in the colonies. This brought on the war, which
finally separated the two countries, and gave independence to
ours. Whether this will prove a blessing or a curse will de
pend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a
gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will
be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they
will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a
nation. " Reader ! whoever thou art, remember this ; and in thy
sphere, practise virtue thyself, and encourage it in others. —
P. Henry."
Such is the short, plain, and modest account which Mr.
Henry has left of this transaction. But other interesting par
ticulars have been handed down by tradition, and live still in
the recollection of one, at least, now in life, as the reader will
presently see by his own statement. i
The resolutions having been prepared in the manner which
has been mentioned, were shown by Mr. Henry to two mem
bers only, before they were offered to the house ; these were
John Fleming, a most respectable member for the county of
Cumberland, and George Johnston, for that of Fairfax.f
The reader will remark that the first four resolutions, as left
by Mr. Henry, do little more than reaffirm the principles ad
vanced in the address, memorial, and remonstrance of the
preceding year ; that is, they deny the right assumed by the
* Judge Tyler says " an old Coke upon Littleton."
t Judge Winston, on the authority of Mr. Henry himself. The report ot
the day, that Mr. Johnston drew the resolutions, is certainly unfounded. Mr.
Johnston, now only known from the circumstance of his having seconded Mr.
Henry's resolutions, is one of those many friends of liberty who are sliding
fast from the recollection of their country, and who deserve to be rescued from
oblivion, by a more particular notice than it is in my power to bestow upoa
them. Of Mr. Johnston, I can learn only, that he was a lawyer in the North
ern Neck, highly respectable in his profession ; a scholar, distinguished for
vigour of intellect, cogency of argument, firmness of character, love of order,
and devotion to the cause of rational liberty — in short, exactly calculated by
his love of the cause, and the broad and solid basis of his understanding, to
uphold the magnificent structure of Henry's eloquence.

PATRICK HENRY. 51
British parliament, and assert the exclusive right of the col
ony to tax itself. There is an important difference, however,
between those state papers and the resolutions, in the point of
time and the circumstances under which they were brought
forward, for the address and other state papers were prepared
before the stamp-act had passed ; they do nothing more, there
fore, than call in question, by a course of respectful and sub
missive reasoning, the propriety of exercising the right, before
it had been exercised ; and they are, moreover, addressed to
the legislature of Great Britain, by the way of prevention, and
in a strain of decent remons.trance and argument.
But at the time when Mr. Henry offered his resolutions, the
stamp-act had passed ; and the resolutions were intended for
the people of the colonies. It will also be observed, that tho
fifth resolution, as given by Mr. Henry, contains the bold as
sertion, that every attempt to vest the power of taxation over
the colonies in any person or persons whatsoever, other than
the general assembly, had a manifest tendency to destroy Brit
ish, as well as American freedom ; which was asserting, in
effect, that the act which had passed was an encroachment on
the rights and liberties of the people, and amounted to a direct
charge of tyranny and despotism against the British king, lords,
and commons.
It is not wonderful that even the friends of colonial rights,
who knew the feeble and defenceless situation of this country,
should be Startled at a step so bold and daring. That effect
was produced ; and the resolutions were resisted, not only by
the aristocracy of the house, but by many of those who were
afterward distinguished among the brightest champions of
American liberty.
The following is Mr. Jefferson's account of this transaction :
" Mr. Henry moved and Mr. Johnston seconded these reso
lutions successively. They were opposed by Messrs. Ran
dolph, Bland, Pendleton, Wythe, and all the old members,
whose influence in the house had, till then, been unbroken.
They did it, not from any question of our rights, but on the
ground that the same sentiments had been, at their preceding
session, expressed in a more conciliatory form, to which the
answers were not yet received. But torrents of sublime elo
quence from Henry, backed by the solid reasoning of John
ston, prevailed. "The last, however, and strongest resolution,
was carried but by a single vote.
"The debate on it was most bloody. I was then but a stu
dent, and stood at the door of communication between the
house and the lobby (for as yet there was no gallery) during the
whole debate and vote ; and I well remember that, after the

52 wirt's life of
numbers on the division were told and declared from the ehair,
Peyton Randolph (the attorney-general) came out at ttia door
where I was standing, and said, as he entered the lobby : ' By
God, I would have given 500 guineas for a single vote :' for
one would have divided the house, and Robinson was in the
chair, who he knew would have negatived the resolution.
" Mr. Henry left town that evening ; and the next morning,
before the meeting of the house. Colonel Peter Randolph, then
of the council, came to the hall of burgesses, and sat at the
clerk's table till the house-bell rang, thumbing over the vol
umes of journals, to find a precedent for expunging a vote of
the house, which, he said, had taken place while he was a mem
ber or clerk of the house, I do not recollect which; I stood by
him at the end of the table, a considerable part of the time,
looking on, as he turned over the leaves ; but I do not recollect
whether he found the erasure. In the meantime, some of the
timid members, who had voted for the strongest resolution,
had become alarmed ; and as soon as the house met, a motion
was made and carried to expunge it from the journals.
"There being at thatday but one printer, and' he entirely
under control of the governor, I do not know that this reso
lution ever appeared in print. I write this from memory : but
the impression made on me at the time was such as to fix the
facts indelibly in my mind. I suppose the original journal
was among those destroyed by the British, or its obliterated
face might be appealed to. And here I will state, that Burk's
statement of Mr. Henry's consenting to withdraw two resolu
tions, by way of compromise with his opponents, is entirely
erroneous." Themanuscript journal of the day is not to be found ; whether
it was suppressed, or casually lost, must remain a matter of
uncertainty; it disappeared, however, shortly after the ses
sion,* and therefore could not have been among the documents
destroyed by the British during the revolutionary war, as con
jectured by Mr. Jefferson.
In the interesting fact of the erasure of the fifth resolution',
Mr. Jefferson is supported by the distinct recollection of Mr.
Paul Carrington, late a judge of the court of appeals of Vir
ginia, and the only surviving member, it is believed, of the
house of burgesses of seventeen hundred and sixty-five. The
statement is also confirmed, if indeed further confirmation were
necessary, by the circumstance, that instead of the five resolu-
¦* " The manuscript journal was missing ten years before hostilities between
the two countries ; therefore could not have been destroyed, as you supposeil
probable." — Paul Cakkington, senr,

PATRICK HENRY. B3
iions, so solemnly recorded by Mr. Henry, as having passed
the house, the journal of the day exhibits only the following
four : — '
" Resolved, That the first adventurers and settlers of this
his majesty's colony and dominion of Virginia, brought with
them and transmitted to their posterity, and all others his ma
jesty's subjects, since inhabiting in this his majesty's said colo
ny, all the liberties, privileges, franchises, and immunities, that
have at any time been held, enjoyed, and possessed by the peo
ple of Great Britain.
" Resolved, That by two royal charters, granted by King
James I., the colonists aforesaid are declared entitled to all
liberties, privileges, and immunities of denizens and natural
subjects to all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding
and born within the realm of England.
" Resolved, That the taxation of the people, by themselves,
or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, who
can only know what taxes the people are able to bear, or
the easiest method of raising them ; and must, themselves,
be affected by every tax laid on the people, is the only security
against a burdensome taxation, and the distinguishing character
istic of British freedom, without which the ancient constitution
cannot exist.
" Resolved, That his majesty's liege people of this his most
ancient and loyal colony have, without interruption, enjoyed
the inestimable right of being governed by such laws re
specting their internal polity and taxation, as are derived
from their own consent, with the approbation of their sover
eign, or his substitute ; and that the same hath never been
forfeited or yielded up, but hath been constantly recognised by
the kings and people of Great Britain."*
" By these resolutions," says Mr. Jefferson, " and his man-
* Such are the resolutions, as they were amended and passed by the house,
with the exception of that which was rescinded on the next day. — Journals ol
seventeen hundred and sixty-five, page 150. Several historical mistakes have
been committed in relation to these resolutions. Judge Marshall, in his Life
of Wasjhington, (vol. 2d, note 4th, of the appendix,) gives an erroneous copy
of themi from the book called Prior Documents ; in this, he is set right by the
journals : he represents six as having been offered, and two rejected ; his au
thority for this, again, is the Prior Documents : but he is contradicted by Mr.
Henry, himself, who represents five only as having been offered and passed,
and Mr. Henry's written statement accords with the clear and strong recollec
tion both of Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Carrington.
Mr. Burk gives the same erroneous copy with Judge Marshall, and adds to
them several mistakes of his own : he says the resolutions passed, by a large
majority, forty only having voted against them. Mr. Burk did not know the
number of the members, or he would have known that a vote of forty, in the
negative, would not have left a large majority in favour of the resolutions.
But we have the authority of Mr. Henry himself, (as we have seen,) of Mr.
5*

'54 wirt's life of
ner of supporting them, Mr. Henry took the lead out .of the
hands of those who had, theretofore, guided the proceedings
of the house ; that is to say, of Pendleton, Wythe, Bland, Ran
dolph." It was, indeed, the measure which raised him to the
zenith of his glory. He had never before had a subject which
entirely matched his genius, and was capable of drawing out
all the powers of his mind. It was remarked of him through
out his life, that his talents never failed to rise with the occa
sion, and in proportion with the resistance which he had to
encounter. The ijicety of the vote, on his last resolution,
proves that this was not a time to hold in reserve any part of
his forces.
It was, indeed, an Alpine passage, under circumstances even
more unpropitious than those of Hannibal ; for he hadnot only
to fight, hand to hand, the powerful party who were already in
possession of the heights, but at the same instant to cheer and
animate the timid band of followers, that were trembling, and
fainting, and drawing back below him. It was an occasion
that called upon him to put forth all his strength, and he did
put it forth, in such a manner as man never did before.
The cords of argument with which his adversaries frequently
flattered themselves that they had bound him fast, became pack
threads in his hands. He burst them with as much ease as the
unshorn Samson did the bands of the Philistines. He seized
the pillars of the temple, shook them terribly, and seemed to
threaten his opponents with ruin. It was an incessant storm
of lightning and thunder, which struck them aghast. The faint
hearted gathered courage from his countenance, and cowards
became heroes while they gazed upon his exploits.
Jefferson, and of Mr. Carrington, for saying that the resolutions were carried
by a majority of one only ; on what authority Mr. Burk speaks, we are not in
formed. His whole account of Mr. Henry's proposal on the ne-tt day, to se
cede, and of his finally giving up two resolutions, for the sake of unanimity, is
contradicted again by Mr. Henry, Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. Carrington ; there is
no such statement in the papers of the day, and the author does not conde
scend to give us his authority. Mr. Burk's skeleton of Mr. Henry's speech,
on that occasion, is believed to be equally apocryphal ; the author of these
sketches has not been able to procure a single aijthentic trace, of that speech,
except the anecdote presently given in the text.
Mr. Burk concludes his account of this affair thus: "Struck with tho
alarming tendency of these proceedings, the governor suddeply dissolved the
assembly," &c. — Vol. 3d, page 310. In opposition to this statement, we are
told by Mr. Henry himself, that when he offered his resolutions, the session
was near its regular close ; and the journals prove the fact to have been so.
Mr. Henry left town for home on the evening of the day on which his resolu
tions were adoptjed ; it was on the next day (consequently in his absence) that
the motion to rescind was made ; and the printed journals show that day and
the day following to have been occupied with the usual business which closes
a legislative session.

PATRICK HENRY, 5,5
It was in the midst of this magnificent debate, while he was
descanting on the tyranny of the obnoxious act, that he ex
claimed in a voice of thunder, and with the look of a god : —
" Cesar had his Brutus — Charles the First, his Cromwell — and
George the Third " — (" Treason," cried the speaker — " Treason,
treason !" echoed from every part of the house. It was one of
those trying moments which is decisive of character. Henry
faltered not for an instant ; but rising to a loftier attitude, and
fixing on the speaker an eye of the most determined fire, he
finished his sentence with the firmest emphasis) — "may profit
ly their example. If this be treason, make the most of it."*
This was the only expression of defiance which escaped him
during the debate. He was, throughout life, one of the most
perfectly and uniformly decorous speakers that ever took the
floor of the house. He was respectful even to humility ; and
the provocation must be gross indeed which would induce him
to notice it. Yet when he did notice it, better were it for the
man never to have been born, than to fall into the hands of such
an adversary. One lash from his scourge was infamy for life ;
his look of anger or contempt was almost death.
After this debate, there was no longer a question among the
body of the people, as to Mr. Henry's being the first statesman
and orator in Virginia. Those, indeed, whose ranks he had
scattered, and whom he had throvi'n into the shade, still tried
to brand him with the names of declaimer and demagogue.
But this was obviously the effect of envy and mortified pride.
A mere declaimer and demagogue could never have gained,
much less have kept for more than thirty years, that ground
which Mr. Henry held ; with a people, too, so cool, judicious,
firm, and virtuous, as those who achieved the American revo
lution. From the period of which we have been speaking, Mr. Hen
ry became the idol of the people of Virginia ; nor was his name
confined to his native state. His light and heat were seen and
felt throughout the continent ; and he was everywhere regard
ed as the great champion of colonial liberty.
The impulse thus given by Virginia, was caught by the other
colonies. Her resolutions were everywhere adopted with pro
gressive variations. The spirit of resistance became bolder
* I had frequently heard the above anecdote of the cry of treason, but with
such variations of the concluding words, that I began to doubt whether the
whole might not be fiction. With a view to ascertain the truth, therefore, I
submitted it to Mr. Jefferson, as it had been given to me by Judge Tyler, and
this is his answer : "I well remember the cry of treason, the pause of Mr.
Henry at the name of George III., and the presence of mind with which he
closed his sentence, and baffled the charge vociferated." The incident, there
fore, becomes authentic history.

56 wirt's life of
and bolder, until the whole continent was in a flame ; and by
the first of November, when the stamp act was, according to
>ts provisions, to have taken effect, its execution had become ut
terly impracticable."*

CHAPTER III.
Repeal of the Stamp-Act— Session of 1766— Mr. Henry's Character as a
Lawyer- Anecdote of Major Scott— State of Feeling in the British Parlia
ment— Remonstrance of the Massachusetts Legislature— Obnoxious Charac
ter of the Soldiery stationed in America— Collision of the People in New
York with the Troops — Farther Encroachments of PariiamentryOppositiou
of Massachusetts, to the new Duties — Dissolution of the Colonial Legisla
tures — Appointment of Corresponding Committees — Norice of Mr. Carr—
Sketch of the Virginia Legislature of 1773— Mr. Henry's Views on the
Issue of the Contest with Great Britain — Dissolution of the House of Bur
gesses — Subsequent Proceedings — Delegates appointed — Mr. Henry appoint
ed a Deputy to a Congress of the Colonies.— The Congress meets at Phil
adelphia. At the opening of the next session, the speaker announced
the repeal of the stamp-act ; and the house of burgesses, in a
paroxysm of feeling, voted a statue to the king, and an obelisk
to the British patriots by whose exertions the repeal had been
effected. But before these monuments of national gratitude
could be executed the effervescence subsided ; and on the ninth
of December, seventeen hundred and sixty-six, the bill which
had been prepared for that purpose, was postponed to the first
day of the next session ; after which, we hear of it no more.
At the session of seventeen hundred and sixty-six, a question
of great interest in those days, and one of real importance to
the colony, came on to be discussed in the house of burgesses.
Mr. Robinson, who had so long held the joint offices of speak
er and treasurer, was nijw dead. The general fact of his de
linquency as treasurer was understood, although the sum was
not yet ascertained ; and that delinquency, whatever it might
be, was alleged to have arisen principally from loans made to
* The chronicles of the day exhibit, in a manner very curious and interest
ing, the progress of these feelings. We have already given a specimen of the
drooping spirit of the Pennsylvania Gazette, on the first annunciation of the
stamp-act ; but after Mr. Henry had ' touched with his match the train of
American courage, its scintillations were seen, sparkling and flashing, on eveiy
page of this paper. Thus, in the paper of June twentieth, seventeen hun
dred and seventy-five : "We .learn from the northward, that the stamp-act
is to take effect in America on All Saints' day, the first of November next.
In the year seventeen hundred and fifty-five, on the first of November, hap
pened that dreadful and memorable earthquake vfhich destroyed the city oi
Lisbon."

PATRICK HENRY. 57
members of the house of burgesses. As the speaker, although
elected in the first instance by the house, could not act until
approved by the governor, and, when so approved, was in office
for seven years, re-eligible indefinitely — and, as in the recent
instance of Mr. Robinson, it had been discovered, that an office
so held was too apt to generate a devotion to the purposes of
the British court — it was considered by the patriots in the
house, as a measure of sound policy, to take out of the hands
of the speaker so formidable an engine of corruption and pow
er as the treasury of the colony.*
A motion was therefore made to separate the office of treas
urer from the speaker's chair, which was supported by Mr.
Henry with his usual ability. An arduous struggle ensued.
Innovations, however correct in themselves, never fail to star
tle those who have grown gray in a veneration for the existing
order of things. They fancy that, they see in every important
change an indirect blow at the established government, and at
the foundations of their own property. This union of the
speaker's chair with the office of treasurer, was one of those
errors in policy which time had consecrated, and it required a
hand both steady and skilful to remove the veil and expose its
deformity. That hand was furnished by Mr. Henry.
The union of boldness and decency which composed his char
acter, of decisive energy in the support of his own opinions,
and respectful tenderness toward those of others, fitted him pe
culiarly for the discbarge of this duty. The house admired, on
this occasion, the facility with which he could adapt himself
to any subject. He had that foundation of strong natural sense,
without which genius is a misfortune ; an instinctive accuracy
of judgmeilt, which always proportioned his efforts to the occa
sion. He was never guilty of the ridiculous and common error
among young members, of attempting to force the subject be
yond its nature — of swelling trifles into consequence, and work
ing the ocean into tempest,
" To waft a feather, or to drown a fly.''
It is almost superfluous to add, that such a cause, in the hands
of such an advocate, did not fail of success. The motion for
separating the two offices being carried, a committee was ap-
* A correspondent furnishes the following note on this passage : " There
was but one clear and sound bottom on which the separation of the chair and
the treasury was decided. The legislature made all the levies of money pay
able into the hands of their speaker, over whom they had control. The only
hold the governor had on him was, a negative on his appointment as speaker
at every new election, which amourfted, consequently, to a negative on him as
treasurer, and disposed him, so far, to be obsequious to the governor."

58 wirt's life of
pointed to examine the accounts of the late treasurer, and their
report disclosed an enormous deficit, exceeding a hundred thou
sand pounds.
On the separation of the offices of speaker, and treasurer,
Peyton Randolph, the attorney-general, was elected to the
chair ; and Robert C. Nicholas, an eminent lawyer and a most
virtuous man, to the office of treasurer.
After having tried his strength for several years on the legis-
'. lative floor, against some of the brightest champions of the bar,
'. Mr. Henry came, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-nine,
to the bar itself of the general court. " The profits of his prac
tice, theretofore," says my informant. Judge Winston, " must
: have been very moderate. For about this time, he informed
: me that he thought his property was not worth more than fif-
' teen hundred pounds ; adding, that if he could only make it
I double that sum, he should be entirely content."
At this bar, he entered into competition with all the first legal
characters in the colony, some of whom had been educated at
the Temple. Mr. Pendleton and Mr. Wythe have been already
mentioned: but, in addition to these, he had to encounter Mr.
John Randolph, Mr. Thompson Mason, Mr. Robert C. Nicho
las, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Jefferson ; all of them
masters of the learning of their profession, and all of them men
of pre-eminent abilities.
It cannot be expected from Mr. Henry's legal preparation,
that he was able to contend with these gentlemen on a mere
question of law. He wanted that learning whose place no
splendour of genius can supply to the lawyer ; and he wanted
those habits of steady and persevering application, without
which that learning is not to be acquired. It is said, indeed,
that he was wofuUy deficient as a lawyer ; so little acquainted
with the fundamental principles of his profession, and so little
skilled in that system of artificial reasoning on which the com
mon law is built, as not to be able to see the remote bearings
of the reported cases ; and hence, it has been said, that it hap
pened with him not unfrequently, whenever he did attempt to
argue a question of law, to furnish authorities destructive to his
own cause.
Yet he never did and never could vanquish his aversion to
the systematic study of the law. On questions turning on the
laws of nations, and even on the maritime law, whose basis is
natural reason and justice, his vigour of mind made him occa
sionally very great. One of my correspondents, for example,
relates to me an instance of his appearing in the court of admi
ralty, under the regal government, in behalf of a Spanish cap-
tain, whose vessel and cargo had been libelled. A gentleman

PATRICK HENRY. 59
who was present, and who was very well qualified to judge,
was heard to declare, after the trial was over, that he never
heard a more eloquent or argumentative speech in his life ; that
Mr. Henry was on that occasion greatly superior to Mr. Pen
dleton, Mr. Mason, or any other counsel who spoke to the sub
ject ; and that he was astonished how Mr. Henry could have
acquired such a knowledge of the maritime law, to which, it
was believed, he had never before turned his attention.
But this special preparation on a given subject, and that sub
ject, too, depending on the liberal and equitable principles of
the maritime law, is not at all at variance with the report of
his inefficiency, on questions to be decided by the common law
merely. The power of arguing questions, of the latter descrip
tion to advantage, requires the mind, in the first place, to be
deeply imbued with that peculiar spirit of reasoning which
reigns throughout the whole system of the common law ; and,
in the next, it requires a cool and clear accuracy of thinking,
and an elaborate exactness and nicety in the deduction of
thought, to which Mr. Henry's early and inveterate habits of
indolence, as well as the sublime and excursive fervour of his
genius, were altogether hostile.
It was on questions before a jury, that he was in his natural
element. There, his intimate knowledge of human nature, and
the rapidity as well as justness of his inferences, from the flit
ting expressions of the countenance, as to what was passing in
the hearts of his hearers, availed him fully. The jury might be
composed of entire strangers, yet he rarely failed to know them,
man by man, before the evidence was closed. There was no
studied fixture of features that could long hide the charac
ter from his piercing and experienced view. The slightest un
guarded turn of countenance, or motion of the eye, let him at
once into the soul of the man whom he was observing.
Or, if he doubted whether his conclusions were correct, from
the exhibitions of countenance during the narration of the evi
dence, he had a mode of playing a prelude, as it were, upon
the jiiry, in his exordium, which never failed to " wake into
life each silent string," and show him the whole compass as
well as pitch of the instrument ; and, indeed, (if we may be
lieve all the concurrent accounts of his exhibitions in the general
court,) the most exquisite performer that ever " swept the
sounding lyre" had not more a sovereign mastery over its pow
ers, than Mr. Henry had over the springs of feeling and thought
that belong to a jury. There was a delicacy, a taste, a felicity
in his touch, that was perfectly original, and without a rival.
His style of address, on these occasions, is sa!id to have re
sembled very much that of the scriptures. It was strongly

60 wirt's life of
marked with the same simplicity, the same energy, the same
pathos. He sounded no alarm ; he made no parade, to put the
jury on their guard. It was all so natural, so humble, so un
assuming, that they were carried imperfectly along, and attuned
to his purpose, until some master-touch dissolved them into
tears. His language of passion waa-Jpfiife-ct. — Thej:e..-waa— no
word^^oTTgarned length irrTKun^exing siiunij!I.fi.i}xeak-the
charm/^rEa3~aTi5x5st fOTthe stillness of^so,lilaxyjliinkin^^^_j;t
was a sw'eefTevery^'a" delkiojig^tiaacs.
His voice, too, had a wonderful effect. He had a singular
power io? infusing it into a'juryr^nJ mixing its notes with their
nerves, in a manner which it is impossible to describe justly ;
but which produced a thrilling excitement, in the happiest con
cordance with his designs. No man knew so well as he did
what kind of topics to urge to their understandings ; nor what
kind of simple imagery to present to their hearts. His eye,
which he kept riveted upon them, assisted the process of fas
cination, and at the same time informed him what theme to
press, or at what instant to retreat, if by ra.re accident he touch
ed an unpropitious string. And then he had such an exuber
ance of appropriate thoughts, of apt illustrations, of apposite
images, and such a melodious and varied roll of the happies*
words, that the hearer was never wearied by repetition, and
never winced from an apprehension that the intellectual treas
ures of the speaker would be exhausted.*
The defence of criminal causes was his great professional
forte. It seems that the eighth day of the general court was
formerly set apart for criminal business. Mr. Henry made
* A striking example of this witchery of his eloquence, even on common
subjects, was related by a very respectable gentleman, the late Major Joseph
Scott, the marshal of this state. This gentleman had been summoned, at
great inconvenience to his private affairs, to attend as a witness a distant court,
in which Mr. Henry practised. The cause which had carried him thither hav
ing been disposed of, he was setting out in great haste to return, when the
sheriff summoned him to serve on a jury. This cause was represented as a
complicated and important one ; so important as to have enlisted in it all the
most eminent members of the bar.
He was therefore alarmed at the prospect of a long detention, and made an
unavailing effort with the court to get himself discharged from the jury. He
was compelled to take his seat. 'When his patience had been nea.rly exhaust
ed by the previous speakers, Mr. Henry rose to conclude the cause, and having
much matter to answer, the major stated that he considered himself a prisoner
for the evening, if not for the night. But, to his surprise, Mr. Henry appear
ed to have consumed not more than fifteen minutes in the reply ; and he
would scarcely believe his own watch, or those of the other jtirymen, vvhen
they informed him that he had in reality been speaking upward of two'hours.
So powerful was the charm by which he could bind the senses of his heareraj
and make even the most impatient unconscious of the lapse of time.

PATRICK HENRY. 61
little or no figure during the civil days of the court ; but on
the eighth day he was the monarch of the bar. These causes
brought him into direct collision with M'- John Randolph, who
had now succeeded Peyton as the attorney-general.
Mr. Randolph, it has been remarked, was, in person and
manners among the most elegant gentlemen in the colony, and
in his profession one of the most splendid ornaments of the bar.
He was a polite scholar, as well as a profound lawyer, and his
eloquence also was of a high order. His voice, action, style,
were stately, and uncommonly impressive ; but gigantic as he
was in relation to other men, he was but a pigmy, when op
posed in a criminal trial to the arch magician, Henry. In
those cases Mr. Henry was perfectly irresistible. He adapted
himself, without effort, to the character of the cause: seized
with the quickness of intuition, its defensible point, and never
permitted the jury to lose sight of it.
Sir Joshua Reynolds has said of Titian, that, by a few
strokes of his pencil, he knew how to mark the image and
character of whatever object he attempted ; ahd produced by
this means a truer representation than any of his predecessors,
who finished every hair. In like manner, Mr. Henry, by a few
master-strokes upon the evidence, could in general stamp upon
the cause whatever image or character he pleased; and con
vert it into tragedy or comedy, at his sovereign will, and with
a power which no efforts of his adversary could counteract.
He never wfearied the jury by a dry and minute analysis of
the evidence ; he did not expend his strength in finishing the
hairs ; he produced all his high effect by those rare master-
touches, and by the resistless skill with which, in a very few
words, he could mould and colour the prominent facts of a
cause to his purpose. He had wonderful address, too, in lead
ing off the minds of his hearer.s from the contemplation of un
favourable points, if at any time they were too stubborn to
yield to his power of transformation. He beguiled the hearer
so far from them, as to diminish them by distance, and soften,
if not entirely cast into shade, their too strong natural colours.
At this distance, too, he had a better opportunity of throwing
upon them a false light, by an apparently casual ray of refraction
from other points in the evidence, whose powers no man bet
ter knew how to array and concentrate, in order to disguise or
eclipse an obnoxious fact.
It required a mind of uncommon vigilance, and most intracta
ble temper, to resist this charm with which he decoyed away
his hearers ; it demanded a rapidity of penetration which is
I'arely, if ever, to be found in the jury-box, to detect the intel
lectual juggle by which he spread his nets around them ; it
6

62 wirt's life ok
called for a stubbornness and obduracy of soul which do
not exist, to sit unmoved under the pictures of horror, or of
pity which started from his canvass.
They might resolve, if they pleased, to decide ¦ the cause
against him, and to disregard everything which he could urge
in the defence of his client. But it was all in vain. Some
feint, in an unexpected direction, threw them off their guard,
and they were gone ; some happy phrase, burning from the
soul ; some image fresh from Nature's mint, and bearing her
own beautiful and genuine impress, struck them with delight
ful surprise, and melted them into conciliation; and concilia
tion toward Mr. Henry, was victory inevitable. In short, he
understood the human character so perfectly ; knew so well
all its strength and all its weaknesses, together with every path
and by-way which winds around to the citadel of the best forti
fied heart and mind, that he never failed to take them, either
by stratagem or storm. Hence he was, beyond doubt, the
ablest defender of criminals in Virginia, and will probably never
be equalled again.
It has been observed, that Mr. Henry's kno-wledge of the
common law was extremely defective ; but his attendance upon
the general court was calculated to cure that defect, in a con
siderable degree. All legal questions of magnitude or diffi
culty came before that tribunal, either originally or by appeal ;
and he had continual opportunities of hearing them discussed
in the ablest manner, by the brightest luminaries of the Ameri
can bar.
His was a mind on which nothing was lost ; on which no
useful seed could be cast without shooting into all the luxuri
ance of which its nature was susceptible. Thus improving
every hint, and ramifying every principle which was brought
into his view, there is reason to believe that a few years must
have made him not only a master of the general canons of
property, but of the modifications and exceptions of more fre
quent ~ occurrence, by which those canons are restrained and
governed. In support of this conclusion, I find that in January, seven
teen hundred and seventy-three, Robert C. Nicholas, who had
enjoyed the first practice at the bar, and who, by virtue of his
office of treasurer, was forced to relinquish that practice, com
mitted, by a public advertisement, his unfinished business to
Mr. Henry ; a step which a man so remarkably scrupulous in
the discharge of every moral duty would not have taken, had
there been any incompetency on the part of his substitute.
The British ministry, however, did not permit Mr. Henry to
waste himself in forensic exertions. The joy of the Araer-

PATRICK RBNRY. 63
leans, on the repeal of the stamp-act, was very short-lived.
That measure had not been, on the part of the British parlia
ment, a voluntary sacrifice to truth and right. The ministry
and their friends disavowed this ground; and were forward on
every occasion, to convince the colonies that they had nothing
to expect, either from the clemency or the magnanimity of
the British cabinet.
Thus on a question of supplies for the army, in the session
of parliament of seventeen hundred and sixty-six and seven,
a motion was made in the house of commons, that the revenues
arising and to arise in America, be applied to subsisting the
troops now there, and those other regiments which it is pro
posed to send; in support of which, that brilliant political
meteor, Charles Townsend, urged, among other things, " the
propriety of more troops being sent to America, and of their
being quartered in the large towns."
He said, that he had a plan preparing, which he would lay be
fore the house, for the raising of supplies in America. That
the legislative authority of Great Britain extended to every col
ony in every^ particular. That the distinction between internal
and external taxes was nonsense; and that he voted for the
repeal of the stamp-act, not because it was not a good act, but
because, at that time, there appeared a propriety in repealing
it. He added, th^t he repeated the sentence, that the galleries
might hear him, and after that, he did not expect to have his
statue erected in America : in all which, Mr. Grenville joined
him fully. This temper soon manifested itself in open acts,
and turned the late joy of the colonies into mourning.
The first obnoxious measure was a stern demand of satisfac
tion from the legislatures of the colonies, for the injuries which
had been done to the stamp-officers and their adherents. The
legislature of Massachusetts, of whom this demand was first
made, very respectfully, and with good reason, questioned the
propriety and justice of taxing the whole colony for the ex
cesses of a few individuals, which they had neither prompted
nor approved ; for the sake of peace, however, and in the spirit
of accommodation, that satisfaction was given ; but they an
nexed to their vote of satisfaction a grant of pardon to the
rioters; and, in England, according to the usual courtesy of
that country, nothing was said of the satisfaction, while the
pardon was treated as a most insolent and impudent usurpation
of the royal authority.
The next step was that suggested by Mr. Townsend, of quar
tering large bodies of troops upon the chief towns in the col
onies, and demanding of the several colonial legislatures a pro
vision for their coirifortable support and accommodation. A

64 wirt's life of
measure more replete with exasperation could scarcely have
been devised. The very presence of thoSe myrmidons was an
insult ; for it was a direct reflection on the fidelity of the col
onists. Their object was perfectly understood : it was to curb
the just and honourable spirit of the people ; to dragoon them
into submission to the parliamentary claim of taxation, and
reduce them to the condition of vassals, governed by the right
of conquest. The rudeness of the soldiery, too, was well cal
culated to keep up and increase the irritation, which their pres
ence alone would have been sufficient to excite.
In Bostorii they were in the habit of stopping the most re
spectable citizens in the streets, and compelling them to answer
insulting inquiries, or committing them to confinernent on their
refusal, assigning, as the ground of their conduct, that the town
was a garrisoned town. In New York, they provoked a con
test with the people, by making war upon a liberty-pole, which
was the first object of their earthly devotions, and which the
soldiers continually destroyed or attempted to destroy, as sooA
as it could be replaced. And, as if all this insult and humil
iation were not enough, the colonies were to be constrained to
tax themselves, to foster and cherish those instruments of their
degradation. The legislature of New York, in a tone at least sufficiently
submissive for the occasion, and on the false ground of the in
ability of the colony, begged to be excused from making the
provision. For this high offence, the legislative power of that
colony was abolished by act of parliament, until they should
submit to make the provision which was required : and they,
did submit.
A body of British troops, alleged to have been driven ,by
stress of weather into Boston, in the recess of the colonial
'. legislature, had been provided for out of the public moneys, by
the governor and his council. The legislature met^ shortly
afterward, and remonstrated against this unconstitutional ap
propriation, with that Roman firmness and dignity which mark
ed the character of Massachusetts in every stage of the contest.
But Governor Bernard, highly indignant at what he affected to
consider as presumption, made such a communication upon the
subject to the British court, as could have had, and could have
been designed to have, no other effect than to widen the breach,
and inflame more highly those animosities which already re
quired no new aggravation.
These military preparations were well understood to be the
harbingers of some unconstitutional act, the execution of which
they were necessary to enforce. Why those preparations were
restricted to the northern states, and more particularly to Mas-

PATRICK HENRY. 66
sachusetts, has never been satisfactorily explained." There
was no colony which resisted with more firmness and con
stancy the pretensions of the British parliament than that of
Virginia; yet no military force was thought necessary, during
the lives of the governors Fauquier and Bottetourt, to keep
down the spirit of rebellion in.ihis colony.
A solution of the difficulty may perhaps be found in the
character of the different governors. Virginia had the good
fortune, during this period, to be governed by enlightened and
amiable men, who saw and did justice to the motives and meas
ure of resistance which was meditated ; who were both able
and willing to distinguish between reason and force, between
remonstrance and rebellion ; who perceived with pleasure, the
spirit of genuine and unaffected loyalty and affection for the
parent-country, which mingled itself with every complaint ;
and who, in their communications to the British court, were
disposed rather " to extenuate," than " to set down aught in
malice." Whereas Bernard, the governor of Massachusetts,
was the fit instrument and apt representative of the masters
whom he served : for he had all their pride and unfeeling inso
lence, and seems to have enjoyed a kind of fiend-like pleasure,
in rendering his province hateful at home, by the most viru
lent m.isrepresentations ; and in drawing down upon her the ac
cumulated curses and oppressions of the parent-country.*
These preparatory steps having been taken, an act of parlia
ment was passed, imposing certain duties on glass, white and
red lead, painters' colours, tea, and paper, imported into the
colonies. This act was to take effect on the twentieth of No
vember, seventeen hundred and sixty-seven ; and, to insure its
operation, another act authorized the king to appoint a board
of trade to reside in the colonies, and to instruct them at his
pleasure and without limits, as to the mode of executing their
duties under this law. A commission accordingly issued, by
which the commissioners were armed with a power of search
and seizure, at their discretion ; with authority to call for aid
upon the naval and military establishments within the colony ;
and with an exemption from prosecution or responsibility be-
' Extract of a letter, dated London, June fifth, seventeen hundred and
seventy : " The people of England now curse Governor Bernard, as bitterly
as those of America. Bernard was drove out of the Smyrna coffee-house,
not many days since, by General Oglethorpe, who told him he was a dirty,
factious scoundrel, and smelled cursed strong of the hangman ; that he had
better leave the room, as unworthy to mix with gentlemen of character, but
that he would give him the satisfaction of following him to the door, had ho
any thing to reply. The governor left the house like a guilty coward." — Penn
sylvania Gazette, August 30th, 1770, 6*

66 wirt's life of
fore any of the king's courts, for whatsoever they might do,
by any construction of their commission.
Another measure which gave great offence to the colonies,
was the establishment of a board of admiralty, with extensive
powers, supported by large salaries independent of the colo
nies, yet drawn from the revenues compulsorily levied upon
them ; and the appointment, also, of common law judges, to be
paid by the crown out of the revenues of the colony, and to
hold their offices during the king's pleasure.
To all these outrages the legislatures of the colonies answer
ed by petitions, memorials, remonstrances, and letters, address
ed to the friends of colonial liberty in England ; blending, with
the strongest professions of loyalty, the expression of their
hope, that those obnoxious measures would be reconsidered
and reversed, and the colonies protected in their ancient and
unalienable rights. In reply, they received from the kindest
of their English friends, only exhortations to patience under
their sufferings ; by the court-party, menaces and anathemas
werebrandishedover their heads ; and the commissioners of the
revenue, together with their auxiliaries, the naval and military
officers and soldiery, continued to outrage and insult them, both
in their persons and property.
The people of Massachusetts, with the view of frustrating
the new revenue-bill, entered into an association, by which
they bound themselves not to import from Great Britain, or use
any of the articles taxed ; and included in the resolution every
article of British manufacture which was not of the first and
most indispensable necessity. The legislature of that state
also resolved on a circular-letter to their sister-colonies, invi
ting their concurrence and co-operation toward procuring re
lief, in a constitutional way, from the grievances under which
they were all suffering.
This measure having been reported by Governor Bernard,
with his usual embellishments, to the Earl of Hilsborough, the
British minister for the American department, that minister re
quired the governor to demand of the legislature an immediate
rescission of their resolution, on pain of their being forthwith
dissolved. They refused to rescind, and were dissolved ac
cordingly. The same minister also addressed a circular-letter
to the governors of the other colonies, exhorting them to crush
this correspondence and concert among the colonial legisla
tures in the bud, by exacting from them an assurance that they
would not answer the circular of Massachusetts. They refu
sed to give such assurance, and were in their turn dissolved.
These violent measures, however, produced an effect very
different from that which was expected to flow from thera.

TATRICK HENRY. 67
'The dissolution of their legislatures swelled the catalogue of
their wrongs, and ministered additional fuel to the resentments of
the people. The non-importation agreement became general;
and, by means of committees established in the several colonies,
its execution was guarded with a vigilance which could not be
eluded. A breach of it was infamy, inevitable and unpardona
ble. Its observance was a badge of honour, by which the pa
triot-colonist was proud to be distinguished.
The privation was, indeed, in many respects severe, but the
sufferers wore upheld by that kind of holy fortitude which ena
bled the Christian martyrs, to smile amid the flames and to
triumph, even in the agonies of death. Every grade of society,
all ages, and both sexes, kindled in this, sacred competition of
patriotism. The ladies of the colonies, in the dawn, and
throughoiit the whole progress of the revolution, shone with
pre-eminent lustre in this war of fortitude and self-denial. They
renounced, without a sigh, the use of the luxuries and even of
the comforts to which they had been accustomed ; 'and felt a
nobler pride in appearing dressed in the simple productions of
their own looms, than they had ever experienced from glitter-
kig in the brightest ornaments of the East.
The British court looked upon this trial of virtuous fortitude
with surly and inexorable rigour. They seemed determined
io carry the point, at every hazard. The sufferings of their
own merchants and manufacturers were forgotten, in the bar-
Oarous pleasure with which they contemplated the sufferings of
ihe colonists. It is not in human nature to continue long to
ireturn good for evil, affection for cruelty. The admiration and
devotion of the colonies for the parent-country became gradu
ally weaker. This transition of feeling is most interestingly
marked in the chronicles of the day^ The epithets, " our kind
and indulgent mother," with which she was wont to be greeted,
were progressively changed into " unnatural parent — cruel
stepmother — proud, merciless oppressor — haughty, unfeeling,
and unrelenting tyrant."
This state of feeling was aggravated by the collisions which
were perpetually occurring between the king's soldiery and the
people of the towns in which they were quartered. The streets
of New York and of Boston were the theatres of continual riots,
ending almost invariably in blood, and not unfrequently in
death. The newspapers of the day teem with the detail df
scenes of this sort ; and from the effect which they produce on
the reader at this distance of time, it is not very difficult to con
ceive what must have been their operation on the people of that
day, already goaded to madness by previous injuries.
It is not my purpose to record the series of measures which led

68 wirt's life of
to the dismemberment of the British empire. This is the func
tion of the historian. My business is only with Mr. Henry;
and, for my purpose, nothing more is necessary than to recall
the general character of the contest, for the purpose of showing
the part which he bore in it. The revolution may be truly
said to have commenced with his resolutions in seventeen hun
dred and sixty-five.
From that period not an hour of settled peace had existed
between the two countries. It is true, that the eruption pro
duced by the stamp-act had subsided with its repeal ; and the
people had resumed their ancient settlements and occupations ;
but there was no peace of the heart or of the mind. The rum
bling of the volcano was still audible, and the smoke of the cra
ter continually ascended, mingled not unfrequently with those
flames and masses of ignited matter which announced a new
and more terrible explosion.
These were " the times that tried the souls of men ;" and
never, in any country or in any age, did there exist a race of
men whose souls were better fitted to endure the trial. Pa
tient in suffering, firm in adversity, calm and collected amid the
dangers which pressed around them, cool in council, and brave
in battle, they were worthy of the cause, and the cause was
worthy of them.
The house of burgesses of Virginia, which had led the oppo
sition to the stamp-act, kept their high ground during the whole
of the ensuing contest. Mr. Henry, having removed again
from Louisa to his native county, in the year seventeen hun
dred and sixty-seven or sixty-eight, continued a member of the
public councils till the close of the revolution ; and there could
be no want of boldness in any body of which he was a member.
The session of seventeen hundred sixty-eight or sixty-nine,
was marked by a set of resolutions so strong as to have excited
even the amiable and popular Bottetourt to displeasure. By
those resolutions they reasserted, in the most emphatic terms,
the exclusive right of the colony to tax themselves in all cases
whatever ; complained of the recent acts of parliament, as so
many violations of the British constitution ; and remonstrated,
vigorously, against the right of transporting the freeborn sub-
jects of these colonies to England, to take their trial before
prejudiced tribunals, for offences alleged to be committed in
the colonies.
The tradition with regard to these resolutions is, that they
were agreed to in a committee of the whole on one day, but
not reported to the house, with the view of preventing their
appearance on the journal of the next day, before they could
be completely passed through the forms of the house ; appre-

PATRICK HENRY. 69
mending, from the fate of the Massachusetts legislature, that a
i knowledge of these resolutions, on the part of the governor,
would produce an immediate dissolution of the house. When
the house rose for the evening, however, the fact of their hav
ing passed such resolutions was whispered to the governor ;
and he endeavoured in vain to procure a copy of them from the
clerk, (Mr. Wythe.)
On the next day, the house, foreseeing the event, met on the
instant of the ringing of the bell, and with closed doors receiv
ed the report of their resolutions, considered, adopted, and or
dered them to be entered upon their journals ; which they had
scarcely done when they were summoned to attend (he govern
or, and were dissolved. " Mr. Speaker," said he, " and gen
tlemen of the house of representatives, I have heard of your
resolves, and augur ill of their effects ; you have made it my
duty to dissolve you, and you are accordingly dissolved."
But the dissolution of the house of burgesses did not change
the materials of which it had been composed. The same mem
bers were re-elected without a single exception, and the same
determined spirit of resistance continued to diffuse itself from
the legislature over the colony which they represented, and to
animate by sympathy the neighbouring colonies. This house
had the merit of originating that powerful engine of resistance,
corresponding committers between the legislatures of the dif*
fererit colonies.* The measure was brought forward by Mr.
Dabney Carr, a new member from the county of Louisa, in a
committee of the whole house, on the twelfth of March, seven
teen hundred and seventy-three ; and the resolutions, as adopt
ed, now stood upon the journals of the day, in the following
terms : —
"Whereas, the minds Of his majesty's faithful subjects in this
colony have been much disturbed by various rumours and re
ports of proceedings, tending to deprive them of their ancient,
legal, and constitutional rights ;
" And whereas, the affairs of this colony are frequently con
nected with those of Great Britain, as well as the neighbouring
colonies, which renders a communication of sentiments neces
sary : in order, therefore, to remove the uneasiness, and to
quiet the minds of the people, as well as for the other good
purposes above mentioned : —
* The state of Massachusetts is entitled to equal honour : the measures
were so nearly coeval in the two states, as to render it impossible that either
could have borrowed it from the other. The messengers, who bore the prop
ositions from the two states, are said to have crossed each other pn the way.
This is Mr. Jefferson's account of it ; and Mrs. Warren, in her very interest
ing history of the revolution, admits, that the measure was original on the part
of Virginia. See the note to page 110 of her first volume.

70 wirt's LlFB OF
" Be it resolved. That a standing committee of correspond
ence and inquiry be appointed, to consist of eleven persons, to
wit: the Honourable Peyton Randolph, esquire, Robert C.
Nicholas, Richard Bland, Richard H. Lee, Benjamin Harrison,
Edmund Pendleton, Patrick Henry, Dudley Digges, Dabney
Carr, Archibald Gary, and Thomas Jefferson, esquires, any six
of whom to be a committee, whose business' it shall be to ob
tain the most early and authentic intelligence of all such acts
and resolutions of the British parliament, or proceedings of
administration, as may relate to or affect the British colonies in
America ; and to keep up and maintain a correspondence and
communication with our sister-colonies, respecting those im
portant considerations ; and the result of such of their proceed
ings, from time to time, to lay before this house.
" Resolved, That it be an instruction to the said committee,
that they do, without delay, inform themselves particularly of
the principles and authority on which was constituted a court
of inquiry, said to have been lately held in Rhode Island, with
powers to transport persons accused of offences committed in
America, to places beyond the seas, to be tried.
" The said resolutions being severally read a second time,
were, upon the question severally put thereupon, agreed ' to by
the house, nemine contradicente.
" Resolved, That the speaker of this house do transmit to
the speakers of the different assemblies of the British colonies
on the continent, copies of the said resolutions, and desirO that
they will lay them before their respective assemblies, and re
quest them to appoint some person or persons of their respect
ive bodies, to communicate from time to time with the said
committee." In supporting these resolutions, Mr. Carr made his debut,
and a noble one it is said to have been. This gentleman by
profession a lawyer, had recently commenced his practice at
the same bars with Patrick Henry ; and although he had not
yet reached the meridian of life, he was considered by far the
most formidable rival in forensic eloquence that Mr. Henry had
ever yet had to encounter. He had the advantage of a person
at.once dignified and engaging, and the manner and action of
an accomplished gentleman.
His education was a finished one ; his mind trained to cor
rect thinking ; his conceptions quick, and clear, and strong ;
he reasoned with great cogency, and had an imagination which
enlightened beautifully, without interrupting or diverting the
course of his argument. His voice was finely toned ; his feel
ings acute ; his style free, and rich, and various ; his devotion
to the cause of liberty verging on enthusiasm ; and his spirit

PATRICK HENRY. 71
firm and undaunted, beyond the possibility of being shaken.
With what delight the house of burgesses hailed this new
champion, and felicitated themselves on such an accession to
their cause, it is easy to imagine. But what are the hopes and
expectations of mortals !
" Ostendent terris hunc tantum fata, neque ultra
" Esse sinent — "
In two months from the time at which this gentleman stood
before the house of burgesses, in all the pride of health, and
gehius, and eloquence — he was' no more : lost to his friends,
and to his country, and disappointed of sharing in that noble
triumph which awaited the illustrious band of his compatriots.*
Mr. Carr's resolutions were supported successively by Mr,
Henry, and Mr. Richard Henry Lee, with their usual ability.
The reader will no doubt be gratified by a short sketch of this
assembly, as it presented itself to a gentleman who now saw it
for the first time, and who looked upon it with an eye of taste
and genius ; the writer who was then in the ardour of youth,
and a stranger in the colony, has since been distinguished by
holding and adorning some of the highest offices of the state.
* I cannot withhold from the reader the following note of this transaction
and of the character of Mr. Carr, from one who knew him well, and heard this
his first and last speech in the house of representatives : " I well remember
the pleasure expressed in the countenance and conversation of the members
generally, on this debut of Mr. Carr, and the hopes they conceived, as well
from the talents as the patriotism it manifested. But he died within two
months after, and in him we lost a powerful fellow-labourer.
" His character was of a high order : a spotless integrity, sound judgment,
handsome imagination, enriched by education and reading, quick and clear in
his conceptions, of correct and ready elocution, impressing every hearer with
the sincerity of the heart from which it flowed. His firmness was inflexible in
whatever he thought right : but when no moral principle was in the way, never
had man more of the milk of human kindness, of indulgence, of softness, of
pleasantry in conversation and conduct. The number of his friends, and the
warmth of their affection, were proofs of his worth and of their estimate of it.
To give to those now living an idea of the affliction produced by his death, in
the minds of all those who knew him, I liken it to that lately felt by them
selves on the de'ath of his eldest son, Peter Carr ; so like him in all his en-
(dowments and moral qualities, and whose recollection can never recur without
a deep-drawn sigh from the bosom of every one who knew him."
Extract from the Virginia Gazette, b/ May 29, 1773.
" On Sunday, the sixteenth of May, died, at Charlottesville, in the thirtieth
year of his age, Dabney Carr, esquhre, attorney at law, and member of assem
bly for the county of Louisa. This excellent person possessed a fine genius,
and a benevolent heart, with a taste for all that was polite, elegant, or social ;
and when occasion offered, displayed a masculine eloquence, and an undaunted
Hove of liberty."

73 wirt's life of
"When I first saw Mr. Henry, which was in March, seven
teen hundred and seventy-three, he wore a peach-blossom-col
oured coat and a dark wig, which tied behind, and I believe, a
bag to it, as was the fashion of the day. When pointed out to
me as the orator of the assembly, I looked at him with no great
prepossession. On the opposite side of the house sat the
graceful Pendleton, and the harmonious Richard Henry Lee,
whose aquiline nose, and Roman profile struck me much more
forcibly than that of Mr. Henry, his rival in eloquence. The
distance from the gallery to the chair, near which these distin
guished members sat, did not permit me to have such a view of
their features and countenances, as to leave a strong impres
sion, except of Mr. Lee's, whose profile was too remarkable
not to have been noticed at an even greater distance.
" I was then between nineteen and twenty, had never heard
a speech in public, except from the pulpit^had attached to the
idea I had formed of an orator, all the advantages of person
which Mr. Pendleton possessed, and even more — all the ad
vantages of voice which delighted me so much in the speeches
of Mr. Lee — the fine polish of language, which that gentleman
united with that harmonious voice, so as to make me sometimes
fancy that I was listening to some being inspired with more
than mortal powers of embellishment, and all the advantages
fipf gesture which the celebrated Demosthenes considered as the
iirst, second, and third qualifications of an orator. I discover-
'f neither of these qualifications in the appearance of Mr.
or in the few remarks I heard him deliver during the
" It was at this time that Mr. Dabney Carr made a motion
,¥tW«a!p'pd4nting a standing committee of correspondence with
"tH6°&tm& Colonies. I was not present when Mr. Henry spoke
fljiw isiiiofi VJ9V' J X
aPSldWiSm^^^P^'^ > ^^t was told by some of my fellow-coUe-
•[©WJji^fihftl biBBfar exceeded Mr. Lee, whose speech succeeded
Icthe^ftit daj?;>ii )Never before had I heard what I thought ora-

-fberisl dluriflgntibabfisessipn, and there was too much unanimity to
i'MW elteited.sall'theositrdiigth of any one of them."
My corre?^d5fta^'Haa'%n opportunity of seeing Mr. Henry
not long •iifS'drrtfand^fwTjjeniapeaking on a subject of the highest
HlHtriiifemfJtid ^IijvlilitBaftid& afjfaife country, and of witnessing that
-'a!fftfti«¥d«e?hk?arffl=IfiftntMteM«ation of appearance, which has
;KI iJtSFpi^)^MfeF-Wy wrought by the excite-
bimit,,fflamig^m^po[sW,fiL%W7^^^ h»s own account of it by-
a»d-by ; and shall see that he no longer formed an exception to

^PATRICK-j HENRY. 73
the voice of his country, in assigning the palm of popular elo
quence tp this most rare and Extraordinary favourite of nature.
It is hot improbable, as.'i*! has been suggested, that the
strongly-marked, distinction of ranks which prevailed in this
country, and the resentment, if not envy, with which the poor
er classes looked up to the splendour and ostentation of the
landed aristocracy, had a considerable agency in inflaming Mr.
Henry's hostility to the British court. He probably regarded
the untitled nobles of Virginia as a sort of spurious emanation
from the royal stock ; connected them in his resentments, and
transferred from the effect to the cause, the larger stream of
his indignation.
He had a rooted aversion and even abhorrence to everything
in the shape of pride, cruelty, and tyranny ; and could not tol
erate that social inequality from which they proceeded, and by
which they were nourished. The principle which he seems to
have brought with him into the world, and which certainly
formed the guide of all his public actions, was, that the whole
human race was one family, equal in their rights, and their
birthright liberty.
The elements of his character were most happily mingled
for the great struggle which was now coming on. His views
were not less steady than they were bold. His vision pierced
deeply into futurity ; and long before a whisper of independ
ence had been heard in this land, he had looked through the
whole of the approaching contest, and saw, with the eye and
the rapture of a prophet, his country seated aloft among the
nations of the earth.
A striking proof of this prescience, is given in an anecdote
communicated to me by Mr. Pope. These are his words : —
" J am informed by Colonel John Overton, that before one drop
of blood was shed in our contest with Great Britain, he was at
Colonel Samuel Overton's, in company with Mr. Henry, Col
onel Morris, John Hawkins, and Colonel Samuel Overton,
when the last-mentioned gentleman asked Mr. Henry, ' whether
he supposed Great Britain would drive her colonies to extrem
ities : — And if she should, what he thought would be the issue
of the war.'
" When Mr. Henry, after looking round to see who were
present, expressed himself confidentially to the company in
the following manner : — ' She will drive us to extremities — no
accommodation will take place — hostilities will soon com
mence — and a desperate and bloody touch it will be.' — ' But,'
said Colonel Samuel Overton, ' do you think, Mr. Henry, that
an infant nation as we are, without discipline, arms, ammuni
tion, ships of war, or money to procure them — do you think it
7

74 wirt's life of
possible, thus circumstanced, to oppose successfully the fleets
and armies of Great Britain V
" ' I will be candid with you,' replied Mr. Henry. ' I doubt
whether we shall be able, alone, to cope with so powerful a
nation. But,' continued he, (rising from his chair, with great
animation,) ' where is France ? Where is Spain ? Where is
Holland? the natural enemies of Great Britain. — Where will
they be all this while ? Do you suppose they will stand by,
idle and indifferent spectators to . the contest ? Will Louis
XVl. be asleep all this time ? Believe me, no !
" ' When Louis XVI. shall be satisfied by our serious oppo
sition, and our Declaration of Independence, that all prospect
of a reconciliation is gone, then, and not till then, will he fur
nish us with arms, ammunition, and clothing; and not with
these only, but he will send his fleets and armies to fight our
battles for us ; he will form with us a treaty offensive and de
fensive, against our unnatural mother. Spain and Holland
will join the confederation ! Our independence will be estab
lished ! and we shall take our stand among the nations of the
earth !' "
Here he ceased ; and Colonel John Overton says, he shall
never forget the voice and prophetic manner with which these
predictions were uttered, and which have been since so literally
verified. Colonel Overton says at the word independence, the
company appeared to be startled ; for they had never heard
anything of the kind before even suggested.
It was anticipated, that the establishment of corresponding
committees would lead eventually to a congress of the colo
nies, and that measure was brought about by the following
circumstances : —
The people of Boston having thrown into the sea a vessel
load of tea, which was attempted to be forced upon them, were
punished by an act of parliament, which shut up their port,
from and after the first day of June, seventeen hundred and
seventy-four. The house of burgesses of Virginia being in
session when this act arrived, passed an order which stands
upon their journal in the following terms : —
" Tuesday, the 2ith of May, 14 Geo. III. 1774.
"This house, being deeply impressed with apprehension of
the great dangers to be derived to British America, from the
hostile invasion of the city of Boston, in our sister-colony of
the Massachusetts bay, whose commerce and harbOur are, on
the first day of June next, to be stopped by an armed force,
deem it highly necessary that the said first day of June next
be set apart, by the members of this house, as a day of fasting,

PATRICK HENRY. 76
humiliation, and prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine inter
position for averting the heavy calamity which threatens de
struction to our civil rights, and the evils of civil war ; to give
us one heart and one mind, firmly to oppose, by all just and
proper means, every injury to American rights ; and that the
minds of his majesty and his parliament may be inspired from
above with wisdom, moderation, and justice, to remove from
the loyal people of America all cause of danger from a contin
ued pursuit of measures pregnant with their ruin.
" Ordered, therefore. That the members of this house do
attend in their places, at the hour of ten in the forenoon, on the
said first day of June next, in order to proceed with the speaker
and the mace to the church in this city, for the purpose afore
said ; and that the Reverend Mr. Price be appointed to read
prayers, and to preach a sermon suitable to the occasion."
In consequence of this order, Governor Dunmore, on the
following day, dissolved the house, with this speech : — " Mr.
Speaker, and gentlemen of the house of burgesses : I have in
my hand a paper published by order of your house, conceived
in such terms as reflect highly upon his majesty and the par
liament of Great Britain, which makes it necessary to dissolve
you, and you are dissolved accordingly."
The members immediately withdrew to the Raleigh tavern,
where they formed themselves into a committee to consider of
the most expedient and necessary measures to guard against
the encroachments which so glaringly threatened them ; and im
mediately adopted the following spirited association : —
" An association signed by eighty-nine members of the late
house of burgesses. We, his majesty's most dutiful and loyal
subjects, the late representatives of the good people of this
country, having been deprived, by the sudden interposition of
the executive part of this government, from giving our coun
trymen the advice we wished to convey to them, in a legisla
tive capacity, find ourselves under the hard necessity of adopt
ing this, the only method we have left, of pointing out to our
countrymen such measures as, in our opinion, are best fitted
to secure our dear rights and liberty from destruction, by the
heavy hand of power now lifted against North America.
" With much grief we find, that our dutiful applications to
Great Britain for the security of ,our just, ancient, and consti
tutional rights, have been not only disregarded, but that a de
termined system is formed and pressed, for reducing the inhab
itants of British America to slavery, by subjecting them to the
payment of taxes imposed without the consent of the people or
their representatives ; and that, in pursuit of this system, we
find an act of British parliament, lately passed for stopping the

76 wirt's, life of
harbour and commerce of the town of Boston, in oilr sister-col
ony of Massachusetts bay, until the people there submit to
the payment of such unconstitutional taxes ; an,d which act
Hiost violently and arbitralilyideprives them of their property,
in wharves erected by private persons, at their own great and
proper expense ; ¦wh|ch act is, in ^our opinion, a most danger
ous attempt tg destroy the constitutional liberty and rights of
all North America. ' ; .'
" It is further our opinion, that as tea, onjts importation into
America, is; charged -with a duty imposed by parliament, for
the purpose of raising a revenue without the consent of the
people, it ought not to 'be used by any person who wishes well
to the constitufidhal rights and; liberties of British America,
And whereas the Iiidia" company have ungenerously attempted
the ruin of Ameri(|a, by sending many ships loaded with tea
into the colonies, therehy intending to fix a precedent in favour
of arbitrary taxation, we deein it highly proper and do accord
ingly recommend it Wrongly to our countrymen, not to pur
chase or use any kind of East India commodity whatsoever,
except saltpetre and spjces, until the grievances of America are
redressed. ' ' i
" We are further clearly of opinion^ that an attack made on
one of our sister-cq|onies, to" compel submission to arbitrary
taxes, is an attack, made on all l^ritish America, and threatens
ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole
be applied. And for this purpose it is recommended to the
committee of correspondence,' tKat they communicate with their
several corresponding committees,' on the expediency of ap
pointing deputies frpm the seveiffl Qplonies of British Amer
ica, to meet in general congress, af sucki place, annually, as
shall be thought most \convenjeni ; there to deliberate on those
general measures which the united inter ests of America may
from time to time .require. * ' '
" A tender regard for the interests of Qur fellow-subjects, the
merchants and mahuiactureys of Great Britain, prevents us
from going further at this time ;i mqist" earnestly hoping" that
the unconstitutional principle Of faxing thcj colonies without
their consent will not be persisted |n, theleby to compel us
against our will, to avoid all commerciaT intercourse with Brit
ain. Wishing them and oyr people :fre^, an^ihappy, we are
their affectionate friends, the late represeniatives lof Virginia.
" The 27th day of May, 1774." '' ' > '
To give effect to the recommendation of a congress on the
part of this colony, delegates were shortly after elseted by the
several counties to meet in William sburg|b on the first of A.u-i

PATRICK HENRY. 77
gust following, to consider further of the state of public affairs,
and more particularly, to appoint deputies to the general con
gress, which was to be convened at Philadelphia, on the fifth
of September following. The clear, firm, and animated instruc
tions given by the people of the several counties to their dele
gates, evince the thorough knowledge of the great parliamentary
question which now pervaded the country, and the determined
spirit of the colonists to resist the claim of British taxation.
The following are the Instructions from the county of Han
over : —
" To John Syme and Patrick Henry, Jun., Esquires.
"Gentlemen, You have our thanks for your patriotic, faith
ful, and spirited conduct, in the part you acted in the late
assembly, as our burgesses, and as we are greatly alarmed at
the proceedings of the British parliament respecting the town
of Boston, and the province of Massachusetts bay ; and as we
understand a meeting of delegates from all the counties in this
colony is appointed to be in Williamsburgh on the first day of
next month, to deliberate on our public affairs, we do hereby
appoint you, gentlemen, our delegates ; and we do request you,
then and there, to meet, consult, and advise, touching such
matters as are most likely to effect our deliverance from the
evils with which our country is threatened.
" The importance of those things which will offer themselves
for youi/ deliberation is exceedingly great ; and when it is con
sidered that the effect of the measures you may adopt will
reach our latest posterity, you will excuse us for giving you
our sentiments, and pointing out some particulars, proper for
that plan of conduct we wish you to observe.
" We are freemen ; we have a right to be so ; and to enjoy all
the privileges and immunities of our fellow-subjects in Eng
land ; and while we retain a just sense of that freedom, and
those rights and privileges necessary for its safety and secu
rity, we shall never give up the right of taxation. Let it suf
fice to say, once for all, we will never be taxed but by our own
representatives ; this is the great badge of freedom, and British
America hath hitherto been distinguished by it ; and when we
see the British parliament trampling upon that right, and acting
with determined resolution to destroy it, we would wish to see
the united wisdom and fortitude of America collected for its
defence. "The sphere of life in which we move hath not afforded us
lights sufficient to determine with certainty, concerning those
things from>which the troubles at Boston originated. Whether
the people there weae warranted by justice, when they destroy
ed the tea, we know not ; but this we know, that the parlia-
7*

78 wirt's life of
ment by their proceedings, have made us and all North Amer
ica parties in the present.f!ispute, and deeply interested in the
event of ft ; insomuch fhat if our sister-cOlony of Massachu
setts bay is enslaved, jpe .caainot long remain free.
" Our minds are^filled wili,aiyciety when we view the friendly
regard of our parent, st^t? j;urnjed into enmity ; and those pow
ers of government foigmeirly exerted for our aid and protection,
formed into dangerous efforts for our destruction. We read
our intended doom in the Boston port-bill, in that for altering
the mode of trial in criminal cases, and, finally, in the bill for
altering the form of government in the Massachusetts bay.
These several acts are replete with injustice and oppression,
and strongly expressive of the future policy of Britain toward
all her colonies ; if a full and uncontrolled operation is given
to this detestable system in its earlier stages, it will probably
be fixed upon us for ever.
" Let it, therefore, be your great object to obtain a speedy
repeal of those acts ; and for this purpose we recommend the
adoption of such measures as may produce the hearty union
of all our countrymen and sister-colonies. United we stand,
DIVIDED WE FALL.
"To attain this wished-for union, we declare our readiness to
sacrifice any lesser interest arising from a soil, climate, situa
tion, or productions peculiar to us. We judge it conducive to
the interests of America, that a general congress of deputies
from all the colonies be held, in order to form a plan for guard
ing the claim of the colonists, and their constitutional rights,
from future encroachment, and for the speedy relief of our suf
fering brethren at Boston.
" For the present, we think it proper to forpi a general asso
ciation against the purchase of all articles of goods imported
from Great Britain, except negroes' cloths, salt, saltpetre, pow
der, lead, utensils and implements for handy-craftsmen and
manufacturers, which cannot be had in America ; books, pa
per, and the like necessaries ; and not to purchase any goods
or merchandise that shall be imported from Great Britain, after
a certain day that may be agreed on for that purpose by the
said general meeting of deputies at Williamsburgh, except the
articles aforesaid, or such as shall be allowed to be imported
by the said meeting ; and that we will encourage the manufac
tures of America by every means in our power.
"A regard to justice hinders us at this time from withholding
our exports ; nothing but the direct necessity shall induce us
to adopt that proceeding, which we shall strive to avoid as long
as' possible. The African trade for slaves we consider as most
dattgerous to the virtue and welfare pf this country ; we there-

PATRICK UENKV, 79
fore most earnestly wish to see it totally discouraged. A steady
loyalty to the kings of England has ever distinguished our
country; the present state of things here, as well as the many
instances of it to be found in our history, leave no room to
doubt it.
" God grant that we may never see the time when that loy
alty shall be found incompatible with the rights of freemen.
Our most ardent desire is, that we and our latest posterity may
continue to live under the genuine, unaltered constitution of
England, and be subjects, in the true spirit of that constitution,
to his majesty, and his illustrious house ; and may the wretches
who affirm that we desire the contrary, feel the punishment
due to falsehood and villany.
" While prudence and moderation shall guide your councils,
we trust, gentlemen, that firmness, resolution, and zeal, will ani
mate you in the glorious struggle. The arm of power, which
is now stretched forth against us, is indeed formidable; but we
do not despair. Our cause is good ; and if it is served with
constancy and fidelity, it cannot fail of success. We promise
you our best support, and we will heartily join in such meas
ures as a majority of our coun^ymen shall adopt for securing
the public liberty.
" Resolved, That the above address be transmitted to the
printers to be published in the gazettes.
"William Pollard, Clerk."
On the first of August, accordingly, the first convention of
Virginia delegates assembled in Williamsburgh ; and gave a
new proof of the invincible energy by which they were actua
ted, in a series of resolutions, whereby they pledged themselves
to make common cause with the people of Boston in every ex
tremity, and broke off all commercial connexion with the
mother-country, until the grievances of which they complained
should be redressed. By their last resolution they empowered
their moderator, Mr. Peyton Randolph, or in case of his death,
Robert C. Nicholas, esquire, on any future occasion that might
in his opinion require it, to convene the several delegates of the
colony, at such time and place as he might judge proper.
They then appointed as deputies to congress on the part of
this colony, Messrs. Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry Lee,
George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin
Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, and furnished them with the
following firm and spirited letter of instructions : —
"Instructions for the Deputies appointed to meet in General
Congress, on the part of the Colony of Virginia.
"The unhappy disputes between Great Britain and her Amer
ican colonies, which began about the third year of the reign of

BO wirt's life of
his present majesty, and since continually increasing, have pro •
ceeded to lengths so dangerous and alarming, as to excite just
apprehensions in the minds of his majesty's faithful subjects of
the colony, that they are in danger of being deprived, of their
natural, ancient, constitutional, and chartered rights,-have com
pelled them to take the same into their most serious consider
ation ; and being deprived of their usual and accustomed mod*
of making known their grievances, have appointed us their rep
resentatives, to consider what is proper to be done in this dan
gerous crisis of American affairs.
"It being our opinion that the united wisdom of North Amer
ica should be collected in a general congress of all the colonies,
we have appointed the Honourable Peyton Randolph, Richard
Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard
Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, esquires,
deputies to represent this colony in the said congress, to be
held at Philadelphia on the first Monday in September next.
"And that they may be the better informed of our sentiments
touching the conduct we wish them to observe on this impor
tant occasion, we desire that they will express, in the first
place, our faith and true allegiance to his majesty. King George
III., our lawful and rightful sovereign ; and that we are deter
mined, with our lives and fortunes, to support him in the legal
exercise of all his just rights and prerogatives. And, however
misrepresented, we sincerdy approve of a constitutional con
nexion with Great Britain, and wish most ardently a return of
that intercourse of affection and commercial connexion that
formerly united both countries ; which can only be effected by
a removal of those causes of discontent which have of late un
happily divided us.
"It cannot admit of a doubt, but that British subjects in
America are entitled to the same rights and privileges as their
fellow-subjects possess in Britain ; and, therefore, that the pow
er assumed by the British parliament to bind America by their
statutes, in all cases whatsoever, is unconstitutional and the
source of these unhappy differences.
" The end of government would be defeated, by the British
parliament exercising a power over the lives, the property, and
the liberty of American subjects, who are not, and from their
local circumstances cannot, be there represented. Of this na
ture we consider the several acts of parliament for raising a
revenue in America, for extending the jurisdiction of the courts
of admiralty, for seizing American subjects, and transporting
them to Britain, to be tried for crimes committed in America,
and the several late oppressive acts respecting the town of Bos
ton, and province of Massachusetts bay.

PATRICK HENRY. 81
" The original constitution of the American colonies, posses
sing their assemblies with the sole right of directing their inter
nal polity, it is absolutely destructive 'of the end of their in
stitution, that their legislatures should b6 suspended, or pre
vented, by hasty dissolutions, frorti exercising their legislative
powers. "Wanting the protection of Britain, we have. long acquiesced
in their acts of navigation, restrictive of our commerce, which
we consider as an ample-recOmpense for such proteetion ; but
as those acts derive their' efficacy from that foundation alone,
we have reason to expect they will bO restrained, so as to pro
duce the reasonable purposes of- Britain, arid not' be injurious
to us.
"To obtain redfess of these grievances, writhout which the
people of America can neither be safe, free,' nor happy, they
are willing to undergo the great inconvenience that will be de
rived to them, from.stopping all import^i whatsoever from Great
Britain, after the first day of November next, and also to cease
exporting any commodity whatsoever to the same place, after
the tenth day of August, seventeen hundred and seventy-five.
" The earnest desire we have to make as quick and full pay
ment as possible of our debts ta> Great Britain, and to avoid the
heavy injury that would arise to this country from an earlier
adoption of the. non-exportation plan, afte^r the people have al
ready applied so much of their-labour to the perfecting of the
present crop, by which means they have been prevented from
pursuing other methods of clothing and supporting their fami
lies, have rendered it necessary to restrain, you in this article
of non-exportation ; but it is our desire that you cordially co
operate with our sister-colonies in general qongress, in such
other just and proper methods as they, or the majority shall
deem necessary for the acconfplishment- 'of these valuable
ends. '
"'Fhe proclamation issued by General' Gage, in the govern
ment of the province of tne Massachusetts bay, declaring it
treason for the inhabitants of that ...provinjce to assemble them
selves to conisider of their grievances, and form associations for
their common conduct on the occasion, and requiring the civil
magistrates and officers to apprehend all. such persons to be
tried for their supposed offences, is the most alarming process
that ever appeared in a British government ; the said General
Gage has thereby assumed and taken upon himself powers
denied by the constitution to our legal sovereign ; he not hav
ing condescended to disclose by what authority he exercises
such extensive and unheard-of powers, we are at a loss to de
termine whether he intends to justify himself as the represent*

82 wirt's life of
ative of the king, or as the commander-in-chief of his majesty's
forces in America.
" If he considers himself as acting in the character of his
majesty's representative, we would remind him that the statute
25th, Edward III., has expressed and defined all treasonable
offences, and the legislature of Great Britain hath declared that
no offence shall be construed to be treason, but such as is point
ed out by that statute ; and that this was done to take out of
the hands of tyrannical kings, and of weak and wicked minis
ters, that deadly weapon which constructive treason hath fur
nished them with, and which had drawn the blood of the best
and honestest men in the kingdom ; and that the king of Great
Britain hath no right by his. proclamation to subject his people
to imprisonment, pains, and penalties.
" That if the said General Gage conceives he is empowered
to act in this manner, as the commander-in-chief of his majesty's
forces in America, this odious and illegal proclamation must
be considered as a plain and full declaration that this despotic
viceroy will be bound by no law, nor regard the constitutional
rights of his majesty's subjects, whenever they interfere with
the plan he has formed for oppressing the good people of Mas
sachusetts bay ; and, therefore, that the executing, or attempt
ing to execute, such proclamation, will justify resistance and
reprisal." On the fourth of September, seventeen hundred and seventy-
four, that venerable body, the old continental congress of the
United States, (toward whom every American heart will bow
with pious homage, while the name of liberty shall be dear in
our land,) met for the first time at Carpenter's Hall, in the city
of Philadelphia. Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was chosen
president, and the house was organized for business with all
the solemnities of a regular legislature.*
The most eminent men of the various colonies were now,
for the first time, brought together. They were known to each
• other by fame ; but they were personally strangers. The
* Sallust, in his second oration to C. Cesar, De Republica Ordinanda,
gives a short and animated picture of their Roman ancestors which, with the
change of a single word, (liberlate for imperio,) describes so happily our old
continental congress, that I am sure I shall gratify the classic reader by its
insertion. " Itaque, majores nostri, cum bellis asperimis premerentur, equis, viris,
pecunia amissa, nunquam defessi sunt armati de Uhertate contendere. Non
inopia aerarii, non vis hostium, non adversa res, ingentem eorum animum
subegit : quem, quae virtute ceperant, simul cum anima retinerent. Atque
ea, magis fortibus consiliis, quarn bonis prsliis, patrata sunt. Quippe apud
illos, una respublica erat ; ei consulebant ; factio, contra hostes parabatur ;
corpus atque ingenium, patria, non suae, quisque potentise exercitabat."

PATRICK HENRY. 83
meeting was awfully solemn. The object which had called
them together was of incalculable magnitude. The liberties of
no less than three millions of people, with that of all their pos
terity, were staked on the wisdom and energy of their councils.
No wonder, then, at the long and deep silence which is said to
have followed upon their organization ; at the anxiety with
which the members looked around upon each other ; and the
reluctance which every individual felt to open a business so
fearfully momentous.
In the midst of this deep and deathlike silence, and just
¦when it was beginning to. become painfully embarrassing, Mr.
Henry arose slowly, as if borne down by the weight of the
subject. After faltering, according to his habit, through a most
impressive exordium, in which he merely echoed back the con
sciousness of every other heart, in deploring his inability to do
justice to the occasion, he launched gradually into a recital of
the colonial wrongs. Rising, as he advanced, with the gran
deur of his subject, and glowing at length with all the majesty
and expectation of the occasion, his speech seemed more than
that of mortal man.
Even those who had heard him in all his glory, in the house
of burgesses of Virginia, were astonished at the manner in
which his talents seemed to swell and expand themselves, to
fill the vaster theatre in which he was now placed. There was
no rant — no rhapsody — no labour of the understanding — no
straining of the voice — no confusion of the utterance. His
countenance was erect — his eye, steady — his action, noble —
his enunciation, clear and firm — his mind poised on its centre —
his views of his subject comprehensive and great — and his
imagination coruscating with a magnificence and a variety,
which struck even that assembly with amazement and awe.
He sat down amid murmurs of astonishment and applause ; and
as he had been before proclaimed the greatest orator of Vir
ginia, he was now, on every hand, admitted to be the' first ora
tor of America.
He was followed by Mr. Richard Henry Lee, who charmed
the house with a different kind of eloquence — chaste — clas
sical — beautiful — his polished periods rolling along without ef
fort, filling the ear with the most bewitching harmony, and de
lighting the mind with the most exquisite imagery. The cul
tivated graces of Mr. Lee's rhetoric received and at the same
time reflected beauty, by their contrast with the wil 1 and grand
effusions of Mr. Henry. Just as those noble monuments of
art which lie scattered through the celebrated hndscape of
Naples, at once adorn, and are in their turn adorned by the sur
rounding majesty of Nature. '

84 WIRT*S., LIFE OF
Two models qf eloque^e, each so perfect in its kind, and so
finely contrasted, could not but fill the hoilse with the highest
admiration ; and as Mr. Henry had before been pronounced the
Demosthenes, it was conceded on every hand, that Mr. Lee
was the Cicero, of America.

CHAPTER IV.
Proceedings of the Congress— Mr. Henry's early Opinion of Washington-
Meeting of Delegates in Richmond — Mr. Henry's Resolutions for arming
the Militia — Speech on that Occasion — Resolutions Adopted.
It is due, however, to historic truth to record, that the su
perior powers of these great men were manifested only in de
bate. On the floor of the house, and during the first days of
the session, while general grievances were the topic, they took
the undisputed lead in the assembly, and were confessedly,
primi inter pares. But when called down from the heights of
declamation, to that severer test of intellectual excellence, the
details of business, they found themselves in a body of cool-
headed, reflecting, and most able men, by whom they were, in
their turn, completely thrown into the shade.
A petition to the king, an address to the people of Great
Britain, and a memorial to the people of British America, were
agreed to be drawn. Mr. Lee, Mr. Henry, and others, were
appointed for the first ; Mr. Lee, Mr. Livingston, and Mr. Jay,
for the two last. The splendour of their debut occasioned Mr.
Henry to be designated by his committee, to draw the petition
to the king, with which they were charged ; and Mr. Lee was
charged with the address to the people of England.
The iJast was first reported. On reading it, great disappoint
ment was expressed in every countenance, and a dead silence
ensued for some minutes. At length, it was laid on the table,
for perusal and consideration, till the next day : when first one
member and then another arose, and paying some faint com
pliment to the composition, observed that there were still cer
tain considerations not expressed, which should properly find
a place in it. The address was, therefore, committed for
amendment ; and one prepared by Mr. Jay, and offered by
Governor Livingston, was reported and adopted, with scarcely
ah alteration.
These facts are stated by a gentleman to whom they were
communica^led by Mr. Pendleton and Mr. Harrison, of the Vir

PATRICK HENRY. 85
ginia delegatioi^, (except that Mr. Harrison erroneously as
cribed the draught" to Governor Livingston,) and to whom they
were afterward confirmed by Governor Livingston himself.
Mr. Henry's draught of a petition to the king was equally un
successful, and was recommitted for amendment. Mr. John
Dickinson (the author of the Farmer's Letters) was added to
the committee, and a new draught, prepared by him, was
adopted.* This is one of the incidents in the life of Mr. Henry to
which an allusion was made in a former page, when it was ob
served, that notwithstanding the wonderful gifts which he had
derived from nature, he lived himself to deplore his early neg
lect of literature. But for this neglect, that imperishable
trophy won by the pen of Mr. John Dickinson would have
been his ; and the fame of his genius, instead of resting on
tradition, or the short-lived report of his present biographer,
would have flourished on the immortal page of the American
history. It is a trite remark, that the talents for speaking and for
writing eminently are very rarely found united in the same ind'
vidual ; and the rarity of the occurrence has led to an opinion,
that those talents depend on constitutions of mind so widely
different, as to render their union almost wholly unattainable.
This was not the opinion, however, it is believed, at Athens
and at Rome : it cannot, I apprehend, be the opinion either in
the united kingdom of Great Britain.
There have been, indeed, in these countries distinguished
orators, who have not left behind them any proofs of their emi
nence in composition ; but neither have they left behind them
any proofs of their failure in this respect ; so that the conclu
sion of their incompetency is rather assumed than established.
On the other hand, there have been in all those countries, too
many illustrious examples of the union of those talents, to jus
tify the belief of their incongruity by any general law of nature.
That there have been many eminent writers who, from phys
ical defects, could never have become orators, is very certain :
but is the converse of the proposition equally true ? Was there
ever an eminent orator who might not, by proper discipline,
* The late Governor Tyler, a warm friend of Mr. Henry, used to relate an
anecdote in strict accordance with this statement : it was, that after these two
gentlemen had made their first speeches, Mr. Chase, a delegate from Maryland,
walked across the house to the seat of his colleague, and said to him, in an
under voice : " We might as well go home ; we are not able to legislate with
these men." But that after the house came to descend to details, the same
Mr. Chase was heard to remark : " Well, after all, I find these are but men- -
and in mere matters of business, but very common men."
8

86 wirt's LIFE OF
have become, also, a very eminent writer? What are the
essential qualities of the orator ? Are they not judgment, in
vention, imagination, sensibility, taste, and expression, or the
command of strong and appropriate language?
If these be the qualities of the orator, it is very easy to un
derstand how they may be improved by the discipline of the
closet ;* but not so easy to comprehend how they can possibly
be injured by it. Is there any danger that this discipline will
tame too much the fiery spirit, the enchanting wildness, and
magnificent irregularity of the orator's genius ? The example
of Demosthenes alone is a sufficient answer to this question;
and the reader will, at once, recall numerous other examples,
corroborative of the same truth, both in ancient and modern
times. The truth seems to be, that this rare union of talents results,
not from any incongruity in their nature, but from defective edu
cation, taking this word in its larger, Roman sense. If the
genius of the orator has been properly trained in his youth to
both pursuits, instead of being injured, it will, I apprehend, be
found to derive additional grace, beauty, and even sublimity;
from the discipline. His flights will be at least as bold — they
wiflbe better sustained — and whether he chooses to descend
in majestic circles, or to stoop on headlong wing, his perform
ance will not be the worse for having been taught to fly.
For Mr. Henry and for the world, it happened unfortunately,
that instead of the advantage of this Roman education, of which
we have spoken, the years of his youth had been wasted in idle
ness. He had become celebrated as an orator before he had
learned to compose ; and it is not therefore wonderful, that
when withdrawn from the kindling presence of the crowd, he
was called upon for the first time to take the pen, all the spirit
and flame of his genius were extinguished. t
* Nulla enim res tantum ad dicendum proficit, quantum scripfio. — Cio.
Bkut. ixiv. 92.
+ On this subject, of the rare union of the talents of speaking and writing
in the same man, Cicero has a parallel between Galba and Lslius, which is
not less just than it is beautiful. After having spoken of Galba as one of
those men of great but less cultivated natural powers, who were afraid of low
ering the fame of their eloquence by submitting their writings to the world, he
proceeds thus : — "Quem (Galbam) fortasse vis non ingenii solum, sed etiam
animi, et naturalis quidain dolor diccntem incendebat, effeciebatque, ut et inci-
tata, et gravis, et vehemens esset oratio : deiii, cum otiosus stilum prehende-
rat, motusque omnis animi, tanquam ventus, hominem defecerat, flacessebat
oratio : quod lis, qui limatius dicendi consectantur genus, accidere non solet,
propterea quod prudentia nunquam deficit oratorem, qua ille utens, eodem mo-
do possit et dicere et scribere ; ardor animi non semper adest, isque cum coh-
sedit, omnis ilia vis et quasi flamma oratoiis extinguitur. Hanc igitut bb

PATRICK HENRT. 87
But while, with reference to his own fame and the lasting
benefits which he might have conferred on the world, we
lament his want of literary discipline, it is not impossible that,
for the times in which he lived, and for the more immediate
purpose of the American revolution, the popular opinion may
be correct.
The people seem to have admired him the more for his want
of discipline. " His genius," they say, " was unbroken, and
too full of fire, to bear the curb of composition. He delighted
to swim the flood, to breast the torrent, and to scale the mount
ain : and supported as he was, in all public bodies, by mas
ters of the pen, they insist that it was even fortunate for
the revolution, that his genius was left at large to revel in all
the wildness and boldness of nature ; that it enabled him to in-
causam, videtur Laelii mens spirare etiam in scriptis, Galbae aOtem, vis occi-
disse." Bkutos, xxiv. 93.
There seems to have been a strong resemblance between the structure of
Galba's eloquence and character, and those of Mr. Henry. In their habits,
however, there was this striking difference, that Galba's preparation for speak
ing was always most elaborate ; Mr. Henry's, generally, none at all. On this
head, of Galba's anxious preparation, Cicero gives us a very interesting anec
dote : Laelius, it seems, was engaged in a great cause, in vyhich he spoke with
the peculiar elegance which always distinguished him; biit not having suc
ceeded in convincing his judges, the case was adjourned to another day, and a
new argument was called for. Laslius again appeared, and surpassed his for
mer exertions, but with the same result, of another adjournment and a call for
re-argument. His clients attended him to his house on the rising of the
court, expressed their gratitude in the strongest terms, and begged that he
would not permit himself tq be wearied into a desertion of them. To this
Laelius answered, that what he had done for the support of the cause, had, in
deed, been diligently and accurately performed ; but he was satisfied that that
cause could be better defended by the more bold and vehement eloquence of
Galba. Galba was accordingly applied to ; but was, at first, startled at the idea of
succeeding such an orator as Lselius in any cause ; more especially, on the
short time for preparation that was then allowed him. He yielded, however,
to their importunities ; and employed the whole of the intermediate day and
the morning of that in which the court was to sit, in studying and annotating,
with the help of his amanuensis. When the hour of court arrived, his clients
called for him, and Galba came out, " with that complexion and those eyes,"
says Cicero, " which would have led you to suppose that he had been engaged
in pleading a cause, and not in studying it." 'Whence it appears that Galba
was not less vehement and inflamed in meditating, than in the act of deliver
ing a speech. His success was proportioned to his preparation. "In the
midst of the greatest expectation, surrounded by a vast concourse of hearers,
before Laelius himself, he plead the cause with so much force and so much
power, that no part of his speech passed without applause, and his clients
were discharged, with the approbation of every one." What an impression
does this give us of the magnanimity of Laelius, as well as the abilities of
Galba ! Mr. Henry would not have taken the trouble of Galba's preparation ;
but he would have gained the cause, if hiunan abilities cquld have gained it.

68 wirt's life of
fuse, more successfully, his own intrepid spirit into the meas
ures of the revolution ; that it rendered his courage more con
tagious, and enabled him to achieve, by a kind of happy rash
ness, what perhaps had been lost by a better regulated mind."
But to resume our narrative : congress arose in October, and
Mr. Henry returned to his native, (^^nty. Here, as was nat'
ural, he was surrounded by ^is neigh'bours, who were eager to
hear not only what had been done, but ^hat kind of men had
composed that illustrious body. _.
He answered their inquiries with all his wonted kind
ness and candour; and having been asked by one of them,
" whom he thought the greatest man in congress," he replied :
" If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina,
is by far the greatest orator ; but if you speak of solid informa
tion and sound judgment, Colonel 'Washington is, unquestion
ably, the greatest man on that floor." Such was the penetra
tion which, at that early period of Mr. Washington's life, could
pierce through his retiring modesty and habitual reserve, and
estimate so correctly the unrivalled worth of his character.
On Monday, the twehti,eth of March, seventeen hundred and
seventy-five, the convention of delegates, from the several
counties and corporations of Vii-ginia, met for the second time.
This assembly was held in the old church in the town of Rich
mond. Mr. Henry was a mem\)er of that body also. The
reader will bear in mind, the tone of the instructions given by
the convention of the preceding year to their deputies in con
gress. !
He will remember that, while they recite with great feeling
the series of grievances undei' which the colonies had laboured,
and insist with firmness on their constitutional rights, they
give, nevertheless, the most explicit and solemn pledge of their
faith and true allegiance to his majesty King George III., and
avow their determination to support him with their lives and
fortunes, in the legal exercise of all his just rights and prerog
atives. He will remember, that these instructions contain also,
an expression of their sincere approbation of a connexion with
Great Britain, and their ardent wishes for a return of that
friendly intercourse from which this country had derived so
much prosperity and happiness.
These sentiments still influenced many of the leading mem
bers of the convention of seventeen hundred and seventy-five.
They could not part with the fond hope that those peaceful days
would again return which had shed so much light and warmth
over the land ; and the report of the king's gracious reception
of the petition from congress tended to cherish and foster that
hopie, and to render them averse to any means of violence.

PATRICK HENRY. 89
But Mr. Henry saw things with a steadier eye and a deeper
insight. His judgment was too solid to be duped by appear
ances ; and his heart too firm and manly to be amused by false
and flattering hopes. He had long since read the true charac
ter of the British court, and saw that no alternative remained
for his country but abject submission or heroic resistance. It
was not for a soul like Henry's to hesitate between these
courses. He had offered upon the altar of liberty no divided heart.
The gulf of war which yawned before him was indeed fiery and
fearful; but he saw that the awful plunge was inevitable. The
body of the convention, however, hesitated. They cast around
" a longing, lingering look" on those flowery fields on which
peace, and ease, and joy, were still sporting ; and it required
all the energies of a Mentor like Henry to push them from the
precipice, and conduct them over the stormy sea of the revo
lution, to liberty and glory.
The convention being formed and organized for business,
proceeded in the first place, to express their unqualified appro
bation of the measures of congress, and to declare that they
considered " this whole continent as under the highest obliga
tions to that respectable body, for the wisdom of their counsels,
and their unremitted endeavours to maintain and preserve
inviolate the just rights and liberties of his majesty's dutiful
and loyal subjects in America."
They next resolve, that " the warmest thanks of the conven
tion, and of all the inhabitants of this colony, were due, and that
this just tribute of applause be presented to the worthy del
egates, deputed by a former convention to represent this colony
in general congress, for their cheerful undertaking and faithful
discharge of the very important trust reposed in them."
The morning of the twenty-third of March was opened, by
reading a petition and memorial from the assembly of Jamaica,
to the king's most excellent majesty : whereupon it was —
" Resolved, That the unfeigned thanks and most grateful ac
knowledgments of the convention be presented to that very
respectable assembly, for the exceeding generous and affection
ate part they have so nobly taken in the unhappy contest be
tween Great Britain and her colonies ; and for their truly pa
triotic endeavours to fix the just claims of the colonists upon
the most permanent constitutional principles : — that the assem
bly be assured, that it is the most ardent wish of this colony,
[and they were persuaded of the whole continent of North
America,] to see a speedy return of those halcyon days, when
we lived a free and happy people."
These proceedings were not adapted to the taste of Mr.
8*

so WIRT S LIFE OF
Henry ; or. the contrary, they were " gall and wormwood" to
him. The house required to be wrought up to a bolder tone.
He rose, therefore, and moved the following manly resolu
tions : —
" Resolved, That a well-regulated militia, composed of gen
tlemen and yeomen, is the natural strength and only security
of a free government ; that such a militia in this colony would
for ever render it unnecessary for the mother-country to keep
among us, for the. purpose of our defence, any standing army
of mercenary soldiers, always subversive of the quiet, and dan
gerous to the liberties of the people, and would obviate the pre
text of taxing us for their support.
" That the establishment of such militia is, at this time, pecu
liarly necessary, by the state of our laws, for the protection
and defence of the country, some of which are already expired,
and others will shortly be so : and that the known remissness
of government in calling us together in legislative capacity,
renders it too insecure, in this time of danger and distress, to
rely that opportunity will be given of renewing them, in gen
eral assembly, or making any provision to secure our inesti
mable rights and liberties, from those further violations with
which they are threatened.
" Resolved, therefore. That this colony be immediately put
into a state of defence, and that
he a committee to prepare a plan for imbodying, arming and
disciplining such a number of men, as may be sufficient for
that purpose."
The alarm which such a proposition must have given to
those who had contemplated no resistance of a character more
serious than petition, non-importation, and passive fortitude,
and who still hung with suppliant tenderness on the skirls of
Britain, will he readily conceived by the reflecting reader. The
shook was painful. It was almost general. The resolutions
were opposed as not only rash in policy, but as harsh and well
nigh impious inpoint of feeling. Some of the warmest patriots of
the convention opposed them. Richard Bland, Benjamiti Har
rison, and Edmund Pendleton, who had so lately drunk of the
fountain of patriotism in the continental congress, and Robert
C. Nicholas, one of the best as well as ablest men and patriots
in the state, resisted them with all their influence and abilities.
They urged the late gracious reception of the congressional
petition by the throne. They insisted that national comity, and
much more filial respect, demanded the exercise of a more dig
nified patience. That the sympathies of the parent-country
were now on our side. That the frieilds of American liberty
in parliament were still with us, and had, as yet, had no cause

PATRICK HENRY. 91
to blush for our indiscretion. That the manufacturing interests
of Great Britain, already smarting under the effects of our non
importation, co-operated powerfully toward our relief. That
the sovereign himself had relented, and showed that he looked
upon our sufferings with an eye of pity.
"Was this a moment," they asked, " to disgust our friends,
to extinguish all the conspiring sympathies which were work
ing in our favour, to turn their friendship into hatred, their pity
into revenge ? And what was there, they asked, in the situa
tion of the colony, to tempt us to this 1 'Were we a great mili
tary people ? Were we ready for war 1 Where w^ere our
stores — where were our arms — where our soldiers — where our
generals — where our money, the sinews of war ? They were
nowhere to be found.
"In truth, we were poor — we were naked — we were defence
less. And yet we talk of assuming the front of war ! of assu
ming it, too, against a nation, one of the most formidable in
the world ? A nation ready and armed at all points ! Her
navies riding triumphant in every sea ; her armies never march
ing but to certain victory ! What was to be the issue of the
struggle we were called upon to court? What could be the
issue, in the comparative circumstances of the two countries,
but to yield up this country an easy prey to Great Britain,
and to convert the illegitimate right which the British par
liament now claimed, into a firm and indubitable right, by
conquest !
" The measure might be brave ; but it was the bravery of
madmen. It had no pretension to the character of prudence ;
and as little to the grace of genuine courage. It would be
time enough to resort to measures of despair, when every well-
founded hope had entirely vanished."
To this strong view of the subject, supported as it was by
the stubborn fact of the well-known helpless condition of the
colony, the opponents of these resolutions superadded every
topic of persuasion which belongs to the cause.
" The strength and lustre which we have derived from our
connexion with Great Britain — the domestic comforts which
we had drawn from the same source, and whose value we were
now able to estimate by their loss — that ray of reconciliation
which was dawning upon us from the east, and which promised
so fair and happy a day : — with this they contrasted the clouds
and storms which the measure now proposed was so well cal
culated to raise — and in which we should not have even the
poor consolation of being pitied by the world, since we should
have so needlessly and rashly drawn them upon ourselves."
These arguments and topics of persuasion were so well jus-

92 wirt's LIFE OF
tified by the appearance of things, and were moreover so en
tirely in unison with that love of ease and quiet which is nat
ural to man, and that disposition to hope for happier times,
even under the most forbidding circumstances, that an ordinary
man, in Mr. Henry's situation, would have been glad to com
pound with the displeasure of the house, by being permitted to
withdraw his resolutions in silence.
Not so Mr. Henry. His was a spirit fitted to raise the
whirlwind, as well as to ride in and direct it. His was that
comprehensive view, that unerring prescience, that perfect
command over the actions of men, which qualified him not
merely to guide, but almost to create the destinies of nations.
He rose at this time with a majesty unusual to him in an ex
ordium, and with all that self-possession by which he was so
invariably distinguished. " No man," he said, " thought more
highly than he did of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the
very worthy gentlemen who had just addressed the house.
But different men often saw the same subject in different lights ;
and, therefore, he hoped it would not be thought disrespectful
to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as he did, opinions of a
character very opposite to theirs, he should . speak forth his
fi,gntiments freely, and without reserve.
" This," he said, "was no time for ceremony. The question
before this house was one of awful moment to the country.
For his own part, he considered it as nothing less than a ques
tion of freedom or slavery. And in proportioiT to the magni
tude of the subject, ought to be the freedom of the debate. It
was only in this way that they could hope to arrive at truth,
and fulfil the great responsibility which they held to God and
their country. Should he keep back his opinions at such a
time, through fear pf giving offence, he should consider him
self as guilty of treason toward his country, and of an act of
disloyalty toward the Majesty of heaven, which he revered
above all earthly kings.
" Mr. President," said he, "it is natural to man to indulge in
the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a
painful truth — and listen to the song of that siren, till she
transforms us into beasts. Is this," he asked, " the part of
wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty ?
Were we disposed to be of the number of those, who having
eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so
nearly concern their temporal salvation ? For his part, what
ever anguish of spirit it might cost, he was willing to know the
whole truth ; to know the Worst, and to provide for it.
" He had," he said, " but one lamp by which his feet were
guided ; and that was the lamp of experience. He knew of no

PATRICK HENRY. 93
way of judging of the future but by the jjast. And judging by
the past, he wished to know what there had been in the con
duct of the British ministry for the Tksi ten years, to justify
those hopes with which gentleipen had l|een pleased to solace
themselves and the house? |s it that insidious smile with
which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir ;
it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be
betrayed with a kiss. ,;.
' " Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition
comports with those warlike prepatations which cover our
waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary
to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown our
selves so unwilling to be reconciled,' that force must be called
in to win back our love ? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir.
These are the implements of war and subjugation — the last ar
guments to which kings, resort;
" I ask gentlemen, sir, what means tliis martial array, if its
purpose be not to force us to submission ? Can gentlemen as
sign any other possible motive for it If Has Great Britain any
enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumu
lation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They
are meant for us : they can be meant for no other. They are
sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the
British ministry have been so long forging. And what have
we to oppose them ? Shall we try argument ? Sir, we have
been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything
new to offer upon the subject ? Nothing. We have held the
subject up in every light of which it is capable ; but it has been
all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplica
tion ? What terms shall we find, which have not been already
exhausted ?
" Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.
Sir, we have done feverything that could be done, to avert the
storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned — we have
remonstrated — we have supplicated — we have prostrated our
selves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to
arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament.
Our petitions have been slighted ; our remonstrances have pro
duced additional violence and insult ; our supplications have
been disregarded ; and we have been spurned, with contempt,
from the foot of the throne.
" In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope
of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for
hope. If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve in
violate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so
long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble

94 wirt's life of
struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which
we have pledged ourselves never to abandon, until the glorious
object of our contest shall be obtained !— we must fight !— I re
peat it, sir, we must fight ! ! ! An appeal to arms and to the
God of hosts, is all that is left us !*
" They tell us, sir," continued Mr. Henry, " that we are
weak — unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But
when shall we be stronger. Will it be the next week or the next
year ? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a
British guard shall be stationed in every house ? Shall we
gatherstrength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the
means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs,
and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemy
shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir,. we are not weak,
if we make a proper use of those means which the God of na
ture hath placed in our power.
" Three millions of people armed in the holy cause of liberty,
and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible
by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides,
sir, we shall not fight our battles alone, ^here is a just God
who presides over the' destinies oT nations, anTwho will raise
up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to
the strong alone ; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no election. 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 vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may
cry, peace, peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually
begun! "The next gale tliaf sweeps from the hoffh'wiirbring
to~6ur 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
* "Imagine to yourself," says my correspondent, (Judge Tucker,) "this
sentence delivered with all the calm dignity of Cato, of Utica — imagine to
yourself the Roman senate, assembled in the capitol, wheh it was entered by
the profane Gauls, who, at first, were awed by their presence, as if they had
entered an assembly of the gods ! — imagine that you heard that Cato addres
sing such a senate — imagine that you saw the handwriting on the wall of Bel-
jshazzar's palace — imagine you heard a voice as from heaven uttering the
words : ' We must fight,' as the doom of fate, and you may have some idea of
the speaker, the assembly to whom he addressed himself, and the auditory, of
'which I was one."

PATRICK HENRY. 95
what course others may take ; but as for me," cried he, with both
his "arms extended aloft, his brows knit, every feature marked
with the resolute purpose of his soul, and his voice swelled to
its boldest note of exclamation — " give me liberty, or give me
death !" "^ 
He took his seat. No murmur of applause was heard. The
effect was too deep. After the trance of a moment, several
members started from their seats. The cry, " to arms !" seem
ed to quiver on every lip, and gleam from every eye. Richard
H. Lee arose and supported Mr. Henry, with his usual spirit
and elegance. But his melody was lost amid the agitations of
that ocean, which the master-spirit of the storm had lifted up
on high. That supernatural voice still sounded in their ears,
and shivered along their arteries. They heard, in every pause,
the cry of liberty or death. They became impatient of speech,
their souls were on fire for action.*
The resolutions were adopted ; and Patrick Henry. Richard
II. Lee, Robert C. Nicholas, Benjamin Harrison, Lemuel Rid-
dick, George Washington, Adam Stevens, Andrew Lewis, Will
iam Christian, Edmund Pendleton, Thomas Jefferson, and
Isaac Zane, esquires, were appointed a committee to prepare
the plan called for by the last resolution. f
" Mr. Randolph, in his manuscript history, has given a most eloquent and
impressive account of this debate. Since these sheets were prepared for the
press, and at the moment of their departure from the hands of the author, he
has received from Chief Justice Marshall, a note in relation to the same de
bate, which he thinks too interesting to suppress. It is the substance of a
statement made to .the chief justice (then an ardent youth, feeling a most en
thusiastic admiration of eloquence, and panting for war) by his father, who
was a member of this convention. Mr. Marshall, (the father,) after speaking
of Mr. Henry's speech, " as one of the most bold, vehement, and animated
pieces of eloquence that had ever been delivered," proceeded to state, that
"he was followed by Mr. Richard H. Lee, who took a most interesting view
of our real situation. He stated the force which Britain could probably bring
to bear upon us, and reviewed our resources and means of resistance. He
stated the advantages and disadvantages of both parties, and drew from this
statement 'auspicious inferences. But he concluded with saying, admitting the
probable calculations to be against us, we are assured in holy writ that " the
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong ; and if the language oi
genius may be added to inspiration, I will say with our immortal bard : —
" ' Thrice is he armed, who hath his quarrel just I
And he but naked, though loclced up in steel,
Whose conscience with injustice is oppressed !' "
t Colonel Robert Carter Nicholas (although opposed like all the older pa
triots, from the considerations which have been stated in the text, to resistance
at this particular point of time) was, nevertheless, oue of the firmest support
ers of the principles of the revolution. As soon, therefore, as the measure of
resistance was carried, in order to give to it the greatest effect, he rose and

96 wirt's life of
The constitution of this committee proves, that in those days
of genuine patriotism there existed a mutual and noble confi
dence, which deemed the opponents of a measure no less wor
thy than its friends to assist in its execution. A correspond
ent, (Mr. Jefferson,) who bore himself a most distinguished
part in our revolution, in speaking of the gentlemen whom I
have just named, as having opposed Mr. Henry's resolutions,
and of Mr. Wythe, who acted with them, says : —
"These were honest and able men, who had begun the op
position on the same grounds, but with a moderation more
adapted to their age and experience. Subsequent events fa
voured the bolder spirits of Henry, the Lees, Pages, M^son.
«kc., with whom I went in all points. Sensible, however, of
the importance of unanimity among our constituents, although
we often wished to, have gone on faster, we slackened our pace,
that our less ardent colleagues might keep up with us ; and
they, on their part, differing nothing from us in principle,
quickened their gait somewhat beyond that which their pru
dence might, of itself, have advised, and thus consolidated
the phalarfx which breasted the power of Britain. By this har
mony of the bold with the cautious, we advanced, with our
constituents, in undivided mass, and with fewer examples of
separation than perhaps existed in any other part of the union."
The plan for imbodying, arming and disciplining the militia,
proposed by the committee which has just been mentioned,
was received and adopted, and is in the following terms : —
" The committee propose that it be strongly recommended
to the colony, diligently to put in execution the militia law
passed in the year 1738, entitled, 'An act for the better regula
ting of the militia,' which has become in force by the expiration
of all subsequent militia laws.
" "The committee are further of opinion, that as, from the ex
piration of the abovementioned laws, and various other causes,
the legal and necessary disciplining the militia has been much
neglected, and a proper provision of arms and ammunition has
not been made, to the evident danger of the community, in
case of invasion or insurrection ; that it be recommended to
the inhabitants of the several counties of this colony, that they
form one or more volunteer companies of infantry and troops
of horse in each county, and to be in constant training and
readiness to act on any emergency.
" That it be recommended particularly to the counties of
moved to change the system ; and, instead of arming the militia, to raise ten
thousand regulars for the war ; but the motion was overruled. Chief Justice
Marshall says : "I have frequently heard my father speak of Colonel Nicho-
.«s's motion, to raise ten thousand men for the war."

PATRICK HENRY. 97
Brunswick, Dinwiddle, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Spot
sylvania, King George, and~ Stafford, and to all counties below
these, that, out of such of their volunteers, theyiform, each of
them, one or morevtroops of horse; and to all the counties
above these, it is recommended that they pay a more particular
attention to forming a good infantry.
"That each company of infantry consist of sixty-eight, rank
and file, to be commanded by one captain, two lieutenants, one
ensign, four sergeants, and lour corporals ; and that they have
a drummer, and be furnished with a drum and colours ; that
every man be provided with a good rifle, if to be had, or other
wise with a common firelock, bayonet, and cartouch-box, and
also with a tomahawk, one pound of gunpowder, and four
pounds of ball at least, fitted to the bore of his gun ; that he
be clothed in a hunting-shirt, by way of uniform ; and that
he use all endeavour, as soon as possible, to become acquainted
with the military exercise for infantry, appointed to be used by
his majesty in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-four.
".That each troop of horse consist of thirty, exclusive of
officers ;, that every horseman be provided with a good horse,
bridle, saddle, with pistols and holsters, a carbine or other
short firelock, with a bucket, a cutting-sword or tomahawk,
one pound of gunpowder, and four pounds of ball, at least ;
and use the utmost diligence in training and accustoming his
horse to stand the discharge of firearms, and in making himself
acquainted with the military exercise of cavalry.
" That in order to make a further and more ample provision
of ammunition, it be recommended to the committees of the
several counties, that they collect from their constituents, in
such manner as shall be most agreeable to them, so much
money as will be sufficient to purchase half a pound of gun
powder, one pound of lead, necessary flints and cartridgepaper,
for every titheable person in their county ; that they immedi
ately take effectual measures for the procuring such gunpow
der, lead, flints, and cartridgepaper, and dispose thereof, when
procured, in such place or places of safety as they may think
best : and it is earnestly recommended to each individual to
pay such prpportion of the money necessary for these pur
poses, as by the respective committees shall be judged requisite.
"That it may happen that some counties, from their situa
tion, may not be apprized of the most certain and speedy meth
od of procuring the articles before-mentioned, one general com
mittee should be appointed, whose business it should be, to
procure for sudi counties as may make application to them,
such articles, Emd so much thereof, as the moneys wherewith they
shall furnish the said committee will purchase, after deducting
9

98 wirt's i LIFE OF
the charges of, transportation, and othfr necessary expenses."
At the same sessipn of the convention, I find that the alert
and inquiring'spiritof Mr. Henry laid hold of another instance
of royal misrule.
Governor Dunmore, it seems, by a recent proclamation, had
declared that his majesty had given orders for all vacant lands
within this colony to be put up in lots at public sale ; and that
the highest bidder for sttch lots should be the purchaser thereof,
and should hold the same, subject to a reservation of one half
penny per acre, by way of annual quitrent, and of all mines of
gold, silver, and precious stones. These terms were deemed
an innovation on the established usage of granting lands in
this colony ; and this sagacious politician saw in the pribceed-
ing, not only an usurpation of po>ver, but a great subduction
of the natural wealth of the colony, and the creation, moreover,
of a separate band of tenants and retainers, devoted to the vilest
measures of the crown. With a view, therefore, to defeat
this measure, he moved the following resolution, which was
adopted : —
" Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire whether
his majesty may of right advance the terms of granting lands
in this colony, and make report thereof to the next general as
sembly or convention ; and that, in the meantime, it be recom
mended to all persons whatever, to forbear purchasing or ac
cepting lands on the conditions before mentioned." Of this
committee he was of course the chairman ; and the other mem
bers were Richard Bland, Thomas Jefferson, Robert C. Nicho
las, and Edmund Pendleton, esquires.
The convention having adopted a plan for the encourage
ment of arts and manufactures in this colony, and reappointed
their former deputies to the continental congress, with the sub
stitution of Mr. Jefferson for Mr. Peyton Randolph, in case of
the non-attendance of the latter ;* and having also provided
for a re-election of delegates tO the next convenfioh, came to an
adjournment. It is curious to read in the file of papers from
which the foregoing proceedings are extracted, and immedi
ately following them, this proclamation of his Excellency Lord
Dunmore : —
" Whereas, certain persons, styling themselves delegates of
several of his majesty's colonies in America, have presumed,
without his majesty's authority or consent, to assemble together
at Philadelphia, in the months of September and October last,
and have thought fit, among other unwarrantable proceedings,
* He was speaker of the house of burgesses, a call of which was expected,
and did accordingly take place.

PATRICK HENRY. 99
to resolve that it wil. be necessary that another congress should
be held at the same place on the tenth of May next, unless re
dress of certain pretended grievances Be obtained before that
time : and to recommend that all the colonies of North America
should choose deputies to attend such congress : J am com
manded by the king, and I do accordingly issue this my proc
lamation, to require all magistrates and' other officers to use
their utmost endeavours'to prevent any such appointment ot'
deputies, and to exhort all persons whatever within this govern
ment, to desist from such an unjustifiable proceeding, so highly
displeasing to his majesty."
This proclamation Was -jJublished while the convention was
in session, and was obviously designed to have an effect on
their proceedings. It ' passed by them; however, " as the idle
wind which they retoded not." The age of proclamations
was gone, and the glory of regal governors pretty nearly ex
tinguished for ever.
It ought not to be omitted, however, that this very conven
tion passed resolutions complimentary to Lord Dunmore, and
the troops which he had commanded in an expedition of the
preceding year against the Indians : a compliment which, as
we shall see, was afterward found to be unmerited. As the
resolution in regard to Lord Dunmore does honour to the can
dour of the Convention, and shows also how little personality
there was in the contest, I take leave to subjoin it: —
" Resolved, unanimously. That the most cordial thanks of
the people of this colony are a tribute justly due to our worthy
governor. Lord Dunmore, for his truly noble, wise, and spirited
conduct, on the late expedition against our Indian enemy — a
conduct which a^ once evinces his excellency's attention to the
true interests of this colony, and a zeal in the executive depart
ment which no dangers can divert, or difficulties hinder, from
achieving the most important services to the people who have
the happiness to live under his- administration."
Lord Dunmore was not a man of popular manners ; he had
nothing of the mildness, the purity, the benevolence and suav
ity of his predecessor. On the contrary, he is represented as
having been rude and offensive ; coarse in his figure, his coun
tenance and his manners. Yet he received from the house of
burgesses the most marked respect.
Thus, in seventeen hundred and seventy-four, while the lib
erties of the colonies were bleeding at every pore, and while
the house was smarting severely, under the recent news of the
occlusion pf the port of Boston, they paid to Lady Dunmore,
who had just arrived at Williamsburgh, the most cordial and
elegant attentions, congratulated his Lordship on this increase

100 wirt's life of
to his domestic felicity ; and even, after their abrupt dissolu
tion, complimented the inhabitants of the palace with a splendio
ball and entertainment, in honour of the arrival of the Count
ess Dunmore and her family.

CHAPTER V.
The Export of Powder from Great Britain prohibited — Seizure of the Military
Stores in Massachusetts and other Colonies — Magazine at Williamsburgh
plundered by Order of Governor Dunmore^— Address of the Common Coun
cil — Lord Dunmore's Reply — Excitement occasioned by the Proceedings —
Mr. Henry's View as to the Result of these Events — He is invested with the
Command of the Hanover Volunteers and marches for Williamsburgh —
The Affair of the Powder Compromised — Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
against Mr. Henry,
The storm of the revolution now began to thicken. The
cloud of war had actually burst on the New England states,
while as yet the middle and southern colonies were in compar
ative repose. The calm, however, was deceitful, and of short
duration ; and, as far as Virginia was concerned, had been oc
casioned rather by the absence of Governor Dunmore on an
Indian expedition, than any disposition on his part to favour
the colony. His return to Williamsburgh was the signal for
violence. It seems to have been a matter of concert among the colonial
governors, if indeed the policy was not dictated by the British
court, to disarm the people of all the colonies at one and the
same time, and thus incapacitate them for united resistance.
To give effect to this measure, the export of powder from
preat Britain was prohibited ; and an attempt was generally
made about the same period to seize the powder and arms in
the several provincial magazines. Gage, the successor of
Hutchinson in the government of Massachusetts, set the exam
ple, by a seizure of the ammunition and military stores at Cam
bridge, and the powder in the magazines at Charlestown, and
other places. His example was followed by similar attempts
in other colonies to the north.
And on Thursday, the twentieth of April, seventeen hundred
and seventy-five. Captain Henry Collins, of the armed schooner
Magdalen, then lying at Burwell's ferry, on James river, came
up at the head of a body of marines, and, acting under the or
ders of Lord Dunmore, eiltered the city of Williamsburgh in

PATRICK HENRY. 101
the dead of the night, and carried off from the public maga
zine about twenty barrels of powder, which he placed on board
his schooner before the break of day.
Clandestine as the movement had been, the alarm was given
to the inhabitants early on the next morning. Their exaspera
tion may be easily conceived. The town was in tumult. A
considerable body of them flew to arms, with the determination
to compel Captain Collins to restore the powder. With much
difficulty, however, they were restrained by the graver inhab
itants of the town, and by the members of the common council,
who assured them that proper measures should be immediately
used to produce a restoration of the powder, without the effu
sion of human blood. The council, therefore, met in their cor
porate character, and addressed the following letter to Gov
ernor Dunmore : —
" To his Excellency the Right Honourable John, Earl of Dun
more, his majesty's lieutenant, governor-general, and com
mander-in-chief of the colony and dominion of Virginia: —
The humble address of the mayor, recorder, aldermen, and
common council of the city of Williamsburgh : —
"My Lord — We, his majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects,
the mayor, recorder, aldermen and common council of the city
of Williamsburgh, in common hall assembled, humbly beg
leave to represent to your excellency, that the inhabitants of
this city were this morning exceedingly alarmed by a report
that a large quantity of gunpowder was, in the preceding night,
while they were sleeping in their beds, removed from the pub
lic magazine in this city, and conveyed under an escort of ma
rines, on board one of his majesty's armed vessels lying at a
ferry on James river.
"We be^leave to represent to your excellency, that, as the
magazine was erected at the public expense of this colony, and
appropriated to the safe-keeping of such munition as should be
there lodged, from time to time, for the protection and security of
the country, by arming thereout such of the militia as might be
necessary in cases of invasions and insurrections, they humbly
conceive it to be the only proper repository to be resorted to
in times of imminent danger.
" We further beg leave to inform your excellency, that from
various reports at present prevailing in different parts of the
country, we have too. much reason to believe that some wicked
and designing persons have instilled the most diabolical no
tions into the minds of our slaves ; and that, therefore, the utmost
attention to our internal security is become the more necessary.
" The circumstances of this city, my lord, we consider as
peculiar and critical. The inhabitants, from the situation of
9*

103 wirt's life of
the magazine in the midst of their city, have for a long tract of
time, been exposed to all those dangers which have happened
in many countries from explosions and other accidents. They
have, from time to time, thought it incumbent on them to guard
the magazine. For their security they have, for some time
past, judged it necessary to keep strong patrols on foot ; in
their present circumstances, then, to have the chief and ne
cessary means of their defence removed, cannot but be extreme
ly alarming. ,
" Considering ourselves as guardians of the city, we there
fore humbly desire to be informed by your excellency, upon
what motives, and for what particular purpose, the powder has
been carried off in such a manner ; and we earnestly entreat
your excellency to order it to be immediately returned to the
magazine." ,
To which his excellency returned this verbal answer:—
that " hearing of an insurrection in a neighbouring county, he
had removed the powder from the magazine, where he did not
think it secure, to a place of perfect security ; and that, upon
his word and honour, whenever it was wanted on any insurrec
tion, it should be delivered in half an hour ; that he had re
moved it in the night-time, to prevent any alarm, and that Cap
tain Collins had his express commands for the part he had
acted ; he was surprised to hear the people were under arms
on this occasion, and that he should not think it prudent to put
powder into their hands in such a situation."
This conditional promise pf the return of the powder, sup
ported by the influence of Mr. Peyton Randolph, Mr. Robert
C. Nicholas, and other characters of weight, had the effect, it
seems, of quieting the inhabitants for that day. On the suc
ceeding night, however, a new alarm took place,j»on a' report
that a number of armed men had again landed from the Magda
len, about four miles below the city, with a view, it was pre
sumed, of making another visit of nocturnal plunder. The in-
habitan.ts again flew to arms ; but, on the interposition of the
same eminent citizens, the ferment was allayed, and nothing
more was done than to strengthen the usual patrol for the de
fence of the city.
, ' On the next day, Saturday the twenty-second of April, when
everything was perfectly quiet, Lord Dunmore, with rather
more heat than discretionrsent a message into the city, by one
of the magistrates, and which his lordship had delivered with
the most solemn asseverations, that if any insult were offered
to Captain Foy, (a British captain residing at the palace, as
his secretary, and cotisidered to be the instigator of the gov
ernor to his violences,) or to Captain Collins, he would declart

PATRICK HENRY. 103
freedom to the sl&ves,, and lay the town in ashes; and he add*
ed, that he cOuld easily depopulate the whole country. At
this time, both Captains Foy and Collins were and had been
continually walking the streets, at their pleasure, without
the slightest indication of disrespect. The effect of a .threat,
so diabolically ferocious, directed toward the people who had
ever shown him and his family such enthusiastic marks of re
spect and attention, and following so directly the plunder of
the magazine, will be readily conceived. Yet it broke not out
into any open act. His lordship remained unmolested even by
a disrespectful look. The augmented patrol was kept up ; but
no defensive preparation was made by the inhabitants of the
city. The transactions which were passing in the metropolis circu
lated through the country with a rapidity proportioned to their
interests, and with this farther aggravation, which was also
true in point of fact, that in addition to the clandestine removal
of the powder, the governor had caused the muskets in the
magazine to be stripped of their locks.
In the midst of the irritation excited by this intelligence,
came the news of the bloody battles of Lexington and Con
cord, resulting from an attempt of the governor-general Gage,
to seize the military stores deposited at the latter place. The
system of colonial subjugation was now apparent : the effect
was instantaneous. The whole country flew to arms. The
independent companies, formed in happier times for the pur
pose of military discipline, and under the immediate auspices
of Lord Dunmore himself, raised the standard of liberty in
every county.
By the twenty-seventh of April, there was assembled at
Fredericksbujrgh lipiVard of seven hundred men well-armed and
disciplined, "^friends of constitutional liberty and America."
Their march, however, was arrested by a letter from Mr. Pey
ton Randolph, in reply to an express, and received on the
twenty-ninth, by v;>hich they were informed that the gentlemen
of the city and' neighbourhood of Williamsburgh, had had full
assurance from his excellency, that the affair of the powder
should be accommodated, and advising that the gentlemen of
Fredericksburgh should proceed no farther.
On the receipt of this letter, a council Was held of one hun
dred and two members, delegates of the provincial convention,
and officers and special deputies of fourteen companies of light-
horse, then rendezvoused on the ground ; who, after the most
spirited expression of their sentiments on the conduct of the
governor, and after giving a mutual pledge to be in readiness
at a moment's warning, to reassemble, and by fotcc of arms

104 wirt's life of
to defend the laws, flie liberty, and rights of this or any sister-
colony from unjust ^nd >vicked invasion, advised the return of
the several companifes to their respective homes ; and also or
dered that expresses should be despatched to the troops assem
bled at the Bowling Green, and also to the companies from
Frederick, Berkley, Dunmore, and such other counties as were
then on their march, to return them thanks for their cheerful
offers of service, and to acquaint them with the determination
then taken. By way of parody on the governor's conclusion
of the proclamations, by which he was striving to keep down
the spirit of the country, " God save the king," the council con
cluded their address with " God save the liberties of America."
Mr. Henry, however, was not disposed to let this incident
pass off so lightly. His was a mind that' watched events with
the coolness and sagacity of a veteran statesman. He kindled,
indeed, in the universal indignation which the conduct of the
governor was so well calculated to excite ; seeing clearly the
inconvenience which the colony must experience in the ap
proaching contest, from the loss of even that small store of am
munition. This, however, was a minor object in his esteem.
What he deemed of much higher importance was, that that
blow, which must be struck sooner or later, should be struck at
onCe, before an overwhelming force should enter the colony ;
that that habitual deference and subjection which the people
were accustomed to feel toward the governor, as the represent
ative of royalty, and whiqh bound their spirits in a kind of tor
pid spell, should be dissolved and dissipated ; that the military
resources of the country should be developed ; that the people
might see and feel their strength by being brought out togeth
er : that the revolution should be set in actual motion in the
colony ; that the martial prowess of the country should be
awakened, and the soldiery animated by that prdind and reso
lute confidence, which a successful enterprise in the commence
ment of a contest never fails to inspire.
These sentiments were then avowed by him to two confiden
tial friends;* to whom he farther declared that he considered
the outrage on the magazine a most fortunate circumstance ;
and as one which would rouse the people from north to south.
" You may in vain talk to them," said he, " about the duties
on tea, &c. These things will not affect them. They depend
on principles too abstracted for their apprehension and feeling.
But tell them of the robbery of the magazine, and that the next
step will be to disarm them, you bring the subject home to
* Colonel Richard Morris and Captain George Dabney ; on the authoii^
«f Mr. Dabney.

PATRICK HENRY. 105
their bosoms, and theyjjvill be ready to fly to arms to defend
thenselves." * '
To make of this circumstance all the advantage which he
contemplated, as soion as, the intelligence reached him from
Williamsburgh, he sent express-riders to the members of the
Independent Company of Hanover, who . were dispersed and
resided in different parts of the country, requesting them to
meet him in arms, at New Castle, on the second of May, on
business of the highest importanceto American liberty. In
order to give greaterdignity and aufcority to the decisions of
that meeting, he convoked to the same plac^ the county com
mittee. When assembled, he addressed them with all the po'wers Of
his eloquence ; laid open the plan on which the British minis
try had fallen to reduce the colonies to subjection, by robbing
them of all the means of defending their rights ; spread before
their eyes, in colours of vivid description, the fields of Lexing
ton and Concord, still floating with the blood of their country
men, gloriously shed in the general cause ; showed them that the
recent plunder of the magazine in Williamsburgh was nothing
more than a part of the general system ,of subjugation ; that
the moment was now come in which they were called upon to
decide, whether they chose to live free, and hand down the
noble inheritance to their children, or to become hewers of
wood, and drawers of water to those lordlings, who were them
selves the tools of a corrupt and tyrannical ministry — he paint
ed the country in a state of subjugation, and drew such pictures
of wretched debasement and abject vassalage, as filled their
souls with horror and indignation— on the other hand, he car
ried them, by the powers of his eloquence, to an eminence like
Mount Pisgah ; showed them the land of promise, which was
to be won by their valour, under the support and guidance of
Heaven ; and sketched a vision of America, enjoying the smiles
of liberty and peace, the rich productions of her agriculture
waving on every field, her commerce whitening every sea, in
teints so bright, so strong, so glowing, as set the souls of his
hearers on fire.
He had no doubt, he said, that that God, who in former ages
had hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he might show forth his
power and glory in the redemption of his chosen people, had,
for similar purposes, permitted the flagrant outrages which had
occurred in Williamsburgh, and throughout the continent. It
was for them now to determine, whether they were worthy of
this divine interference ; whether they would accept the high
boon now held out to them by Heaven — that if they would,
though it might lead them through a sea of blood, they were

106 , wirt's life of
to remember that the same God whose power divided the Red
sea for the deliverance of Israel, still reigned in all his glory,
unchanged and unchangeable-^— viras still the enemy of the op
pressor, and the frjerid of the oppressed — that he would, coyer
them froni their enemies by a p^illar'of cloud by day, and guide
their feet through the night by a pillar of fire — that for his own
part, he was ahxious that his natjve^ county should distinguish
itself in this, grand career of liberty and glory, and snatch the
noble prize which was now offered'to their grasp — that no time
Was to be lost — that their enemies in this colony were now few
and weak — that it would be easy i'or them, by a rapid and vig
orous movement, to compel the restoration of the powder
which had been carried off, or to make a reprisal on the king's
revenues in the hands of the receiver-general, which would
fairly balance the accouni; — ^that the Hanover volunteers would
thus have an opportun'ity of striking the first blow in this colo
ny, in the great cause of American liberty, and would cover
themselves with never-fading laurels. '
These were heads of his harangue. I presume not to give
the colouring. That was Mr« Henry's own, and beyond the
power of any man's imitation, ' The effect, however, was equal
to his wishes. The meeting was in a flame, and a decision im
mediately taken, that the powder should be retrieved, or conn ¦
terbalanced by a reprisal.
Captain Samuel Meredith, who had heretofore commanded
the Independent Company, resigned his commission in Mr.
Henry's favour, and th« latter gentleman was immediately in
vested with the chief command of the Hanover volunteers. Mr.
Meredith accepted the commission of lieutenant ; and the pres
ent Colonel Parke Goodall was appointed the ensign of the
company. Having received orders from the committee; cor
respondent with his own suggestions. Captain Henry forthwith
took up his line of March for Williamsburgh.
Ensign Goodall was detached, with a party of sixteen men,
to cross the river into King William county, the residence of
Richard Corbin, the king's receivet-general ; to demand from
him three hundred and thirty pounds, the estimated value of
the powder ; and, in the event of his refusal to make him a pris
oner. He was ordered, in this case, to treat his person with
all possible respect and tenderness, and to bring him to Don-
castle's ordinary, about sixteen miles above Williamsburgh,
where the ensign was required, at all events, to rejoin the main
body. , .
"The detachment, in pursuance of their orders, reached the
residence of the receiver-general some hours after bedtime, and
a guard was stationed around the house iintil morning. About

PATRICIA; HENRY. 107
daybreak, however, the ladies of the family made their appear
ance, and gave fj the commanding officer of the detachment the
firm and correct assurance, that;. Colonel Corbin was not at
home ; but that the house, nevertheless, was open to search, if
it was the pleasure of the officer to make it. The manner of
the assurance, however, was too satisfactory to render this ne
cessary, and the detachment hastened to form the junction with
the main body which had been ordered.
In the meantime, the march of his gallant corps, in arms,
headed by a man of Mr. Henry's distinction, produced the
most striking effects in every quarter. Corresponding compa
nies started up on all sides, and hastened to throw themselves
under the banners of Henry. It is believed that five thousand
men at least, were in arms, and were crossing the country
to crowd around his standard, and support it with their lives.
The march was conducted in the most perfect order, and with
the most scrupulous respect to the country through which they
passed. The ranks of the royalists were filled with dismay.
Lady Dunmore, with her family, retired to the Fowey man-of-
war, then lying off the town of Little York. Even the patriots
in Williamsburgh were daunted by the boldness, and, as they
deemed it, the rashness of the enterprise.
Messenger after messenger was despatched to meet Mr.
Henry on the way, and beg him to desist from his purpose,
and discharge his men. It was in vain. He was inflexibly
resolved to effect the purpose of his expedition or to perish in
the attempt. The messengers were therefore detained, that
they might not report his strength ; and the march was contin
ued with all possible celerity. The governor issued a procla
mation, in which he denounced the movement, and called upon
the people of the country to resist it. He could as easily have
called "spirits from the vasty deep." He seems not to have
relied much, himself, on the efficacy of his proclamation. The
palace was therefore filled with arms, and a detachment of ma
rines ordered up from the Fowey. Before daybreak, on the
morning of the fourth of May, Captain Montague, the com
mander of that ship, landed a party of men, with the following
letter, addressed to the Honourable Thomas Nelson, the presi
dent of his majesty's council: — " Fowey, May ith, 1775.
"Sir, — I have this morning received certain information
that his excellency Lord Dunmore, governor of Virgina, is
threatened with an attack at daybreak, this morning, at his pal
ace in Williamsburgh, and have thought proper to send a de
tachment from his majesty's ship under my command, to sup'
port his excellency : therefore strongly pray you to make use

108 wirt's life of
of every endeavour to prevent iie party from being molested
and attacked, as in that case I must be undpr ai,nece^sity to fire
upon this town, t'lom , - -
."George Montague."
Lord Dunmore, however, thought better of this subject, and
caused Mr. Henry to be met at Doncastle's, about sunrise on
the same morning, with the receiver-general's bill of exchange,
for the sum required. It was accepted as a satisfaction for
the powder, and the following receipt was passed by Mr.
Henry : — "DdncastWs Ordinary, New Kent, May 4tA, 1775.
" Received from the Honourable Richard Corbin, Esq., his
majesty's receiver-general, three hundred and thirty pounds, as
a compensation for the gunpowder lately fallen out of the pub
lic magazine by the governor's order ;, which money I promise
to convey to the Virginia delegates at the general congress, to
be, under their direction, laid out iij gunpowder for the colo
ny's use, and to be stored as they shall direct, until the next
colony convention, or general assembly ; unless it shall be ne
cessary, in the meantime, to use the same in the defence of this
colony. It is agreed, that in case the next convention shall
determine that any part of the said money ought to be returned
to his majesty's said receiver-general, that the same shall be
done accordingly. "Patrick Henry, jun.
" Test^— Samuel Meredith,
Parke Goodall."
The march of the marines from the Fowey had, however,
produced the most violent commotion both in York* and Wil-
* " The town of York being somewhat alarmed by a letter from Captain
Montague, commander of his majesty's ship the Fowey, addressed to the Hon.
Thomas Nelson, esquire, president of his majesty's council in Virginia ; and a
copy of said letter being procured, a motion was made, that the copy should
be laid before the committee, and considered. The copy was read, and is as
follows : — "' Fmoey, May i, 1775.
" ' SiE — I have this morning received certain information that his excellency
the Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, is threatened with an attack at day
break this morning, at his palace in williamsburgh, and have thought proper to
send a detachment from his majesty's ship undei: my command to su'pport his
excellency ; therefore, strongly pray you to make use of every endeavour to
prevent the party from being molested and attacked, as in that case I mUst be
under the necessity to fire upon this town. From Geobgb Montague.
" ' To the Hon. Thomas Nelson.'
"Thecommiltee, together with Capt. Montague's letter taking into consid
eration the time of its being sent, which was too late to permit the president to
use his influence, had the inhabitants been disposed to molest and attack the
detachment ; and further considering that Col. Nelson, who, had his threat
been carried into execution, must have been a principal sufferer, was at that

PATRICK HENRY. 109
liamsburgh, Mr. Henry himself seemed to apprehend that the
public treasury would be the next object of depredation and
that a pretext would be sought for it in the reprisal which had
just been made. He therefore addressed, from Doncastle's,
the following letter to Robert Carter Nicholas, esquire, the
treasurer of the colony : —
" May i, 1775.
" Sir — The affair of the powder is now settled, so as to pro
duce satisfaction to me, and I earnestly wish to the colony in
general. The people here have it in charge from Hanover
committee, to tender their service to you, as a public officer,
for the purpose of escorting the public treasury to any place
in this colony, where the money would be judged more safe
than in the city of Williamsburgh. The reprisal now made by
the Hanover volunteers, though accomplished in a manner less
liable to the imputation of violent extremity, may possibly be
the cause of future injury to the treasury. If, therefore, you
apprehend the least danger, a sufficient guard is at your service.
I beg the return of the 'bearer may be instant, because the men
wish to know their destination. With great regard, I am, sir,
your most humble servant, " Patrick Henry, jun."
To this letter an answer was received from Mr. Nicholas,
importing that h^ had no apprehension of the necessity, or pro
priety of the proffered service : and Mr. Henry understanding,
also, that the private citizens of Williamsburgh were in a great
measure quieted from their late fears for their persons and
property, judged it proper to proceed no farther. Their expe
dition having been crowned with success, the volunteers return
ed in triumph to their respective homes.
The committee of Hanover again met ; gave them their
warmest thanks for the vigour and propriety with which they
very moment exerting his utmost endeavours in behalf of government, and the
safety of his excellency's person, unanimously come to the following resolu
tions : —
" Resolved, That Capt. Montague, in threatening to fire upon a defenceless
town, in case of an attack upon the detachment, in which said towm might not
be concerned, has testified a spurit of cruelty unprecedented in the annals of
civihzed times ; that, in his late notice to the president, he has added insult
to cruelty ; and that considering the circumstances already mentioned, of one
of the most considerable inhabitants of said town, he has discovered the most
hellish principles that can actuate a human mind.
"Resolved, That it be recommended to the inhabitants of this town, and
to the country hi general, that they do not entertain or show any other mark of
civility to Capt. Montague, besides what common decency and absolute neces
sity require.
"Resolved, That the clerk "do transmit the above proceedings to the public
printers, to be inserted in the Virginia gazettes.
(A true copy,) " William Russbll, Cl'k Com."
10

110 wirt's life of
had conducted the enterprise ; and returned their acknowledg
ments, in suitable terms, to the many volunteers of the differ
ent counties, who joined and were marching, and ready to co
operate with the volunteer company of Hanover.
Two days after the return of the volunteers, and when all
was again quiet, the governor thundered the following anathe
ma from the palace : —
"By his excellency, the Right Honourable John, Earl of
Dunmore, his majesty's lieutenant and governor-general of the
colony and dominion of Virginia, and vice-admiral of the
same : — " A proclamation.
" Virginia, to wit : — Whereas, I have been informed, from
undoubted authority, that a certain Patrick Henry, of the
county of Hanover, and a number of deluded followers, have
taken up arms, chosen their officers, and styling themselves
an Independent Company, have marched out of their county,
encamped, and put themselves in a posture of war ; and have
written and despatched letters to divers parts of the country,
exciting the people to join in these outrageous and rebellious
practices, to the great terror of his majesty's faithful subjects,
and in open defiance of law and government ; and have com
mitted other acts of violence, particularly in extorting from his
majesty's receiver-general the sum of three hundred and thirty
pounds, under pretence of replacing the powder I thought
proper to order from the magazine : whence it undeniably ap
pears, that there is no longer the least security for the life or
property of any man ; wherefore I have thought proper with
the advice of his majesty's council, and in his majesty's name,
to issue this my proclamation, strictly charging all persons
upon their allegiance, not to aid, abet, or give countenance to
the said Patrick Henry, or any other persons concerned in
such unwarrantable combinations ; but, on the contrary, to op
pose them and their designs by every means ; which designs
must otherwise inevitably Involve the whole country in the
most direful calamity, as they will call for the vengeance of
offended majesty, and the insulted laws, to be exerted here to
vindicate the constitutional authority of government.
" Given under my hand and seal of the colony, at Wil
liamsburgh, this sixth day of May, seventeen hundred and
seventy-five, and in the fifteenth year of his majesty's
reign. " Dunmore.
" God save the king."
But Lord Dunmore's threats and denunciations had no other
effect than to render more conspicuous and more honourable tiie

PATRICK HENRY. Ill
man who was the object of them. Mr. Henry, who had been on
the point of setting out for congress at the time when he had
been called off by the intelligence from Williamsburgh, now
resumed his journey, and was escorted in triumph by a large
party of gentlemen, as far as Hooe's ferry, on the Potomac.
Messengers were sent after him from all directions, bearing
the thanks and the applauses of his assembled countrymen,
for his recent enterprise ; and in such throngs did these ad
dresses come, that the necessity of halting to read and answer
them converted a journey of one day into a triumph of many.
Thus the same man, whose genius had in the year seventeen
hundred and sixty-five given the first political impulse to the
revolution, had now the additional honour of heading the first
military movement in Virginia, in support of the same cause.

CHAPTER VI.
Second Session of the Delegates to Congress — Attachment of the People of
Virginia to Lady Dunmore — Barbarous Proceeding of Lord Dunmore —
Takes his Residence on board the Fowey — His Correspondence with the
Committee — ^Mr. Henry is appointed Colonel of one of the Regiments raised
by the Colonial Convention — Tender of the British sloop Otter is burnt by
the People — Correspondence with Capt. Squire in relation to that Event —
Lord Dunmore heads a Body of Recruits — Col. Woodford is sent to oppose
his Progress — Circumstances leading to Mr. Henry's resignation — He is
elected a Delegate to the Convention — Declaration of Rights — Mr. Henry
elected Governor of Virginia — Addresses connected with that Event.
I CANNOT learn that Mr. Henry distinguished himself pe
culiarly at this session of congress. The spirit of resistance
was sufficiently excited ; and nothing remained but to organize
that resistance, and to plan and execute the details which were
to give it effect. In business of this nature, Mr. Henry as we
have seen, was not efficient. It has been already stated that
he was unsuccessful in composition, of which much was done,
and eminently done, at this session ; and the lax habits of his
early life had implanted in him an insuperable aversion to the
drudgery of details. He could not endure confinement of any
sort, nor the labour of close and solitary thinking.
His habits were all social, and his mind delighted in unlimited
range. His conclusions were never reached by an elaborate
deduction of thought; he gained them as it were per saltem;
yet with a certainty not less infallible than that of the driest
and severest logician. It is not wonderful, therefore^ that he

112 wirt's lifb of
felt himself lost amid the operations in which congress was
now engaged, and that he enjoyed the relief which was afford
ed him, by a military appointment from his native state. It
will be proper, however, to explain particularly the proceed
ings which Jed to this incident in the life of Mr. Henry.
Shortly after the affair of the gunpowder. Lord North's con
ciliatory proposition, popularly called the Olive Branch, arrived
in America. Hereupon the governor of Virginia called a
meeting of the house of burgesses ; and as if the quarrel were
now completely over. Lady Dunmore and her family returned
from the Fowey to the palace.
If an estimate may be formed from the newspapers of the
day, into which the people seem to have poured their fee*' „<
without reserve, that lady was eminently a favourit » m this
colony. Her residence here had been short ; yet the exalted
virtues which marked her character, and those domestic graces
and attractions which shone with the more lustre by contrast
with his lordship, had already endeared her to the people; and
would have consecrated her person, and those of her children,
amid the wildest tumult to which this colony could possibly
be excited. The people had been extremely wounded by her
late departure for the Fowey : they consid«red it as a measure
of his lordship, and as an unjust reflection both upon the judg
ment and generosity of the people of this country.
They had told him intelligibly enough, that they had formed
a much more correct estimate of her worth than he himself ap
peared to have done ; and that so far from her being insecure
in the bosom of a people who thus admired, respected, and
loved her, his lordship would have acted much more wisely to
have kept her near his person, and covered himself Under the
sacred shield which sanctified her in the eyes of Virginians.
In proportion to their regret and mortification at her depar
ture, was the ardour of delight with which they hailed her re
turn. A paragraph in Purdie's paper assured her, that "her
arrival at the palace was to the great joy of the citizens of
Williamsburgh, and of the people of the whole country, who
had the most unfeigned regard and affection for her ladyship,
and wished her long to live among them."
On Thursday, the first of June, the general assembly accord
ing to the proclamation of Lord Dunmore, met at the capitol
in the city of Williamsburgh. He addressed them with great
earnestness on the alarming state of the colony ; and exhibited
the conciliatory proposition of the British ministry, as an ad
vance on the part of the mother-country, which it was the duty
of the colonists to meet with gratitude and devotion. The
council answered him in a manner perfectly satisfactory ; but

PATRICK HENRY. 113
before he could receive the answer of the house of burgesses,
an incident occurred, which drove his lordship precipitately
from his palace, and terminated for ever all friendly relations
between himself and the people of Virginia.
It seems, that during the late ferment, produced by the re
moval of the powder, and while Mr. Henry was on his march
toward Williamsburgh, some of the inhabitants of the town,
to the great offence of the graver citizens, had possessed them
selves of a few of the guns which still remained in the maga
zine. This step gave great displeasure as well as alarm to the
governor ; and although the mayor and council, as well as all
the more respectable inhabitants of the town, condemned it in
terms as strong as his own, and sincerely united in the means
which were used to recover the arms, yet his lordship contin
ued to brood over it in secret, until, with the aid of the minions
of the palace, he hatched a scheme of low and cruel revenge,
sufficient of itself to cover him with immortal infamy.
It was on Monday night, the fifth of June, that this scheme
discovered itself. " Last Monday night," says Purdie, " an
unfortunate accident happened to two persons of this city, who,
with a number of others, had assembled at the magazine, to
furnish themselves with arms. Upon their entering the door,
one of the guns, which had a spring to it, and was charged
eight fingers deep with swan-shot, went off, and lodged two
balls in one of their shoulders, another entered at his wrist, and
is not yet extracted : the other person had one of his fingers
shot off, and the next to it so much shattered as to render it
useless, by which sad misfortune he is deprived of the means
of procuring a livelihood by his business. Spring-guns, it
seems, were placed at other parts of the magazine, of which
the public were totally ignorant ; and certainly had any person
lost his life, the perpetrator or perpetrators of this diabolical
invention might have been justly branded with the opprobri
ous title of murderers. O tempera ! O mores !"
The indignation naturally excited by this piece of deliberate
and barbarous treachery, which was at once traced to Lord
Dunmore, was farther aggravated by a discovery that several
barrels of powder had been buried in the magazine, with the
purpose, it was reasonably conjectured, of being used as a mine,
and thus producing still more fatal destruction, when the occa
sion should offer. Early on the next morning. Lord Dunmore
with his family, including Captain Foy, fled from the palace to
return to it no more, and took shelter on board the Fowey,
from the vengeance which he knew he so justly deserved. No
commotion, however, had ensued to justify his retreat.
The people, indeed, were highly indignant, but they were
10*

114 wirt's irFK OF
silent and quiet. The suggestions of his lordship's conscience
had alone produced his flight. He left behind him a message to
the speaker and house of burgesses, in which he ascribed this
movement to apprehensions for his personal safety ; stated that
he should fix his residence on board the Fowey; that no inter
ruption should be given to the sitting of the assembly ; that he
should make the access to him easy and safe; and thought it
would be more agreeable to the house to send to him, from time
to time, one or more of their members, as occasion might re
quire, than to put the whole body to the trouble of moving to
Se near him.
On receiving this message, the house immediately resolved
itself into a committee of the whole, and prepared an answer,
in which they expressed their deep concern at the step which
he had taken — assuring him that his apprehensions of personal
danger were- entirely unfounded ; regretting that he had not
expressed them to the house previous to his departure, since,
from their zeal and attachment to the preservation of order and
good government, they should have judged it their indispensa
ble duty to have endeavoured to remove any cause of disquie
tude. They express the anxiety with which they contemplate
the very disagreeable situation of his most amiable lady and
her family, and assure him, that they should think themselves
happy in being able to restore their perfect tranquillity, by re
moving all their fears.
They regret his departure and the manner of it, as tending
to keep up the great uneasiness which had of late so unhappily
prevailed in this country ; and declared that they will cheer
fully concur in any measure that may be proposed, proper for
the security of himself and his family ; they remind him how
impracticable it will be to carry on the business of the session
with any tolerable degree of propriety, or with that despatch
which the advanced season of the year required, while his lord
ship was so far remoYed from them, and so inconveniently sit
uated ; arid conclude with entreating him, that he would be
pleased to return with his lady and family to the palace, which
they say, they are persuaded will give the greatest satisfaction,
and be the most likely means of quieting the minds of the
people. This communication was carried down to him by a deputa
tion of two members of the council, and four of the house of
burgesses ; and in reply to language so respectful, and assur
ances so friendly and conciliatory, his lordship returned an an
swer in which he charged them with having slighted his offers
of respect and civility, with giving countenance to the violent
and disorderly proceiSding taf the people^ and tvith a usurpation

PATRICK HENRY. 116
of the executive power in ordering and appointing guards to
mount in the city of Williamsburgh, with the view, as was pre
tended, to protect the magazine, but which might well be doubt
ed, as there then remained nothing therein which required being
guarded ; he exhorts them to return within the pale of their con
stitutional power; to redress the many grievances which existed ;
to open the courts of justice ; to disarm the independent com
panies, and what was not less essential by their own example,
and every means in their power, to abolish the spirit of perse
cution which pursued, with menaces and acts of oppression,
all his majesty's loyal and orderly subjects.
For the accomplishment of which ends, he invited them to
adjourn to the town of York, opposite to which the Fowey lay,
where he promised to meet and remain with them till their
business should be finished. But with respect to their entreaty
that he would return to the palace, he represents to them that
unless they closed in with the conciliatory proposition now
offered to them by the British parliament, his return to Wil
liamsburgh would be as fruitless to the people, as possibly it
might be dangerous to himself. So that he places the event of
his returning, on their acceptance of Lord North's offer of con
ciliation. The house of burgesses now took up that proposition ; and
having examined it in ev«ry light, with the utmost attention,
they conclude with a firm and dignified rejection of it, and an
appeal " to the even-handed justice of that Being who doth no
wrong ; earnestly beseeching him to illuminate the councils,
and prosper the endeavours, of those to whom America had
confided her hopes, that, through their wise direction, we may
again see reunited the blessings of liberty and prosperity, and
the most permanent harmony with Great Britain."*
A correspondencfi on another topic was now opened between
the council and burgesses, and the governor, Dunmore.
The former addressed him with a request, that he would or
der a large parcel of arms which he had left in the palace to
be removed to the public magazine, a place of greater safety.
This he peremptorily refused ; and ordered that those arms,
belonging to the king, should not be touched without his ex
press permission. In their reply, they say, that the arms may
in some sort be considered as belonging to the king, as the su
preme head of the government, and that they were ppperly
under his lordship's direction ; yet they humbly conceived,
that they were originally provided and had been preserved for
the use of the country in cases of emergency.
* This vigorous and eloquent productian is from the same pen ¦which drew
the Declaration of American Independence.

116 wirt's LIFE OF
The palace, they say, had indeed been hitherto much respect
ed, but not so much out of regard to the building, as the resi
dence of his majesty's representative. Had his lordship
thought fit to remain there, they would have had no apprehen
sions of danger ; but considering these arms at present as ex
posed to his lordship's servants, and every rude invader, the
security derived fronl his lordship's presence could not now be
relied on. They, therefore, again entreat him to order the re
moval of the arms to the magazine. They then proceed to
state, that they cannot decline representing to him that the im
portant business of the assembly had been much impeded by
his excellency's removal from the palace — that this step had
deprived them of that free and necessary access to his lord
ship, to wWch they were entitled by the constitution of the
country — that there were several bills of the last importance
to the country, now ready to be presented to his excellency for
his assent.
They complain of the inconvenience to which they had been
put in sending their members twelve miles to wait on his ex
cellency, on board, of one of his majesty's ships of war, to pre
sent their addresses — they state that they think it would be
highly improper, and too great a departure from the constitu
tional and accustomed mode of transacting business, to meet
his excellency at any other place than the capitol, to present
such bills as were ready for his signature — and, therefore,
beseech him to return for this purpose.
To all this he gave a very short answer ; that, as to the arms,
he had already declared his intention, and conceived they were
meddling with a subject which did not belong to them ; he de
sired to know whom they designed by the term rude invader ;
that the disorders in Williamsburgh and other parts of the
country, had driven him from the palace ; and that, if any incon
venience had arisen to the assembly on that account, he was
not chargeable with it; that they had not been deprived of any
necessary or free access to him ; that the constitution undoubt
edly vested him with the power of calling the assembly to any
place in the colony, which exigency might require ; that not
having been made acquainted with the whole proceedings of
the assembly, he knew of no bills of importance, which, if he
were inclined to risk his person again among the people, the
assembly had to present to him, nor whether they were such
as he could assent to.
In the course of their correspondence he required the house
to attend him on board the Fowey, for the purpose of obtain
ing his signature to the bills ; and some of the members to pre
vent an actual dissolution of the government, and to give cfTeet

PATRICK HENRY. 117
to the many necessary bills which they had passed, proposed
to yield to this extraordinary requisition. The project, how
ever, was exploded by a member's rising in his place, and re
lating the fable of the sick lion and the fox.
The governor having thus virtually abdicated his office, the
government was -in effect dissolved. The house hereupon
resolved, " That his Lordship's message, requiring the house
to attend him on board one of his majesty's ships-of-war, is a
high breach of the rights and privileges of this house." — " That
the unreasonable delays thrown into the proceedings of this
house by the governor, and his evasive answers to the sin
cere and decent addresses of the representatives of the people,
give us great reason to fear, that a dangerous attack may be
meditated against the unhappy people of this colony." — " It
is, therefore, our opinion, they say, that they prepare for the
preservation of their property, and their inestimable rights and
liberties with the greatest care and attention."
" That we do and will bear faith and true allegiance to our
most gracious sovereign, George III., our only lawful and
rightful king : that we will, at all times, to the utmost of our
power, and at the risk of our lives and properties, maintain and
defend his government in this colony, as founded on the estab
lished laws and principles of the constitution : that it is our
most earnest desire to preserve and strengthen those bonds of
amity, with all our fellow-subjects in Great Britain, which are
so very essential to the prosperity and happiness of both coun
tries." Having adopted these resolutions without a dissenting
Yoice, they adjourned themselves to the twelfth of October fol
lowing; and the delegates were summoned to meet in conven
tion at the town of Richmond, on the seventeenth of July.*
Immediately on the adjournment of the house of burgesses,
a very full meeting of the citizens of Williamsburgh convened,
on the call of Peyton Randolph, at the court-house in that city,
" to consider of the expediency of stationing a number of men
there for the public safety ; as well to assist the citizens in their
nightly watches, as to guard against any surprise from our ene
mies ; whereupon it was unanimously agreed (until the general
convention should meet) to invite down from a number of
counties, to the amount of two hundred and fifty men. Mean
while, until they arrived, the neighbouring counties, they say,
were kind enough to lend them their assistance.
* On this occasion, Richard H. Lee, standing with two of tho burgesses in
the porch of the capitol, inscribed with his pencil on a pillar of the capitol,
these prophetic hnes, from Shakspeare : —
" Wben shall We three meet again 9
]n thunder, lightning, and in rain ;
TVhen the hurly-burly's done,
^f0ien the haltlgv iMt 'andVon.*

118 wirt's life of
On the twenty-ninth of June, the Fowey ship, and Magdalen
schooner, sailed from York ; on board the latter went Lady
Dunmore, and the rest of the governor's family, bound for Eng
land ; and the colony was for a short time relieved by the re
port that the Fowey carried Lord Dunmore and Captain Foy
on a visit to General Gage, at Boston. This report, however,
was unfounded. The Fowey merely escorted the Magdalen to
the Capes, and then returned again to her moorings, before
York. The Otter sloop-of-war, commanded by Captain Squire;
thereupon fell down to the mouth of York river, with the inten
tion of cruising along the coast, and seizing all provision ves
sels ; and soon became distinguished at least for the malignity
of her attempts. The Fowey was relieved by the ship Mercu
ry, of twenty-four guns, John Macartney, commander, and de
parted for Boston, and carrying with her the now obnoxious
Captain Foy. The governor's domestics left the palace, and
removed to his farm at Montibello, about six miles bielow Wil
liamsburgh ; and the governor himself fixed his station at the
town of Portsmouth. In this posture of things, on Monday,
the twenty-fourth of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-five,
the colonial convention met at the city of Richmond.
The proceedings of this convention were marked by a char
acter of great decision and vigour. One of their first measures
was an ordinance for raising and imbodying a sufficient force
for the defence and protection of the colony. By this ordi
nance it was provided, that two regiments of regulars, to con
sist of one thousand and twenty privates, rank and file, should
be forthwith raised and taken into the pay of the colony ; and
a competent regular force was also provided for the protection
of the western frontier. The whole colony was divided into
sixteen military districts ; with a provision, that a regiment of
six hundred and eighty men, rank and file, should be raised on
the eastern shore district, and a battalion of five hundred in each
of the others ; to be forthwith armed, trained, furnished with
all military accoutrements, and ready to march at a minute's
warning. A committee, called the committee of safety, was also organ
ized, with functions and powers analogous to those of the ex
ecutive department, and apparently designed to supply the
vacancy occasioned by the governor's abdication of that branch
of the government.
The convention now proceeded to the appointment of officers
to command the regular forces. The lofty stand which Mr.
Henry had taken in the American cause, his increasing popu
larity, and the prompt and energetic movement which he had
made in the affair of the gunpowder, brought him strongly be*

PATRICK HENRY. 119
fore the view of the house ; and he was elected the colonel of the
first regiment, and the commander of all the forces raised, and
to be raised, for the defence of the colony. Mr. William Wood
ford, who Is said to have distinguished himself in the French
and Indian war, was appointed to the command of the second
regiment. The place of rendezvous for the troops was the city of Wil
liamsburgh. Mr. Henry was at his post on the twentieth of
September, examining the grounds adjacent to the city, for the
purpose of selecting an encampment ; and the place chosen
was at the back of William and Mary college. The troops
were recruited and poured in with wonderful rapidity. The
papers of the day teem with the annunciation of company after
company, both regulars and minute-men, with the highest en
comiums on the appearance and spirit of the troops ; and had
the purpose been offerisive war. Colonel Henry was soon in a
situation to have annihilated any force that Lord Dunmore
could at that time have arrayed against him.
But there was, in truth, something extremely singular and
embarrassing in the situation of the parties in regard to each
other. It was not war, nor was it peace. The very ordinance
by which these troops were raised, was filled with professions
of allegiance and fidelity to George HI. — professions, whose
sincerity there is the less reason to doubt, because they are
confined to the exercise of his constitutional powers, and stand
connected with an expression of their firm determination to
resist any attempt on the liberties of the country. The only
intelligible purpose, therefore, for which these troops were
raised, was a preparation for defence ; and for defence against
an attempt to enforce the parliamentary taxes upon this colony.
With respect to Lord Dunmore, he was indeed considered as
having abandoned the duties of his office : yet still he was re
garded as the governor of Virginia ; and there seems to have
been no disposition to offer violence to his person.
Dunmore, on his part, considered the colony as in a state of
open and general rebellion; not merely designing to resist an
attempt to enforce upon them an obnoxious tax, but to subvert
the regal government wholly and entirely ; and had his power
been equal to his wishes, there is no reason to doubt that he
would have disarmed the colony, and hung up without cere
mony, the leaders of this traitorous revolt, as he affected to
consider it. His impotence, however, and the aversion of the
colonists to act otherwise than defensively, produced a suspense
full of the most painful anxiety.
In the meantime. Captain Squire, commander of his majes
ty's sloop, the Otter, had been labouring throughout the sum-

120 wirt's life of
mer with some success, to change the defensive attitude of the
colony. He was engaged in cruising continually in James and
York rivers, plundering the defenceless shores, and carrying
off the slaves, wherever seduction or force could place them in
his power. These piratical excursions had wrought up the
citizens who were not in arms to a very high pitch of resent
ment ; and an accident soon gave them an opportunity of par
tial reprisal, which they did not fail to seize.
On the second of September, the captain, sailing in a tender,
on a marauding expedition from James to York river, was en
countered by a violent tempest, and his tender was driven on
shore upon Back river, near Hampton. It was night, and the
storm still raging : — the captain and his men, distrusting (un
justly, as it would seem from the papers) the hospitality of the
inhabitants, made their escape through the woods ; the vessel
was on the next day discovered and busnt by the people of the
neighbourhood. In consequence of this act, the captain ad
dressed the following letter to the committee of the town of
Hampton : — " Otter sloop, Norfolk river, Sept. 10, 1775.
"Gentlemen — Whereas, a sloop-tender, manned and arm
ed in his majesty's service, was, on Saturday the second in
stant, in a violent gale of wind, cast on shore, in Back river,
Elizabeth county, having on board the undermentioned king's
stores, which the inhabitants of Hampton thought proper tc
seize : I am therefore to desire, that the king's sloop, with all
the stores belonging to her, be immediately returned ; or the
people of Hampton, who committed the outrage, must be an
swerable for the consequences.
" I am, gentlemen, your humble servant,
"Matthew Squire."
This letter, with a catalogue of the stores having been com
municated to the committee of Williamsburgh, and by them
having been laid before the commanding officer of the volun
teers of that place. Major James Innes, at the head of a hun
dred men, who courted the enterprise, flew to Hampton to re
pel the threatened invasion. Squire, however, satisfied him
self for the present, by falling down to Hampton road, where
he seized the passage-boats, with the negroes in them, by way
of reprisal, as he alleged, for the stores, &c., taken out of his
tender when driven ashore in the late storm ; " which boats
and negroes," adds Purdie's paper of the day, "it is likely he
intends taking into the king's service, to send out a pirating
for hogs, fowls, &c. A very pretty occupation for the captain
of one of his majesty's ships-of-war."
Th« next paper announces the movements of Squire by a

PATRICK HENRY. 121
paragraph, which I extract verbatim, as showing in an amu
sing light, the spirit of the times, and as Camden says, " the
plain and jolly mirth of our ancestors," even in the midst of
misfortunes : — " We hear that the renowned Captain Squire, of
his majesty's sloop Otter, is gone up the bay for Baltimore in
Maryland ; on his old trade, it is to be presumed, of negro-
catching, pillaging the farms and plantations of their stock and
poultry, and other illustrious actions, highly becoming a
Squire in the king's navy. Some say, his errand was to watch
for a quantity of gunpowder intended for this colony ; but that
valuable is now safely landed where he dare not come to smell
it." The same paper contains the following answer from the
committee of Hampton to Squire's letter : —
" To Matthew Squire, Esq., commander of his majesty's sloop
Otter, lying in Hampton roads.
" Hampton, September 16, 1775.
" Sir — Yours of the tenth instant, directed to the committee
of the town of Hampton, reciting, that a sloop-tender, on his
majesty's service was, on the second instant, cast on shore near
this place, having on board some of the king's stores, which
you say were seized by the inhabitants, and demanding an im
mediate return of the same, or that the people of Hampton
must answer the consequences of such outrage, was this day
laid before them, who knowing the above recital to be injuri
ous and untrue think proper here to mention the facts relative
to this matter. The sloop we apprehend, was not in his ma
jesty's service, as we are well assured that you were on a pilla
ging or pleasuring party ; and although it gives us pain to use
indelicate expressions, yet the treatment received from you
calls for a state of facts, in the simple language pf truth, how
ever harsh it may sound.
" To your own heart we appeal for the candour with which
we have stated them — to that heart which drove you into the
woods in the most tempestuous weather, in one of the darkest
nights, to avoid the much-injured and innocent inhabitants of this
county, who had never threatened or ill-used you — and who
would at that time have received you, we are assured, with
humanity and civility, had you made yourself and situation
known to them.
" Neither the vessel nor stores were seized by the inhabit
ants of Hampton ; the gunner, one Mr. Gray — and the pilot,
one Mr. Ruth — who were employed by you on this party, are
men, we hope, who will still assert the truth. From them, di
vers of our members were informed that the vessel and stores
together with a good seine, (which you, without cause, so has
tily deserted,) were given up as irrecoverably lost, ;by the offi-
11

132 wirt's life of
cers, and some of the proprietors, to one Finn, near whose
house you were driven on shore, as a reward for his entertain
ing you, die, with respect and decency.
" The threats of a person whose conduct hath evinced that
he was not- only capable, but desirous of doing us, in our then
defenceless state, the greatest injustice, we confess, were some
what alarming ; but with the greatest pleasure we can inform
you, our apprehensions are now removed.
" Although we know that we cannot legally be called to ac
count for that which you are pleased to style an outrage, and
notwithstanding we have hitherto', by you been treated with
iniquity, we will, as far as in our power lies, do you right upon
just and equitable terms.
" First. We, on behalf of the community, require from you the
restitution of a certain Joseph Harris, the property of a gentle
man of our town, and all other our slaves whom you may have
on board ; which said Harris, as well as other slaves, hath been
long harboured, and often employed, with your knowledge, (as
appeared to us by the confession of Ruth and others, and is
well known to all your men,) in pillaging us under cover of
night, of our sheep and other live stock.
" Secondly. We require that you will send on shore all
boats, with their hands, and every other thing you have detain
ed on this occasion.
"And lastly. That you shall not, by your own arbitrary
authority, undertake to insult, molest, interrupt, or detain, the
persons or property of any one passing to and from this town,
as you have frequently done for some time past.
"Upon complying with those requisitions, we will endeav
our to procure every article left on our shore, and shall be
ready to deliver them to your pilot and gunner, of whose
good behaviour we haye had some proofs.
" We are, &c.,
" The Committee of Elizabeth City county,
and town of Hampton."
In the meantime, Squire's threat against Hampton was not
an empty one, as is proven by the following account of the at
tempt to execute it : the article is extracted from a supplement
to Purdie's paper of October twenty-seventh, seventeen hun
dred and seventy-five : —
" After Lord Dunmore, with his troops and the navy, Ijad
been for several weeks seizing the persons and property of his
majesty's peaceable subjects in this colony — on Wednesday
night last, a party from an armed tender landed near Hampton,
and took away a valuable negro slave and a sail from the own
er. Next morning there appeared off the mouth of Hampton

PATRICK HENRY. 123
river, a large armed schooner, a sloop, and three tenders,
with soldiers on board, and a message was received at Hamp
ton from Captain Squire, on board the schooner, that he would
that day land and burn the town ; on which a company of reg
ulars, and a company of minute-men,* who had been placed
there in consequence of former threats denounced against that
place, made the best disposition to prevent their landing, aided
by a body of militia who were suddenly called together on the
occasion. " The enemy accordingly attempted to land, but were retarded
by some boats sunk across the channel for that purpose. Upon
this they fired several small cannon at the provincials without
any effect, who in return discharged their small arms so effect
ually, as to make the enemy move off, with the loss of several
men, as it is believed. But they had, in the meantime, burnt
down a house belonging to Mr. Cooper, on the river. On in
telligence of this reaching Williamsburgh, about nine o'clock
at night, a company of riflemen was despatched to the aid of
Hampton, and the colonel of the second regiment sent to take
the command of the whole ; who with the company, arrived
about eight o'clock next morning.
" The enemy had in the night cut through the boats sunk,
and made a passage for their vessels, which were drawn close
up to the town, and began to fire upon it soon after the arrival
of the party from Williamsburgh ; but as soon as our men
were so disposed as to give them a few shot, they went off so
hastily that our people took a small tender, with five white
men, a woman, and two slaves, six swivels, seven muskets,
some small arms, a sword, pistols, and other things, and several
papers belonging to Lieutenant Wright, who made his escape
by jumping overboard and swimming away with Mr. King's
man, who are on shore, and a pursuit it is hoped may over
take them.
" There were two of the men in the vessel mortally wound
ed ; one is since dead, and the other near his end. Besides
which, we are informed, nine were seen to be thrown over
board from one of the vessels. We have not a man even
wounded. The vessels went over to Norfolk, and we are in
formed the whole force from thence is intended to visit Hamp
ton this day. If .they should, we hope our brave troops are
prepared for them ; as we can with pleasure assure the public,
* " Captain George Nicholas commanded the regulars, and Captain Lyne the
minute- men ; Captain Nicholas, therefore, as being in the regular service, had
the command of the whole in the first skirmish. This gentleman was the eld
est son of Colonel Robert C. Nicholas ; and on the return of peace became
highly distinl^uished both as a politician and a lawyer.

124 wirt's LIFE OF
that every part of them behaved with spirit and bravery, and
are wishing for another skirmish."
The next paper contains the following card to Captain
Squire, which is inserted merely as another specimen of the
character of the times : — " Williamsburgh, November 3d.
" The rifiemen and soldiers of Hampton desire their compli
ments to Captain Squire and his squadron, and wish to know
how they approve the reception they met last Friday. Should
he incline to renew his visit, they will be glad to see him ; oth
erwise, in point of complaisance, they will be under the neces
sity of returning the visit. If he cannot find the ear that was
cut off, they hope he will wear a wig to hide the mark ; for
perhaps it may not be necessary that all should know chance
had effected that which the laws ought to have done."
In the meantime. Lord Dunmore, with a motley band of
tories, negroes, and recruits from St. Augustine's, was " cutting
such fantastic capers" in the country round about Norfolk, as
made it necessary to crush him or drive him from the state.
With this view, the committee of safety (who, by their consti
tution, were authorized to direct all military movements) de
tached Colonel Woodford, at the head of about eight hundred
men to cross James river at Sandy Point, and go in pursuit of
his lordship. Colonel Henry himself had been anxious for
this service, and is said to have solicited it in vain. But the
committee of safety* seem to have distrusted too much his
want of military experience, to confide to him so important
an enterprise.
The disgust which Mr. Henry had conceived at the palpable
reflection on his military capacity was increased by Colonel
Woodford's refusal to acknowledge his superiority in command.
This gentleman, after his departure from Williamsburgh, on
the expedition against Dunmore, considered himself as no longer
under Mr. Henry's authority ; and consequently addressed all
* The committee of safety was composed of the following gentlemen : — Ed
mund Pendleton, George Mason, Hon. John Page, Richard Bland, Thomas
Ludwell Lee. Paul Carrington, Dudley Digges, William Cabell, Carter Brax
ton, James Mercer, and John Tabb, esquires. The clause of the ordinance
of convention which authorized this committee to direct all military move
ments, is the following : —
"And whereas it may be necessary for the public security, that the forces to
be raised by virtue of this ordinance should, as occasion may require, be
marched to different parts of the colony, and that the officers should be sub
ject to a proper control. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid. That the offi
cers and soldiers under such command shall in all things, not otherwise particu
larly provided for by this ordinance, and the articles established for their regu
lation, be under the control, and subject to the order of the general committeo
of safety."

PATRICK HENRY. 129
his communications to the convention when in session, and
when not so, to the committee of safety. On the sixth Decem
ber, seventeen hundred and seventy-five, Mr. Henry sent an
express to Colonel Woodford, with the following letter : —
" On Virginia service.
"To William Woodford, Esq., colonel of the second regiment
of the Virginia forces.
" Headquarters, Dec, 6, 1775.
" Sir — Not hearing of any despatch from you for a long time,
I can no longer forbear sending to know your situation, and
what has occurred. Every one as well as myself, is vastly
anxious to hear how all stands with you. In case you think
anything could be done to aid and forward the enterprise you
have in hand, please to write it. But I wish to know your sit
uation, particularly with that of the enemy, that the whole may
be laid before the convention now here; The number and de
signs of the enemy, as you have collected it, might open some
prospects to us, that might enable us to form some diversion
in your favour. The bearer has orders to lose no time, and
return with all possible haste. I am, sir, your most humble
servant, "P. Henry, jun.
" P. S. Captain Alexander's company is not yet come.
"Col. Woodford."
To this letter, on the next day, he received the following
answer from Colonel Woodford : —
" Great Bridge, 7th Dec, 1775.
" Sir — I have received yours per express ; in answer to
which must inform you, that, understanding you were out of
town, I have not written you before last Monday, by the return
of the honourable the convention's express, when I referred you
to my letter to them for every particular respecting mine and
the enemy's situation. I wrote them again yesterday and this
morning, which no doubt they will communicate to you, as
commanding officer of the troops at Williamsburgh. When
joined, I shall always esteem myself immediately under your
command, and will obey accordingly ; but when sent to com
mand a separate and distinct body of troops, under the imme
diate instructions of the committee of safety-.-whenever that
body or the honourable convention is sitting, I look upon it as
my indispensable duty to address my intelligence to them, as
the supreme power in this colony.
"If I judge wrong, I hope that honourable body will set me
right. I would wish to keep up the greatest harmony between
us, for the good of the cause we are engaged in ; but cannot
bear to be supposed to have neglected my duty, when I have
11*

126 wirt's LIFE OF
done everything I conceived to be so. The enemy are strong
ly fortified on the other side the bridge, and a great number of
negroes and tories with them ; my prisoners disagree as to the
numbers. We are situate here in mud and mire, exposed to
every hardship that can be conceived, but the want of provis
ions, of which our stock is but small, the men suffering for
shoes ; and if ever soldiers deserved a second blanket in any
service, they do in this ; our stock of ammunition much re
duced, no bullet-moulds that were good for anything sent to
run up our lead, till those sent the other day by Mr. Page.
If these necessaries and better arms had been furnished in time
f6r this detachment, they might have prevented much trouble
and great expense to this colony.
" Most of those arms I received the other day from Williams
burgh are rather to be considered as lumber, than fit to be put
in men's hands, in the face of an enemy : with much repair,
some of them will do ; with those, and what I have taken from
the enemy, hope to be better armed in a few days. I have
written to the convention, that it was my opinion, the greatest
part of the first regiment ought immediately to march to the
scene of action with some cannon, and a supply of ammunition,
and every other necessary for war that the colony can muster,
that a stop may be put to the enemy's progress.
" As to the Carolina troops and cannon, they are by no
means what I was made to expect : sixty of them are here, and
one hundred will be here to-morrow ; more, it is said, will fol
low in a few days, under Colonel Howe ; badly armed, cannon
not mounted, no furniture to them. How long these people
will choose to stay, it is impossible for me to say ; ninety-nine
in one hundred of these lower people rank tories. From all
these informations, if you can make a diversion in my favour,
it will be of service to the colony, and very acceptable to my
self and soldiers ; whom, if possible, I will endeavour to keep
easy under their hard duty, but begin to doubt whether it will
be the case long."
In two days after the receipt of this letter, came the news
of the victory of the Great Bridge, by which Colonel Wood
ford at once threw into the shade the military pretensions of
all the other state officers ; a circumstance not very well cal
culated to gild the pill of contumacy, which he had just present
ed to the commander-in-chief. The committee of safety had
now a delicate part to act between these two officers ; they
were extremely anxious to avoid the decision of the question
which had arisen between them, seeing very distinctly that
their decision could not but disappoint very painfully that gen
tleman who was their favourite officer.

PATRICK HENRY. 127
They seem to have been apprehensive that Colonel Wood
ford would be led, by that decision, to resign in disgust ; and
were justly alarmed at the idea of losing the services of so
valuable an officer, especially after the distinction which he
had recently gained at the Great Bridge. Mr. Henry, howev
er, insisted that the committee or convention should determine
the question, as being the only way to settle the construction
of his commission. It was accordingly taken up, and decided
by the following order of the committee : —
" In Committee — December, mdcclxxv
"Resolved, unanimously. That Colonel Woodford, although
acting upon a separate and detached command, ought to cor
respond with Colonel Henry, and make returns to him at prop
er times of the state and condition of the forces under his com
mand ; and also that he is subject to his orders, when the con
vention, or the committee of safety, is not sitting, but that while
either of those bodies are sitting, he is to receive his orders
from one of them."
The address which was thought necessary in communicating
this resolution to Colonel Woodford, is a proof of the very
high estirnate in which he was held by the committee ; and the
same evidence furnishes very decisive proof that Colonel Hen
ry had not owed his military appointment to the suffrage ol
those members of the committee who maintained the corres
pondence. Thus, on the thirteenth of December, seventeen
hundred and seventy-five, a member of the convention address
ed a letter to Colonel Woodford, which seems to have been a
preparative for the resolution of the committee, and is certain
ly suited, with great dexterity, to that object ; the writer, after
some introductory observations, says : — " Whether you are
obliged to make your returns to Colonel H — y, and to send
your despatches through him to the convention and committee
of safety, and also from those bodies through him to you, must
depend upon the ordinance and the commission he bears.
" You will observe his commission is strongly worded, be
yond what I believe was the intention of the person who drew
it* — but the ordinance, I think, clearly gives the convention,
* The committee appointed to draw up and report the forms of commis
sions, for the officers of the troops to be raised by order of the convention of
the summer of 1775, were, Mr. Banister, Mr. Lawson, Mr. Walkins, and Mr.
Holt; and on the 26th of August, 1775, Mr. Banister from this committee re
ported the following : —
" Form of a commission for the colonel of the first regiment, and commander
of the regular forces.
" The committee of safety for the colony of Virginia to Patrick Henry, Esq.
"Whereas by a resolution of the delegates of this colony, in convention as
sembled, it was determined that vou, the said Patrick Henrv, Esq., should bo

128 wirt's life of
and committee of safety acting under their authority, the abso
lute direction of the troops. The dispute between you must
be occasioned, I suppose, (for I have not seen your letter to
the colonel,) by disregard of him as a commander, after the
adjournment of the committee of safety, and before the meet
ing of the convention ; at which time, I am apt to think, though
I am not military man enough to determine, your correspond
ence should have been with him as commanding officer.
" I have talked with Colonel Henry about this matter ; he
thinks he has been ill treated, and insists the officers under his
command shall submit to his orders. I recommended it to
him to treat the business with caution and temper ; as a differ
ence at this critical moment between our troops would be at
tended with the most fatal consequences ; and took the liberty
to assure him you would, I was certain, submit to whatever
was thought just and reasonable. He has laid the letter before
the committee of safety, whose sentiments upOn the subject I
expect you must have received before this. I hope it will not
come before the convention, but from what Colonel Henry
said, he intimated it must, as it could be no otherwise deter
mined. " My sentiments upon that delicate point, I partly communi
cated upon the expected junction of the Carolina troops with
colonel of the first regiment of regulars, and commander-in-chief of all the
forces to be raised for the protection and defence of this colony ; and by an
ordinance of the same convention it is proyided, that the committee of safety
should issue all military commissions : Now, in pursuance of the said power to
us granted, and in conformity to the appointment of the convention, we, the
said committee of safety, do constitute and commission you, the said Patrick
Henry, Esq., colonel of the first regiment of regulars, and commander-in-chief
of all such other f&rces as may, by order of the convention, or committee of safe
ty, be directed to act in conjunction with them ; and with the said forces, or any
of them, you are hereby empowered to resist and repel all hostile invasions, and
quell and suppress any insurrections which may be made or attempted
against the peace and safety of this his majesty's colony and dominion.
"And we do require you to exert your utmost efforts for the promotion of dis
cipline and order among the officers and soldiers under your command, agreeable
to such ordinances, rules, and articles, which are now or hereafter may be, institu
ted for the government and regulation of the army ; and that you pay due obe
dience to all orders and instructions, which, from time to time, you may receive
from the convention or committee of safety ; to hold, exercise, and enjoy the
said office of colonel and commander-in-chief of the forces, and to perform
and execute the power and authority aforesaid, and all other things which are
truly and of right incidental to your said office, during the pleasure of tho
convention, and no longer. And we do hereby require and command ail officers
and soldiers, and every person whatsoever, in any way concerned, to be obedient
and assisting to you in all things, touching the due execution of this commis-
ftion, according to the purport or intent thereof.
" Given under our hands at this day of Anno
Dom. 177 ."

PATRICK HENRY. 129
ours, which I presume you have received. By your letter yes
terday to the president, I find you agree with me. I very cor
dially congratulate you on the success at the Bridge and the
reduction of the fort, which will give our troops the benefit of
better and more wholesome ground. Your letter came to the
convention just time enough to read it before we broke up, as
it was nearly dark ; it was however proposed and agreed, that
the president should transmit you the approbation of your con
duct in treating with kindness and humanity the unfortunate
prisoners ; and that your readiness to avoid dispute about rank
with Colonel Howe, they consider as a further mark of your
attachment to the service of your country.
" I have had it in contemplation paying you a visit, but have
not been able to leave the convention, as many of our members
are absent and seem to be in continual rotation, some going,
others returning. We shall raise many more battalions, and,
as soon as practicable, arm some vessels. A commander or gen
eral, I suppose, will be sent us by the congress, as it is expect
ed our troops will be upon continental pay. I pray God lo
protect you, and prosper all your endeavours."
But the letter from the chairman of the committee, which
enclosed the resolution is a masterpiece of address, so far as
relates to the feelings of Colonel Woodford ; though certainly
not well judged to. promote the permanent harmony of those
officers, by inspiring sentiments of respect and subordination
for the superior. The letter bears date on the twenty-fourth
of December, seventeen hundred and seventy-five ; it is writ
ten in a strain of the most frank and conciliatory friendship-—
full of deserved eulogy on Colonel Woodford's conduct — and
very far from complimentary to the colonel of the first regiment.
In relation to this gentleman, (after having mentioned the
resolution of raising other regiments,) he says: "The field-
officers to each regiment will be named here, and recommend
ed to congress ; in case our army is taken into continental pay,
they will send commissions. A general officer will be chosen
there, I doubt not, and sent us ; with that matter, I hope we
shall not intermeddle, lest it should be thought propriety re-
quires our calling or rather recommending our present first
ofiicer to that station.
" Believe me, sir, the unlucky step of calling that gentleman
from our councils, where he was useful, into the field, in an
important station, the duties of which he must, in the nature ol
things, be an entire stranger to, has given me many an anxious
and uneasy moment. In consequence of this mistaken step,
which cannot now be retracted or remedied, for he has done
nothing worthy of degradation, and must keep his rank, we

130 wirt's life or
must be deprived of the service of some able officers, whose
honour and former ranks will not sufl"er them to act under him
in this juncture, when we so much need their services ; how
ever, I am told, that Mercer, Buckner, Dangerfield, and Wee-
den, will serve, and are all thought of. I am also told, that
Mr. Thurston and Mr. Millikin are candidates for regiments :
the latter, I believe, will raise, and have a German one. In
the course of these reflections, my great concern is on your
account. "The pleasure I have enjoyed in finding your army conduct
ed with wisdom and success, and your conduct meet with the
general approbation of the convention and country, makes me
more uneasy at a thought that the country should be deprived
of your services, or you made uneasy in it, by any untoward
circumstances. I had seen your letter to our friend Mr. Jones,
(now a member of the committee of safety,) and besides that.
Colonel Henry has laid before the committee your letter to
him, and desired our opinion whether he was to command you
or not.
"We never determined this till Friday evening; a copy of
the resolution I enclose you. If this will not be agreeable, and
prevent future disputes, I hope some happy medium will be
suggested to effect the purpose, and make you easy ; for the
colony cannot part with you, while troops are necessary to be
continued." Mr. Henry had too much sagacity not to perceive the light
in which he was viewed by the committee of safety, and too
much sensibility not to be wounded by the discovery. His
situation was indeed, at this time, most painfully embarrassing.
The rank which he had held was full of the promise of honour
and distinction ; he was the first officer of the Virginia forces ;
the celebrity which he had already attained among his country
men, not only by his political resistance to the measures of the
British parliament, but by the bold and daring military enter
prise which he had headed the preceding year, in the affair of
the gunpowder, led his countrymen to expect, that the appoint
ment which he now held would not be a barren one, but that
he would mark it with the characters of his extraordinary ge
nius, and become as distinguished in the field as he had been in
the senate.
He knew that these expectations were entertained, and had
every disposition to realize them; but his wishes and his hopes
were perpetually overruled by the committee of safety, who
commanded over him, and who gratuitously distrusting his ca
pacity for war, would give him no opportunity of making trial
of it. Yet Mr. Henry, untried, hais been most unjustly slighted

PATRICK HENRY. 131
as a soldier, and spoken of as a mere military cipher ! If I
have not been misinformed, some of those who composed this
very committee did, in aftertimes, frequently allude to this pe
riod of his life, to prove the practical inutility of his character,
and have applied to him the saying, which Wilkes applied to
Lord Chatham, that " all his power and efficacy was seated in
his tongue."*
What figure he might have made in war, had the opportu
nity been allowed him, can now be only matter of speculation.
His personal bravery, so far as I have heard, has never been
called in question ; or if it has, it has been without evidence :
and neither his ardour in the public cause, nor his strong natu
ral sense, can with any colour of justice be disputed. If we
superadd to these qualities that presence of mind, that prompti
tude, boldness, and novelty of view — that dexterous address,
and fertility of expedient, for which he was remarkable — I can
see no reason to doubt, that he would have justified the highest
expectations of his admirers, had he been permitted to com
mand the expedition which he courted.
As to his want of experience, the alleged ground for keep
ing him so ignominiously confined to headquarters, he pos
sessed pretty nearly as much experience as Colonel Washing
ton had when he covered the retreat of Braddock's routed
forces ; as much, too, as those young generals of ours who
have recently covered themselves with so much glory on our
northern frontier : nor would it seem to comport with that re
spect which the committee owed to the convention, from whom
both Colonel Henry and themselves had received their respect
ive appointments, to arrogate the power of reversing the decree
of the convention, and practically degrading the officer of their
first choice. It is certain that the committee were severely
spoken of at the day, and that the people, as well as the
soldiery, did not hesitate openly to impute their conduct toward
Mr. Henry to personal envy.
Other humiliations yet awaited him. Shortly after the affair
of the Great Bridge, Colonel Howe, of North Carolina, at the
head of five or six hundred men of that state, joined Colonel
Woodford ; and taking the command of the whole, with the
consent of the latter gentleman, who yielded to the seniority of
his commission, marched with their united forces into Norfolk,
which had been evacuated by the British. From this post
Colonel Howe continually addressed his communications to the
committee of safety, or to the convention ; and Colonel Henry,
'—homines inertissinU, quorum onmi^ vis, virtusque in lingua sita est.
Sallust Oratio sec. De Rep. Ord.

132 wirt's life of
after having seen his lawful rights and honours transferred in
the first instance, to an inferior officer of his own, had now
the mortification of seeing himself completely superseded, and
almost annihilated, by an officer from another state of only
equal rank.
But even this was not all : six additional regiments had been
raised by the convention, and congress had been solicited to
take the Virginia troops on continental establishment. They
resolved to take the six new regiments, passing by the two first;
a discrimination which conveys so palpable a reflection on the
two first regiments, that it is diflicult to account for it, except
by the secret influence of that unfriendly star, which had hith
erto controlled and obscured Mr. Henry's military destinies.
The measure was so exactly adjusted to the wish expressed by
Colonel Woodford's correspondent, that congress would not
devolve the chief command of the Virginia forces on Colonel
Henry, that it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the sug
gestion came from the same quarter.
The convention, however, now interfered in behalf of their
favourite ; and remonstrated against this degradation of the
officers of their first choice ; earnestly recommending it to
congress, if they adhered to their resolution of taking into con
tinental pay no more than six regiments, to suffer the two first
to stand first in the arrangement. This course was accordingly
adopted; but, at the same time, commissions of brigadier-
general Were forwarded by congress to Colonel Howe, and
Colonel Andrew Lewis.
The reader, if he knows anything of the scrupulous and
even fastidious* delicacy with which military officers watch the
most distant reflection upon their competency, will not be sur
prised that Mr. Henry refused the continental commission of
colonel,* which was now offered to hjm and immediately re-
* The following is an exact copy of the commission sent from the general
congress to the committee of safety, appointing Colonel Henry to the com
mand of the first regiment, or battalion, in this colony, taken upon the conti
nental establishment, agreeable to the requisition of the last convention : —
" In Congress.
" The delegates of the United Colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts
bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the
counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, on Delaware, Maryland, Virgin
ia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to Patrick Henry, Esq. : —
" We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your patriotism, valour,
conduct, and fidelity, do, by these presents constitute and appoint you to be
colonel of the first battalion of Virginia forces, in the army of the United Col
onies, raised for the defence of American liberty, and for repelling every hos
tile invasion thereof. You are, therefore, carefully and diligently to discharge

PATRICK HENRY. 133
signed that which he held from the state. His resignation pro
duced a commotion in the camp, which wore at first an alarm
ing aspect; and would probably have had an extremely unpro
pitious effect on the military efforts of the state, had it not been
instantaneously quelled by his own patriotic exertions. The
following is the notice of this transaction from Purdie's paper
of March ifirst, seventeen hundred and seventy-six : —
"Yesterday morning, the troops in this city being informed
that Patrick Henry, esquire, commander-in-chief of the Virginia
forces, was about to leave them, the whole went into deep
mourning, and being under arms, waited on him at his lodg
ings, when they addressed him in the following manner : —
" ' To Patrick Henry, jun.. Esquire.
"' Deeply impressed with a grateful sense of the obligations
we lie under to you, for the polite, humane, and tender treat
ment manifested to us through the whole of your conduct,
while we had the honour of being under your command, per
mit us to offer you our sincere thanks, as the only tribute we
have in our power to pay to your real merits. Notwithstand
ing your withdrawing yourself from the service fills us with
the most poignant sorrow, as it at once deprives us of our
father and general ; yet, as gentlemen, we are compelled to
applaud your spirited resentment to the most glaring indigni
ty. May your merit shine as conspicuous to the world in gen
eral, as it hath done to us, and may Heaven shower its choicest
blessings upon you !'
" To which he returned the following answer : —
" ' Gentlemen — I am exceedingly obliged to you for your
approbation of my conduct. Your address does me the high
est honour. This kind testimony of your regard to me would
have been an ample reward for services much greater than
the duty of colonel, by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto
belonging. " And we do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your
command to be obedient to your orders as colonel. And you are to obselve
and follow such orders and directions, from time to time, as you shall receive
from this or a future congress of the United Colonies, or committee of con
gress, for that purpose appointed, or commander-in-chief for the time being of
the army of the TJnited Colonies, or any other superior officer, according to
the rules and discipline of war, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you. This
commission to continue in force until revoked by this or a future congress.
"By order of the Congress, "John Hancock, President.
« Attest, "Charles Thomson, Secretary.
"PUUMphia, Feb. 13«A, 1776," 12

134 wirt's LIFE OF
those / have had the power to perform. I return you, and
each of you, gentlemen, my best acknowledgments for the
spirit, alacrity, and zeal you have constantly shown in your
several stations. I am unhappy to part with you. I leave the
service, but I leave my heart with you. May God bless you,
and give you success and safety, and make you the glorious
instrument of saving our country.'
" After the officers had received Colonel Henry's kind an
swer to their address, they insisted upon his dining with thera
at the Raleigh tavern, before his departure : and after dinner a
number of them proposed escorting him out of town, but were
prevented in their resolution by some uneasiness getting among
the soldiery, who assembled in a tumultuous manner, and de
manded their discharge, declaring their unwillingness to serve
under any other commander ; upon which Colonel Henry
found it necessary to stay a night longer in town ; which he
spent in visiting the several barracks, and used every argument
in his power with the soldiery, to lay aside their imprudent
resolution, and to continue in the service which he had quitted
from motives in which his honour alone was concerned ; and
that, although he was prevented from serving his country in a
military capacity, yet his utmost abilities should be exerted for
the real interest of the united colonies, in support of the glori
ous cause in which they have engaged.
" This, accompanied with the extraordinary exertions of
Colonel Christian and other officers present, happily produced
the desired effect, the soldiers reluctantly acquiescing : and we
have now the pleasure to assure the public, that those brave
fellows are now pretty well reconciled, and will spend the last
drop of their blood in their country's defence."
This is the man who has been sometimes branded as a tur
bulent, seditious, factious demagogue ! Had he been of this
character, what an occasion was here to have provoked it to
action ! This love for the man and the officer, and this resent
ment of the indignities to which he had been subjected, were not
confined to the camp at Williamsburgh ; they pervaded the
whole army, and were felt and expressed by the following ad
dress, signed by upward of ninety officers at Kemp's landing
and Suffolk, (in Colonel Woodford's camp,) as well as at Wil
liamsburgh ; and printed by their desire in Purdie's paper of
the twenty-second of March, seventeen hundred and seventy-
five : —
" Sir — Deeply concerned for the good of our country, we
sincerely lament the unhappy necessity of your resignation,
and with all the warmth of affection assure you, that, whatever
may have given rise to the indignity lately offered to you, we

PATRICK HENRY. 135
join with the general voice of the people, and think it our duty
to make this public declaration of our high respect for your
distinguished merit. To your vigilance and judgment as a
senator this united continent bears ample testimony ; while she
prosecutes her steady opposition to those destructive ministe
rial measures to^icA your eloquence first pointed out and taught
to resent, and your resolution led forward to resist.
" To your extensive popularity the service also is greatly in
debted, for the expedition with which the troops were raised ;
and, while they were continued under your command, the firm
ness, candour, and politeness, which formed the complexion of
your conduct toward them, obtained the signal approbation of
the wise and virtuous, and will leave upon our minds the most
grateful impression. Although retired from the immediate
concerns of war, we solicit the continuance of your kindly at
tention. We know your attachment to the best of causes ; we
have the fullest confidence in your abilities, and in the recti
tude of your views ; and however willing the envious may be
to undermine an established reputation, we trust the day will
come, when justice shall prevail, and thereby secure you an
honourable and happy return to the glorious employment of
conducting our councils, and hazarding your life in the defence
of your country.
" With the most grateful sentiments of regard and esteem,
we are, sir, very respectfully, your most obliged and obedient
humble servants."
If any doubt can be entertained as to the body to which this
imputation of envy pointed, it will be removed by the following
defence of the committee of safety, extracted from the sup
plement to Purdie's paper of the fifteenth of March, seventeen
hundred and seventy-six : —
"Mr. Purdie — I am informed a report is prevailing through
the colony, that the committee of safety were the cause of
Colonel Henry's resigning the command of his battalion; which
it is supposed hath received confirmation from the address of
the officers to that gentleman, in which they speak of a glar
ing indignity having been offered him, if it was not wholly
derived from that source. That the good people of the coun
try may be truly informed in this matter, the following state of
facts is submitted, without comment, to the impartial judgment
of the public : —
" As soon as the last convention had voted the raising seven
new battalions of troops, besides augmenting the old ones, the
committee of safety informed our delegates to congress of that
vote, desiring they would use their best endeavours to have the
whole supported at continental expense ; in answer to which.

136 wirt's life of
a letter was received from the delegates, dated the thirtieth of
December, of which the following is an extract : ' The resolu
tions of congress for taking our six additional [they would not
agree to take our other two] battalions, into continental pay,
and for permitting an exportation for supplying our country
men with salt, are enclosed.'
" It was supposed from hence, an intention prevailed in con
gress to pass by the two old battalions, and take six of the
new ones into continental pay; which, as it was, said those
officers would take precedency of provincial ones of equal rank,
was generally thought wrong, since it would degrade the offi
cers of the two first battalions ; and, to avoid this, the conven
tion came'to a resolution, the tenth of January, of which the
following is part : ' Should the congress adhere to their reso
lution of taking into continental pay no more than six battal
ions, let it be earnestly recommended to them to suffer our two
present battalions (to be completed as before mentioned) to
stand first in the arrangement ; since, otherwise, the officers
first appointed by this convention, most of whom have already
gone through a laborious and painful service, will be degraded
in their ranks, and there is too much reason to apprehend that
great confusion will ensue.'
" The worthy gentlemen {not a member of the committee of
safety) who proposed this resolution, informed the convention,
he had consulted some of the officers of the first regiment, who
wished to have their rank preserved, though it was foreseen
the pay would be reduced.
" The committee of Safety, in a letter to the delegates, dated
the twenty-fifth of January, enclosing this resolution, thus
write : 'You have a list of the field officers as they stand re
commended, and we doubt not receiving the commissions in
the like order, with blanks for the proper number of captains
and subalterns. If, however, the resolution of congress should
be unalterably fixed to allow us but six battalions, you will
please to attend to that part of the resolve which recommends
their being the first six, as a point of great consequence to our
harmony, in which may be involved the good of the common
cause.' " The committee of safety afterward received the commis
sions wholly filled up for the field officers of six battalions, in
the rank they stood recommended by the convention, begin
ning with Colonel Henry, and ending with Colonel Buckner of
the sixth battalion, with directions to deliver them. Colonel
Henry was accordingly offered his commission, which he de
clined accepting, and retired without assigning any reasons.
"As to the general officers, the Convention left them en-

PATRICK HENRY. 137
tirely to the choice of the congress, without recommenda
tion ; nor did the committee of safety at all intermeddle in that
choice. "A Friend TO Truth."
Immediately following this defence of the committee, in the
same paper, are the two following articles : —
" Mr. Purdie — The address of the officers to Colonel Hen
ry, and the colonel's reply, have led some of our enemies to
hope that there would be great discontent in the army, by
which our military operations would be retarded, and that there
would be a considerable murmuring against the congress ; but
they are much mistaken. It is true the soldiers and officers
were very unhappy at parting with so amiable a commander as
Colonel Henry ; and might be a little imprudent in some ex
pressions on the occasion ; but there is not a man of them who
is not so warmly attached to the glorious cause he is engaged
in, as to serve with alacrity under any commander, rather than
it should suffer.
" And Colonel Henry himself is a gentleman of so much
honour, and so true a patriot, that he will never countenance a
murmur against the congress ; nay so far from it, that it is
highly probable he will soon be found in that august assembly,
urging vrith his powerful eloquence, the necessity of prosecu
ting the war with redoubled vigour. I am a sincere friend to
the congress and to Colonel Henry."
" Mr Purdie, " ' Envy will merit as its shade pursue :
But, like the shadow, proves the substance true.' — Pope.
"I was not surprised to see, in your last week's gazette, the
resignation of Patrick Henry, esquire, late commander-in-chief
of all the Virginia forces, and colonel of the first regiment.
From that gentleman's amiable disposition, bis invariable per
severance in the cause of liberty, we apprehend that envy
strove to bury in obscurity his martial talents. Fettered and
confined, with .only an empty title, the mere echo of authority,
his superior abilities lay inactive, nor could be exerted for
his honour, or his country's good.
"Virginia may truly boast, that in him she finds the able
statesman, the soldier's father, the best of citizens, and liber
ty's dear friend. Clad with innocence, as in a coat-of-mail. he
is proof against every serpentile whisper. The officers and
soldiers, who know him, are riveted to his bosom ; when he
speaks, all is silence ; when he orders, they cheerfully obey ;
and in the field, under so sensible, so prudent an officer, though
hosts oppose them,' with shouts they meet their armed foe, the
sure presages of victory and success. 12*

138 wirt's life of
"Let us, my countrymen, with grateful hearts, remembet
that he carried off the standard of liberty, and defeated Gren*
ville in his favourite stamp-act.
" ' While many dreaded, till with pleasing eye.
Saw tyranny before brave Henry fly.'
" I am, Mr. Purdie, your friend, and a well-wisher to Vir
ginia. " An Honest Farmer."
' It is very clear from the last piece, as well as from the ad
dress of -the ninety officers, which has been already given, and
which was published by their desire in a paper subsequent to
that which contains the defence of the committee, that that de
fence had been by no means satisfactory ; and that either the
committee as a body, or what is more probable, some individ
ual or individuals of it, were still believed to have had a secret
hand in planning and directing the series of indignities which
had driven Mr. Henry from a military life.
It would seem that the truly i'espectable and venerable chair
man of that committee came in at the time for his full propor
tion of this censure, and that he smarted severely under it :
this I infer, from a letter of his to Colonel Woodford some
time afterward, in answer to one by which that gentleman had
consulted him as to the propriety of his resigning his commis
sion. After having dissuaded him from this stejy by other top
ics, he proceeds thus : — "I am apprehensive that your resigna
tion will be handled to your disadvantage, from a certain
quarter, where all reputations are sacrificed for the sake of
one ; what does it signify, that he resigned without any such
cause, or assigning any reason at all? it is not without exam
ple, that others should be censured for what he is applauded
for." This acrimony, so unusual from a man of Mr Pendleton's
benevolence and courtesy, could have been wrung from him
only by the bitterest provocations ; and renders it highly prob
able, that the numerous and enthusiastic admirers of Mr. Hen
ry had implicated this gentleman deeply in the indignities
which had recently been offered to their favourite.
"The necessity of placing this incident of Mr. Henry's life
in its true light, upon the evidence in my possession, has im
posed upon me a very painful duty in regard to Mr. Pendleton.
Vyith the justice or injustice of the construction placed upon
his conduct in relation to Mr. Henry, I have nothing to do.
Even if just, the infirmity of human nature maybe easily ex
cused in feeling some uneasiness at the eclipsing brightness
with which Mr. Henry had rushed, like a comet, to the head of
affairs in Virginia.

PATRICK HENRT. [39
It demands, however, no uncommon measure of charity ttf
believe, that what was imputed to envy at the time, proceeded^
so far as Mr, Pendleton was. concerned, from a single eye to
the public good, and a sincere belief on his part, (an opinion-
in which he was by no means singular,) that Mr. Henry's inex
perience in niilitary affeirs mad« it unsafe to commit to his
management the infancy of our war.
The people required to be animated by success in the onset ;
and it was therefore very natural in the committee of safety, on
whom the responsibility for the management of the war de
volved, to sclectj for the first enterprises, the most experienced
commander. Mr. Pendleton was too virtuous a man, and too
faithful a patriot, to have yielded consciously to any other
motive of action than the public good. His country has fixed
its seal upon his exalted character, and the v^riter of these
sketches is much more disposed to brighten than to eflace th6
impression. The motives of Mr. Henry's resignation of his commission
which have been stated, are very easily and clearly deducible
from the papers of the day, and Were expressly avowed by hittt
to his Confidential friends and brother-in-law, Colonel Mere
dith.* To other friends, however, he stated that he was
the more reconciled to the necessity vvhich had Compiled
him to resign, b^cauSte he believed that he could perhaps serVci
the cause of his country more effectually in the public Councilif
than in the field. t
Immediately upon his resignation he was elected a delegate
to the Convention from the county of Hanover. Th^ session
of that body, which was no*' comiilg on, was pregnant with
importance. Dunmore had abdicated the chair of government,
and the royal authority in the cOlony was seen and felt no long
er, but in acts of hostility.
The king had declared from his throne, that the colonists
must be reduced by force to submit to the British claim of tax
ation ; and the colonists, on their part, had avowed that they
never would submit to this prostration of their rights ; but, on
* These are Colonel Meredith's words : — " P. H. in a communication to Colo
nel M. stated his motives for resigning his commission as colonel. He con
ceived himself neglected, by younger officers having been put above him, and
preferred to him ; particularly in the affair of the Great Bridge, wrhere he wish
ed to have commanded ; but Colonel Woodford received that appointment.
fte disliked his being kept in and about Williamsburgh, arid not appointed to
some important post or expedition. He was thus induced to think he' wa»
neglected by those »fho had the power of appointment. He therefore rc-

t Judge Tyler, an' Captain George Dabney.

140 wirt's life of
the contrary, that they would hand down to their children the
birthright of liberty which they had enjoyed, or perish in the at
tempt. On this quarrel arms had been taken up on both sides,
and the appeal had been made to the God of battles. The war
had assumed a regular and settled form ; blood had been pro
fusely shed in various parts of the continent, and reconcilia
tion had become hopeless.
The people being thus abandoned by their king, put out of
his protection, declared in a state of open rebellion, and treated
as enemies, the social compact which had united the monarch
with his subjects was at an end ; the colonial constitution,
which could be set and kept in motion only by the presence
and agency of the king or his representative, was of course dis
solved ; and all the rights and powers of government reverted,
of necessity, to their source, the people. These causes produ
ced the convention.
It was the organ by which the people chose to exercise the
fundamental rights thus thrown back upon them, by the disso
lution of the regal government. It was the substitute for the
whole government which had been withdrawn — legislative, ex
ecutive, and judiciary. It represented the whole political pow
er of the people ; and had been expressly elected to take care
of the republic. The means of accomplishing this object were
left to themselves, without limitation or restriction on the part
of the people.
Hitherto, while any hope of a restoration of the original gov
ernment on just terms could be entertained, the convention had
been satisfied with temporary expedients ; the first convention,
however, had exercised the power of the people in their highest
capacity, by adopting a species of constitution, and organizing a
government under it ; thus they erected an executive, under the
name of a committee of safety, which the people recognised as
flowing directly from themselves.
Before the meeting of the convention of seventeen hundred
and seventy-six, however, it was seen and well understood on
every hand, that the contest could not be maintained by the peo
ple, without the aid of regular government : and that the polit
ical malady of which they complained, could be extirpated in
no other way than by applying the knife to the root. The
newspapers of the preceding year contain frequent suggestions
of this kind ; the impression had now become universal ; and
the papers present specimens of explicit instructions from the
people to their delegates to this effect.*
'The following are instructions from the freeholders of James' city to thsir
delegates ; —

PATRICK HENRY. 141
Thus instructed in the sentiments of their constituents, and
representing the people in their highest sovereign capacity, the
convention met on the sixth of May, seventeen hundred and
seventy-six, in the old capitol in the city of Williamsburgh. Mr.
Pendleton having been elected president, after having thanked
the house for the honour done him, addressed them with great
solemnity, in the following terms : — " We are now met in general
convention according to the ordinance for our election, at a time
truly critical, when subjects of the most important, and inter
esting nature require our serious attention.
" The administration of justice, and almost all the powers of
government, have now been suspended for near two years. It
will become us to reflect whether we can longer sustain the
great struggle we are making in this situation." Having then
directed their attention to certain specific subjects which re
quired attention, he concluded his short, but impf essive address,
by exhorting the members to calmness, unanimity, and dili
gence. " To Robert C Nicholas, a%d William NorveU, Esquires ; —
" Gentlemen — In vain do we congratulate ourselves on the impoiency of
the minister to divide us, if our union amounts to nothing more than a union
in one common lethargy. War hath been brought into our houses, heightened
by terrors and cruelties which the justest cause wants even palliatives for ; but
faint advances toward peace, insidiously urged, have caught the ear of the
credulous, and groundless hopes of accommodation deluded the timid, so that
the free military system remains untouched in most essential points. As if
our inexperience, poverty in warlike stores, and the infancy of our navy, were
of trifling moment, we have ventured to neglect resources in such difficulties,
which Heaven hath placed within our attainment.
" Alliances may be formed at an easy price, capable of supplying these dis
advantages, but an independent ^tate disdains to humble herself to an equality
in treaty with another, who cannot call her politics her own ; or to be explicit,
she cannot enter into a negotiation with those Who denominate themselves
rebels, by resistance, and confession of a dependancy.
" Reasons, drawn frotii justice, policy, and necessity, are everywhere at
hand for a radical separatio* from Great Britain. From justice ; for the blood
ef those who have failen in our cause tries aloud, 'It \t time to part.' Frbni
necessity, because she hath, of herself, repudiated us by a rapid succession Of
insult, injury, robbery, murder, and a formid declaration of war. These are but
few, and some of the weakest arguments which the great volume of our op
pression opens to every Spirited American.
" It cannot be a violation of our faith now to reject the terms of 1763.
They are a qualified slavery at best, and vrere acceptable to us, not as the
extent of our right, but the probable cause of peace ; but since the day in
which they were most humbly offered as the end of animosities, an interval
hath passed, marked with tyranny intolerable.
" We, therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do request and
instruct you, our delegates, (provided no just and honourable terms are offered
by the king,) to exert your utmost ability, in the next convention, toward
dissolving the connexion between Americaund Great Britain, tOtall*, riNAi/iT
AND IBBBVOCABLT."

142 wirt's LIFE OF
On the fifteenth of May, Mr. Cary reported from the commit.
tee of the whole house.on the state Of the colony, the following
preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : —
" Forasmuch as all the endeavours of the United Colonies,
by the most decent representations and petitions to the king
and parliament of Great Britain, to restore peace and security to
America under the British government, and a reunion with that
people upon just and liberal terms, instead of a redress of griev
ances, have produced, from an imperious and vindictive admin
istration, increased insult, oppression, and a vigorous attempt
to effect our total destruction. By a late act, all these colo
nies are declared to be in rebellion, and out of the protection of
the British crown ; our properties subjected to confiscation ;
our people, when captivated, compelled to join in the murder
and plunder of their relations and countrymen ; and all former
rapine and oppression of Americans declared legal and just.
Fleets and armies are raised, and the aid of foreign troops en
gaged to assist these destructive purposes.
" The king's representative in this colony hath not only
withheld all the powers Of government from operating for our
safety, but, having retired on board an armed ship, is carrying
on a piratical and savage war against us ; tempting our slaves,
by every artifice, to resort to him, and training and employing
them against their master's. In this state of extreme danger,
we have no alternative left, but an abject submission to the will
of those overbearing tyrants, or a total separation from the
crown and government of Great Britain : uniting and exerting
the strength of all America fpr defence, and forming alliances
with foreign powers for commerce and aid in war.
"Wherefore, appealing to the Searcher of hearts for the sin
cerity of former declarations, expressing our desire to preserve
the connexion with that nation, and that we are driven from
that inclination by their wicked councils, and the eternal laws
of self-preservation,
" Resolved, unanimously. That the delegates appointed to
represent this colony in general congress, be instructed to pro
pose to that respectable body, to declare the united colo
nies FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, absolved from all alle
giance to, or dependance upon, the crown or parliament of
Great Britain ; and that they give the assent of this colony to
such declaration, and to whatever measures taay be thought
proper and necessary by the congress for forming foreign
alliances, and a confederation of the Colonies, at such
time, and in the manner, as to them shall seem best. Provided,
that the power of forming government for, and the regulation

PATRICK HENRY. 143
of, the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the respect
ive colonial legislatures.
'• Resolved, unanimously, That a committee be appointed to
prepare a declaration of rights, and such a plan of gov
ernment as will be most likely to maintain peace and order in
this colony, and secure substantial and equal liberty to the
people." This measure was followed by the most lively demonstrations
of joy. The spirit of the times, is interestingly manifested by
the following paragraph from Purdie's paper of the seventeenth
of May, which immediately succeeds the annunciation of the
resolutions : —
" In consequence of the above resolutions, universally re
garded as the only door which will lead to safety and pros
perity, some gentlemen made a handsome collection for the
purpose of treating the soldiery, who next day were paraded in
Waller's grove, before Brigadier-General Lewis, attended by
the gentlemen of the committee of safety, the members of the
general convention, the inhabitants of this city, &c., &c. The
resolutions being read aloud to the army, the following toasts
were given, each of them accompanied by a discharge of the
artillery and small arms, and the acclamations of all present : —
" 1. The American Independent States.
" 3. The grand Congress of the United States, and their
r«spective legislatures.
" 3. General Washington, and victory to the American arms.
" The Union Flag of the American States waved upon the
capitol during the whole of this ceremony ; which being ended,
the soldiers partook of the refreshments prepared for them by
the affection of their countrymen, and the evening concluded
with illuminations, and other demonstrations of joy ; every one
seeming pleased that the domination of Great Britain was now
at an end, so wickedly and tyrannically exercised for these
twelve or thirteen year^ past, notwithstanding our repeated
prayers and remonstrances for redress."
The committee appointed to prepare the declaration and
plan of government, called for by the last resolution, were the
following : — Mr. Archibald Cary, Mr. Meriwether Smith, Mr.
Mercer, Mr. Henry Lee, Mr. Treasurer, Mr. Henry, Mr.
Dandridge, Mr. Gilmer, Mr. Bland, Mr. Digges, Mr. Carring
ton, Mr. Thomas Ludwell Lee, Mr. Cabell, Mr. Jones, Mr.
Blair, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Tazewell, Mr. Richard Cary, Mr. Bul
litt, Mr. Watts, Mr. Bannister, Mr. Page, Mr. Starke, Mr. David
Mason, Mr. Adams, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Thomas Lewis ; to
whom were afterward successively added, Mr. Madison, Mr.

M4 wirt's life or
Ruthfdrd, Mr. Watkins, Mr. George Mason, Mr. Harvie, Mr.
Curie, and Mr. Holt.
On Wednesday, the twelfth ofi June following, that declara
tion of rights which stands prefixed to our statutes, was reported
and adopted without a dissenting voice ; as was also, on Sat
urday, the twenty-ninth of the same month, the present plan
of our government.
The striking similitude between the recital of wrongs prefixed
to the constitution of Virginia, and that which was afterward
prefixed to the Declaration of Independence of the United
States, is of itself sufficient to establish the fact that they are
from the same pen. But the constitution of Virginia preceded
the Declaration of Independence, by nearly a month; and was
wholly composed and adopted while Mr. Jefferson is known to
have been out of the state, attending the session of congress
at Philadelphia. From these facts alone, a doubt might nat
urally arise whether he was, as he has always been reputed,
the author of that celebrated instrument, the Declaration of
American Independence, or at least the recital of grievances
which ushers it in ; or whether this part of it, at least, had not
been borrowed from the preamble to the constitution of Vir
ginia. To remove this doubt, it is proper to state, that there now
exists among the archives of this state an original rough draught
of a constitution for Virginia, in the hand-writing of Mr. Jef
ferson, containing this identical preamble, and which was for
warded by him from Philadelphia, to his friend Mr. Wythe, to
be submitted to the committee of the house of delegates. The
body of the constitution is taken principally from a plan pro
posed by Mr. George Mason ; and had been adopted by the
committee before the arrival of Mr. Jefferson's plan ; his pre
amble, however, was prefixed to the instrument; and some of
the modifications proposed by him introduced into the body
ef it.
The salary of the governor to be appointed under the new
constitution was immediately fixed by a resolution of the house
at one thoiisand pounds per annum ; and the house proceeded
to elect forthwith the first republican governor for the com
monwealth of Virginia. This was the touchstone of public
favour. The office was of the first importance ; and the whole
state was open to the choice of the house. The question was
decided on the first ballot. The vote stood thus :—
For Patrick Henry, jun. Esq. - - . 60
Thomas Nelson, Esq. - ... 45
John Page, Esq. . , . . . j
Whereupon it was "Resolved, That the said Patrick Henry,

PATRICK HENRY. 145
jun. Esq., be governor of this commonwealth, to continue in
that office until the end of the succeeding session of assembly
after the last of March next ; and that Mr. Mason, Mr. Henry
Lee, Mr. Digges, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Dandridge, be a com
mittee to wait upon him, and notify such appointment."
On Monday, the first of July, Mr. George Mason, of this
committee, reported, that they had performed the duty assigned
them, and that the governor, had been pleased to return the
following answer to the convention : —
•' To the Honourable the President and House of Con-
vention : —
" Gentlemen — The vote of this day, appointing me governor
of the commonwealth, has been notified to me in the most po
lite and obliging manner, by George Mason, Henry Lee, Dudley
Digges, John Blair, and Bartholomew Dandridge, esquires.
"A sense of the high and unmerited honour conferred upon
me by the convention, fills my heart with gratitude, which I
trust my whole life will manifest. I take this earliest oppor
tunity to express my thanks, which I wish to convey to you,
gentlemen, in the strongest terms of acknowledgment.
"When I reflect that the tyranny of the British king and
parliament hath kindled a formidable war, now raging through
out this wide-extended continent, and in the operations of
which this commonwealth must bear so great apart; and that,
from the events of this war, the lasting happiness or misery of
a great proportion of the human species will finally result ; that,
in order to preserve this commonwealth from anarchy, and its
attendant ruin, and to give vigour to our councils, and effect to
all our measures, government hath been necessarily assumed,
and new-modelled ; that it is exposed to numberless hazards,
and perils, in its infantine state ; that it can never attain to ma
turity, or ripen into firmness, unless it is guarded by an affec
tionate assiduity, and managed by great abilities ; I lament my
want of talents ; I feel my mind filled with anxiety and uneasi
ness, to find myself so unequal to the duties of that important
station, to which I am called by the favour of myfellow^citizens
at this truly critical conjuncture. The errors of my conduct
shall be atoned for, so far as I am able, by unwearied endeav
ours to secure the freedom and happiness of our common
country. " I shall enter upon the duties of my office, whenever you,
gentlemen, shall be pleased to direct ; relying upon the known
wisdom and virtue of your honourable house to supply my
defects, and to give permanency and success to that system of
government which you have formed, and which is so wisely
IS

146 wirt's life of
calculated to secure equal liberty, and advance human hap
piness. " I have the honour to be, gentlemen,
" your most obedient and very humble servant,
" P. Henry, jun."
Mr. Henry was also immediately greeted with the following
affectionate address, from the two regiments which he had re
cently commanded : —
" To his excellency Patrick Henry, jiin. Esq., governor of
the commonwealth of Virginia : — 7%c humble address of
the first and second Virginia regiments : —
" May it please your excellency : — -
' " Permit us with the sincerest sentiments of respect and joy,
to congratulate your excellency upon your unsolicited pro
motion to the highest honours a grateful people can bestow.
" Uninfluenced by private ambition, regardless of sordid
interest, you have uniformly pursued the general good of your
country ; and have taught the world, that an ingenuous love of
the rights of mankind, an inflexible resolution, and a steady
perseverance in the practice of every private and public virtue,
lead directly to preferment, and give the best title to the hon
ours of our uncorrupted and vigorous state.
" Once happy under your military command, we hope for
more extensive blessings from your civil administration.
" Intrusted as your excellency is, in some measure, with the
support of a young empire, our hearts are willing, and arms
ready, to maintain your authority as chief magistrate ; happy
that we have lived to see the day, when freedom and equal
rights, established by the voice of the people, shall prevail
through the land. We are, may it please your excellency,
your excellency's most devoted and most obedient servants."
To which he returned the following exquisite answer:—
" Gentlemen of the first and second Virginia regiments : —
" Your address does me the highest honour. Be pleased to
accept my most cordial thanks for your favourable and kind
sentiments of my principles and conduct.
" The high appointment to which my fellow-citizens have
called me, was, indeed, unmerited, unsolicited. I am, there
fore, under increased obligations to promote the safety, dignity,
and happiness of the commonwealth.
"While the civil powers are employed in establishing a
system of government, liberal, equitable, in every part of which
the genius of equal liberty breathes her blessed influence, to
you is assigned the glorious task of saving, by your valour all

PATRICK HENRY. 147
that is dear to mankind. Go on, gentlemen, to finish the great
work you have so nobly and successfully begun. Convince the
tyrants again, that they shall bleed, that America will bleed to
her last drop, ere their wicked schemes find success.
" The remembrance of my former connexion with you shall
ever be dear to me. I honour your profession, I revere that
patriot virtue, which, in your conduct, hath produced cheerful
obedience, exemplary courage, and contempt of hardship and
danger. Be assured, gentlemen, I shall- feel the highest plea
sure in embracing every opportunity to contribute to your hap
piness and welfare ; and I trust the day will come, when I shall
make one of those that will hail you among the triumphant de
liverers of America.
" I have the honour to be, gentlemen,
" Your most obedient and very humble servant,
" P. Henry, jun."
When it is said that Mr. Henry was not successful as a
writer, the remark must be understood as applicable only to
those extended compositions in which it was necessary to digest
and arrange a mass of arguments with skill and effect, and to
give them beauty as well as order. In his short effusions, when
excited by strong feelings, he was sometimes very happy ; of
which the above answer is a very pleasing specimen.
The first council appointed under the constitution were,
John Page, Dudley Digges, John Taylor, John Blair, Benja
min Harrison, of JBerkeley, Bartholomew Dandridge, Thomas
Nelsgn, and Charles Carter, of Sherley, esquires. Mr. Nelson
^the same gentleman who had received so honourable a vote as
governor) declined the acceptance of the office, on account of
his age and infirmities ; and his place was supplied by Mr.
Benjamin Harrison, of Brandon.
Thp governor's palace, together with the out-buildings be
longing to it in Williamsburgh, having, by a previous resolution,
been appropriated as a public hospital, was, by a resolution of
the first of July, restored to its original destination ; and the
committee who had been appointed to notify the governor of
his election, were now directed to inform him of the desire of
the convention, that he would make the palace his place of
residence. On the fifth of July the sum of one thousand
pounds was directed by the house, to be laid out in furniture for
the palace, including the furniture already there; belonging to
the country ; and on the same day, the governor and members of
the privy council took their respective oaths of office, and en
tered at once upon the discharge of their constitutional duties.

148 wirt's life or

CHAPTER VII.
Mr. Henry's Administration as Governor of Virginia — Disasters of the Rev
olution — Then: Effects — A prospect of making a Dictator is originated in
Virginia — Mr. Henry vindicated — Sis Re-election in 1777 — The plot to sup
plant General Washington — Anonymous Disclosures to Mr. Henry — Let
ters to Washington on that subject — Washington's Reply — Mr. Heoiy again
re-elected in 1778 — Narration of the Case of Josiah Philips — Mr. Henry
declines a fourth Election — Death of his Wife — He remarries — General
Gates enters Richmond in disgrace — Mr. Henry's Resedution in favour of
that Officer — General Gates's Reply — Dispuriting State of Affairs — Meeting
of the Assembly at Richmond — Mr. Harrison elected Speaker — Tarlton
makes a Descent upon the Town — Arrival of the French — Termination of
the Revolution — Mr. Henry's Course as Member of the Assembly — He
advocates the Return of the Refugees — Sentiments on Freedom of Com
merce — Bill for Intermarriages with the Indians — Incorporation of religious
Societies — Bill for establishing a Provision for Teachers of Religion — Visit
of Lafayette and Washington to Richmond — Reminiscences of Mr. Henry
by a Cotemporary — Comparison between Him and Mr. Lee — Judge Stuart's
delineation of Mr. Henry's Eloquence — He is again elected Governor of
Virginia in 1784 — Resigns in 1786 — Resumes the Practice of the Law —
The Federal Constitution adopted at Philadelphia.
Shortly after Mr. Henry's election as governor. Lord
Dunmore was driven from Gwinn's Island, and from the state,
to return to it no more ; and Virginia was left in repose from
every external enemy. No opportunity, therefore, was afforded
to the governor to distinguish himself in the exercise of that
important constitutional power which created him the com
mander-in-chief of the forces of the state. Duties, however,
of more ipiportance than lustre, remained for the executive of
the state — ^in keeping up the ardour of the commonwealth in
the public cause — in furnishing and forwarding their quota of
military supplies to the grand continental army — in awakening
the spirit of the state to the importance of discipline, and pre
paring the militia for the effectual discharge of their routine of
duty — in watching and crushing the intrigues of the tories who
still infested the state, and went about clandestinely, preaching
disaffection to the patriot cause, and submission to Great Britain
— in counteracting the schemes Of speculating monopolists and
extortioners, who sought to avail themselves of the necessities
of the times, and to grove rich by preying on the misfortunes of
the people — in short, in eradicating and removing those nu
merous moral diseases, which spring up with so much fecundity,
and fiourish so luxuriantly, amid the calamities of a revolution —
and in keeping the body politic pure and healthy in all its parts.
The numerous and well directed proclamations with which
the papers of the day abounded, attest the vigilance and
energy with which these duties were performed. To enter

PATRICK HENRY. 140
'upon a detail of them, would be to write the history of Virginia
during this period, instead of the life of Mr. Henry; a work
wholly unnecessary, since it has been already executed with
minuteness and fidelity by an elegant writer, * whose work will
probably see the light before these sketches. I shall confine
myself to a few prominent incidents of Mr. Henry's adminis
tration, on account of some of which a degree of censure has
been unjustly, I think, attached to his character.
The fall of the year 1776 was one of the darkest and most
dispiriting periods of the revolution. The disaster at Long
Island had occurred, by which a considerable portion of the
American army had been cut off — a garrison of between three
and four thousand men had been taken at Fort Washington —
and the American general, with the small remainder, ' disheart
ened, and in want of every kind of comfort, was retreating
through the Jerseys before an overwhelming power, which
spread terror, desolation, and death, on every hand. This was
the period of which Paine, in his Crisis, used that memorable
expression : — " These are the times which try the souls of
men 1" For a short time the courage of the country fell.
Washington alone remained erect, and surveyed with godlike
composure the storm that raged around him. Even the heroism
of the Virginia legislature gave way ; and, in a season, of de
spair, the mad project of a dictator was seriously meditated.
ThatMr. Henry was thought of for this office, has been alleged,
and is highly probable ; but that the project was suggested by
him, or even received his countenance, I have met with no one
who will venture to affirm. There is a tradition that Colonel
Archibald Cary, the speaker of the senate, was principall)' in
strumental in crushing this project ; that meeting Colonel
Syme, the step-brother of Colonel Henry, in the lobby of the
house, he accosted him very fiercely in terms like these : — " I
am told that your brother wishes to be dictator : tell him from
me, that the day of his appointment shall be the day of his
death — for he shall feel my dagger in his heart before the sunset
of that day ;" and the tradition adds, that Colonel Syme, in
great agitation, declared, " that if such a project existed, his
brother had no hand in it, for that nothing could be more foreign
to him, than to countenance any office which could endanger, in
the most distant manner, the liberties of his country."
The intrepidity and violence of Colonel Gary's character
renders the tradition probable ; but it furnishes no proof of
Mr. Henry's implication in the scheme. It is most certain,
that both himself and his friends have firmly and uniformly
• Mr. L. H. Giiaidin, the continuator of Burk's History of Virginia.
13*

3ft* wirt's life of
persisted in asserting his innocence ; and there seems to he
neither candour or justice in imputing to him, without evidence^
a scheme which might just as well have originated in the as
sembly itself. It was not more than a month afterward, that
congress actually did, with relation to General Washington,
very nearly what the Virginia legislature are said to have con
templated in regard to Mr. Henry ; they invested him with
powers very little short of dictatorial : yet no one ever sus
pected General Washington of having prompted the measure.
Why then shall Mr. Henry be suspected ?
Neither General Washington himself, nor any other patriot,
had maintained the principles of the revolution with more consis
tency and uniformity than Patrick Henry ; and it will certainly
never satisfy a fair inquirer, to attempt to balance a suspicion,
without the shadow of proof, against the whole course of a long
and patriotic life. The charge, moreover, seems prepbsterous.
What advantage could a rational man promise himself from the
dictatorship of a single state, embarked with twelve other sover
eign and independent states, in one cornmon cause ; a cause,
too, now so well understood by the whole body of the American
people, and in which all their souls were so intensely engaged?
The man who was at the head of the armies of the union, migh!
have played the part of Cesar or Cromwell, had he possessed
their wicked spirit ; but what could the dictator of a single state
do, and that, too, a state of firm and enlightened patriots ?
It is impossible to believe that the legislature themselves coult.
have entertained a doubt of Mr. Henry's innocence ; since lA
the next annual election for governor, which took place on thr
thirtieth of May, seventeen hundred and seventy-seven, he was
te-e\ected unanimously ; the house being composed of nearly
the same members, and the same Colonel Cary being speaker
of the senate. This honourable proof of confidence, by those
who best knew the whole case — who watched, with a scrutiny
so severely jealous, the conduct of our prominent men — an^
among whom were some who derived no pleasure from thi?
public honours of Mr. Henry — will be decisive of this question,
with every man who is dispassionately searching for the truth,
and is willing to find it.
This very honourable mark of the confidence of the legisla
ture, in re-electing him unanimously to the office of governor,
affected Mr. Henry most sensibly; and to the committee who
announced it to him, he gave the following answer : —
" Gentlemen : The signal honour conferred on me by the
general assembly in their c«oice of me to be the governor ol
this commonwealth, demands my best acknowledgments, which

PATRICK HENRY. 161
I beg the favour of you to convey to them in the most accepta
ble manner.
"I shall execute the duties of that high station, to which I
am again called by the favour of my fellow-citizens, according
to the best of my abilities, and I shall rely upon the candour
and wisdom of the assembly, to excuse and supply my defects.
The good of the commonwealth shall be the only object of my
pursuit, and I shall measure my happiness according to the suc
cess which shall attend my endeavours to establish the public
liberty. I beg to be presented to the assembly ; and that they
and you will be assured, that I am, with every sentiment of the
highest regard, their and your most obedient and very humble
servant,
"P. Henry."
It was in the course of this year's administration of the gov
ernment by Mr. Henry, that that memorable plot which dis
graces our history, was formed to supplant General Washing
ton. This is said to have proceeded from the glory which
General Gates had gained by the capture of Burgoyne and his
army at Saratoga, and was believed to have been suggested by
General Gates himself. The plot is said to have been an ex
tensive one, and to have embraced some of the members of
congress, and many officers of the army. The high estimate
which Mr. Henry had formed of the abilities of General Wash
ington, while that illustrious man was comparatively unknown
to his countrymen, has been already stated. This estimate, in
stead of having been lowered, had been confirmed and raised
by subsequent events.
Mr. Henry was too cool and judicious an observer of events,
to have imputed to the commander-in-chief the disasters of the
autumn of seventeen hundred and seventy-six. His masterly
retreat through the Jerseys, the brilliant strokes o( generalship
exhibited at Trenton and Princeton, and above all, that singular
constancy of soul with which he braved adversity, had excited his
grateful admiration, and established Washington in his heart as
one of the first of human beings. He not only admired him as
a . general, but revered him as a patriot, and loved him as a
friend. Feeling for General Washington sentiments like these,
the reader may judge of the indignation and horror with which
he read the following anonymous letter, addressed to him by
one of the conspirators against that father of his country : —
"YoRKTowN, January 12th, 1778.
" Dear sir : The common danger Of our country first brought
you and me together. I recollect with pleasure the influence
of your conversation and eloquence upon the opinions of this
country, in the beginning of the present controversy. You

152 wirt's life of
first taught us to shake off our idolatrous attachment to royalty
and to oppose its encroachments upon our liberties, with our
very lives. By these means you saved us from ruin. The in
dependence of America is the offspring of that liberal spirit of
thinking and acting which followed the destruction of the scep
tres of kings, and the mighty power of Great Britain.
" But, sir, we have only passed the Red sea. A dreary
wilderness is still before us, and unless a Moses or a Joshua
are raised up in our behalf, we must perish before we reach the
promised land. We have nothing to fear from our enemies on
the way. General Howe, it is true, has taken Philadelphia;
but he has only changed his prison. His dominions are bound
ed on all sides, by his out-sentries. America can only be un
done by herself. She looks up to her councils and arras for
protection; but alas? what are they? Her representation in
congress dwindled to only twenty-one members — her Adams —
her Wilson — her Henry, are no more among them. Her coun
cils weak — and partial remedies applied constantly for univer-'
sal diseases.
" Her army — what is it ? a major-general belonging to it,
called it a few days ago, in my hearing, a mob. Discipline
unknown or wholly neglected. The quartermaster and com
missary's departments filled with idleness, ignorance, and pec
ulation — our hospitals crowded with six thousand sick, but
half provided with necessaries or accommodations, and more
dying in them in one month, than perished in the field during
the whole of the last campaign. The money depreciating,
without any effectual measures being taken to raise it — the
country distracted with the Don Quixote attempts to regulate
the prices of provisions — ^an artificial famine created by it, and
a real one dreaded from it — the spirit of the people failing
through a more intimate acquaintance with ^.he causes of our
misfortunes — many submitting daily to General Howe — and
more wishing to do it, only to avoid the calamities which threat
en our country.
" But is our case desperate? by no means. We have wisdom,
virtue, and strength enough to save us, if they could be called
into action. The northern army has shown us what Americans
are capable of doing, with a general at their head. The spirit
of the southern army is no way inferior to the spirit of the
northern. A Gates, a Lee, or a Conway, would in a few weeks
render them an irresistible body of men. The last of the above
officers has accepted of the new office of inspector-general of
our army, in order to reform abuses ; but the remedy is only a
palliative one.
" In one of his letters to a friend, he says, ' a great and good

PATRICK HENRY. 153
God hath decreed America to be free — or the »•*•••
and weak counsellors, wOuld have ruined her long ago.' You
may rest assured of each of the facts related in this letter. The
author of it is one of your Philadelphia friends. A hint of his
name, if found out by the handwriting, must not be mentioned
to your most intimate friend. Even the letter must be thrown
in the fire. But some of its contents ought to be made public,
in order to awaken, enlighten, and alarm our country. I rely
upon your prudence, and am, dear sir, with my usual attachment
to you, and to our beloved independence, yours sincerely.
" His Excellency P. Henry."
Mr. Henry did not hesitate a moment as to the course which
it was proper for him to take with this perfidious letter : he
enclosed it forthwith to General Washington, in the following
frank and high-minded communication : —
" Williamsburgh, February 20, 1770.
" Dear sir : You will no doubt, be surprised at seeing the
enclosed letter, in which the encomiums bestowed on me are
as undeserved, as the censures aimed at you are unjust. I am
sorry there should be one man who counts himself my friend,
who is not yours.
" Perhaps I give you needless trouble in handing you this
paper. The writer of it may be too insignificant to deserve
any notice. If I knew this to be the case, I should not have
intruded on your time, which is so precious. But there may
possibly be some scheme or party forming to your prejudice.
The enclosed leads to such a suspicion. Believe me, sir, I
have too high a sense of the obligations America has to you, to
abet or countenance so unworthy a proceeding. The most ex
alted merit hath ever been found to attract envy. But I please
myself with the hope, that the same fortitude and greatness of
mind which have hitherto braved all the difficulties and dangers
inseparable from your station, will rise superior to every at
tempt of the envious partisan.
" I really cannot tell who is the writer of this letter, which
not a little perplexes me. The handwriting is altogether
strange to me.
" To give you trouble of this gives me pain. It would suit
my inclination better to give you some assistance in the great
business of the war. But I will not conceal any thing from
you by vphich you may be affected ; for I really think, your
personal welfare and the happiness of America are inti
mately connected. I beg you will be assured of that high re
gard and esteem, with which I ever am, dear sir, your affec
tionate friend and very humble servant, " P. Henry.
" His Excellency General Washington."

154 wirt's life of
Not having received any answer to this letter, and being
filled with solicitude by the wicked conspiracy, he again wrote
to General Washington, as follows : —
" Williamsburgh, March 5, 1778.
" Dear Sir : By an express which Colonel Finnic sent to
camp, I enclosed you an anonymous letter, which I hope got
safe to hand. I am anxious to hear something that will serve
to explain the strange affair, which I am now informed is taken
up respecting you. Mr. Curtis has just paid us a visit, and by
him I learn sundry particulars concerning General Mifflin, that
much surprised me. It is very hard to trace the schemes and
windings of the enemies to America. I really thought that
man its friend : however, I am too far from him to judge of his
present temper.
" While you face the armed enemies of our liberty in the
field, and by the favour of God have been kept unhurt, I trust
}''our country will never harbour in her bosom the miscreant
who would ruin her best supporter. I wish not to flatter ; but
when arts, unworthy honest men, are used to defame and tra
duce you, I think it not amiss, but a duty, to assure you of that
estimation in which the public hold you.
"Not that I think any testimony I can bear is necessary for
your support, or private satisfaction ; for a bare recollection of
what is past must give you sufficient pleasure' in every circum
stance of life. But I cannot help assuring you, on this occasion,
of the high sense of gratitude which all ranks of men, in this
your native country, bear to you. It will give me sincere
pleasure to manifest my regards, and render my best services
to you or yours. I do not like to make a parade of these
things, and I know you are not fond of it : however, I hope the
occasion will plead my excuse.
" The assembly have, at length, empowered the executive
here, to provide the Virginia troops serving with you
with clothes, &c. I am making provision accordingly, and
hope to do something toward it. Every possible assistance
from government is afforded the commissary of provisions,
whose department has not been attended to. It was taken up
by me too late to do much. Indeed, the load of business de
volved on me is too great to be managed well. A French ship,
mounting thirty guns, that has been long chased by the English
cruisers, has got into Carolina, as I hear last night. '
"Wishing you all possible felicity, I am, my dear sir,
" Your ever affectionate friend,
" And very humble servant,
"P. Henrt.
" His Excellency General Washington,"

PATRICK HENRY. 155
In reply, Mr. Henry received, shortly afterward the two fol
lowing very cordial letters from the general : —
"Valley Forge, March 27, 1778.
"Dear Sir: About eight days past, I was honoured with
your favour of the 20th ultimo. Your friendship, sir, in trans
mitting me the anonymous letter you had received, lays me
under the most grateful obligations ; and, if anything could
give a still a further claim to my acknowledgments, it is the
very polite and delicate terms in which you have been pleased
to make the communication.
" I have ever been happy in supposing that I held a place
in your esteem, and the proof of it you have afforded on this
occasion makes me peculiarly so. The favourable light in which
you hold me is truly flattering; but I should feel much regret if
I thoughtthe happiness of America so intimately connected with
my personal welfare, as you so obligingly seem to consider it.
All I can say is, that she has ever had, and I trust she ever will
have, my honest exertions to promote her interests. I cannot
hope that my services have been the best, but my heart tells
me they have been the best that I could render.
" That I may have erred in using the means in my power
for accomplishing the objects of the arduous, exalted station
with which I am honoured, I cannot doubt; nor do I wish my
conduct to be exempted from the reprehension it may deserve.
Error is the portion of humanity, and to censure it, whether
committed by this or that public character, is the prerogative
of freemen.
"This is not the only secret and insidious attempt that has
been made to wound my reputation. There have been others
equally base, cruel, and ungenerous ; because conducted with
as little frankness, and proceeding from views, perhaps, as per
sonally interested. " I am, dear sir, &c.
" George Washington.
" To his excellency Patrick Henry, Esq.,
Governor of Virginia." " Camp, March 28, 1778.
" Dear Sir : Just as I was about to close my letter of yester
day, your favour of the fifth instant came to hand. I can only
thank you again in the languague of the most undissembled
gratitude for your friendship, and assure you, the indulgent dis
position which Virginia in particular, and the states in general,
entertain toward me, gives me the most sensible pleasure.
The approbation of my country is what I wish ; and as far as
my abilities and opportunity will permit, I hope I shall endeav-

166 wirt's life of
our to deserve it. It is the highest reward to a feeling
mind ; and happy are they who so conduct themselves as to
merit it. The anonymous letter with which you were pleased
to favour me, was written by * * * *, so far as I can judge
from the similitude of hands. * * * .* . * *
"My caution to avoid everything that could injure the ser
vice, prevented me from communicating, except to a very few
of my friends, the intrigues of a faction which I knew was
formed against me, since it might serve to publish our infernal
dissensions ; but their own restless zeal to advance their Views
has too clearly betrayed them and made concealment on my
part fruitless. I cannot precisely mark the extent of theii^
views ; but it appeared, in general, that General Gates was to
be exalted on the ruin of my reputation and influence.
"This I am authorized to say from undeniable facts in ray
own possession — from publications, the evident scope of which
could not be mistaken — and from private detractions industri
ously circulated. * * * * *, it is commonly
supposed, bore the second part in the cabal ; and General Con
way, I know, was a very active and malignant partisan ; but
I have good reason to believe, that their machinations have re
coiled most sensibly upon themselves.
"I am, dear sir, &c., "Geo. Washington.
" His excellency Patrick Henry, Esq.
Governour of Virginia."
The plot did recoil on its contriver, and left General Wash
ington more firmly established than ever in the confidence of
his countrymen.
At the spring session of seventeen hundred and seventy-
eight, Mr. Henry was again unanimously re-elected to the office
of governor. Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Dandridge, and Mr. Page,
the committee appointed to announce to him that event, re
ceived and reported the following answer : —
" Gentlemen : The general assembly in again electing me
governor of this commonwealth, have done me very signal
honour. I trust that their confidence thus continued in me, will
not be misplaced.
"I beg you will be pleased, gentlemen, to present me to the
general assembly, in terms of grateful acknowledgment for this
fresh instance of their favour toward me'; and to assure them,
that my best endeavours shall be used to promote the public
good, in that station to which they have once more been pleas
ed to call me."
At this same session an act was passed, on account of which
both Mr. Henry arid the legislature have been, it is thought,
improperly censured. I mean the act to attaint Josiah Phil'-

PATRICK HENRY. 157
ips. This man, in the summer of seventeen hundred and sev-
enty-sevevi, at the head of a banditti, commenced a course of
crimes in the counties of Norfolk and Princess Anne, which
spread terror and consternation on every hand. Availing him
self of the disaffection which prevailed in that quarter, and
taking refuge from occasional pursuit in the fastnesses of the
Dismal Swamp, he had carried on a species of war against the
innocent and defenceless, at the bare mention of which hu
manity shudders.
Scarcely a night passed without witnessing the shrieks of
women and children, fiying by the light of their own burning
houses, from the assaults of these merciless wretches ; and
every day was marked by the desolation of some farm, by rob
beries on the highway, or the assassination of some individual
whose patriotism had incurred the displeasure of this fierce
and bloody leader of banditti. Every attempt to take them
had hitherto proved abortive ; when in May, seventeen hun
dred and seventy-eight, the governor received the following
letter from Colonel John Wilson : —
"Norfolk County, May 20, 1778.
" Honourable Sir : I received your letter the fourteenth
instant of the twelfth April, respecting the holding the militia
in readiness, and my attention to the arms and accoutrements,
which I shall endeavour to comply with as far as in my power :
that much, however, may not be expected from this county, I
beg to observe, that the militia, of late, fail much in appearing
at musters, submitting to the trifling fine of five shillings, which,
they argue, they can afford to pay, by earning more at home ;
but I have reason to fear, through disaffection. With such a
set of men, it is impossible to render any service to country
or county.
" A few days since, hearing of the ravages committed by Phil
ips and his notorious gang, I ordered fifty men to be raised out
of four companies, consisting of upward of two hundred : of
those only ten appeared, and it being at a private muster, I
compelled twenty others into duty, putting them under the
command of Captain Josiah Wilson, who immediately marched
after the insurgents ; and that very night, one fourth of his
men deserted. Captain Wilson still pursued, but to no pur
pose : they were either taken to their secret places in the
swamp, or concealed by their friends, that no intelligence could
be obtained. He then returned, his men declaring they could
stay no longer, on account of their crops.
" I consider, therefore, that rather than that they should
wholly desert, it might be better to discharge them, and wait
the coming of the Nansemond militia, when I trusted some-
14

168 wirt's life of
thing might be done : but of those men I can hear no tidings ;
and unless they or some other better men do come, it will be
out Of my power to effect anything with the militia of this
county; for such is their cowardly disposition, joined to their
disaffection, that scarce a man, without being forced, can be
raised to go after the outlyers.
" We have lost Captain Wilson since his return : having some
private business at a neighbour's, within a mile of his own
house, he was fired on by four men concealed in the house,
and wounded in such a manner that he died in a few hours ;
and this will surely be the fate of a few others, if their request
of the removal of the relations and friends of those villains
be not granted, which I am again pressed to solicit for, and in
which case neither assistance, pay, nor plunder, is expected ;
conceiving that to distress their supporters is the only means
by which we can root those wretches from us, and thereby es
tablish peace and security to ourselves and families.
"I am, with great respect, honourable sir,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
"John Wilson."
" May 24. — A company of about fifty men are now come
from Nansemond ; but I am informed by the captain, that they
will not be kept above two days, five having deserted already.
"John Wilson."
The governor immediately enclosed this letter to the house
of delegates, with the following communication : —
" The Honourable Benjamin Harrison, Esq., Speaker of the
House of Delegates.
" Williamsburgh, May 27, 1778.
" Sir : I was always unwilling to trouble the general assem
bly with anything that seemed of too little consequence for
deliberation. In that view I have for some time considered the
insurrection in Princess Anne and Norfolk. I have from time
to time given orders to the commanding officers of those coun
ties, to draw from the militia a force sufficient to quell it. These
officers have often complained of the difficulty of the business,
arising partly from the local circumstances attending it, but
chiefly from the backwardness and even disaffection of the peo
ple. In order to remove the latter obstacle, I gave orders for
one hundred men to be drawn out into this service, from Nan
semond county ; but I am sorry to say, the almost total want of
discipline in that and too many Other militias in the state, seems
to forbid the hope of their doing much to effect.
" Col. Wilson, whose letter I enclose, has several times given
nie to understand, that, in his opinion, the removal of such
families as are in league with insurgents, was a step absolutely

PATRICK HENRY. 159
necessary, and has desired me to give orders accordingly. But
thinking that the executive power is not competent to such a
purpose, I must beg leave to submit the whole matter to the
assembly, who are the only judges how far the methods of
proceeding directed by law are to be dispensed with on this oc
casion. " A company of regulars, drawn from the several stations,
will be ordered to co-operate with the militia, though indeed
their scanty numbers will not permit it to be done without
hazard. But I cannot help thinking this ought to be encoun
tered ; for an apparent disposition to disturb the peace of this
state has been manifested by these people during the whole
course of the present war. It seems, therefore, that no effort
to crush these desperadoes should be spared.
" My duty would no longer suffer me to withhold these sev
eral matters from the view of the general assembly, to whom I
beg leave to refer them through you.
" With great regard,
" I have the honour to be, sir,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
"P. Henry."
This letter was communicated to the house on the day of its
date, and was immediately referred to a committee of the whole
house, on the state of the commonwealth. That committee
was immediately formed ; but not having time to go through
the subject, had leave to sit again. On the next day the house
again resolved itself into a committee of the whole, and after
some time spent therein, the speaker resumed the chair, and
Mr. Carter reported on the subject of Philips, as follows : —
" Information being received, that a certain
Philips, with divers others, his associates and confederates,
have levied war against this commonwealth within the counties
of Norfolk and Princess Anne, committing murders, burning
houses, wasting farms, and doing other acts of enormity, in de
fiance of the officers of justice —
" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that if
the said Philips, his associates, and confede
rates, do not render themselves to some officer, civil or mili
tary, within this commonwealth, on or before day
of June, in this present year, such of them as fail so to do,
ought to be attainted of high treason ; and that in the meantime,
and before such render, it shall be lawful for any person, with
or without orders, to pursue and slay, or otherwise to take and
deliver to justice, the said Philips, his associates
and confederates."
Mr. Jeflerson, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Tyler, were the commit-

160 wirt's life or
tee appointed to prepare and bring in a bill, pursuant to this
resolution, which was reported on the same day, and read the
first time. On the two succeeding days it was read a second
and third time; and thus regularly passed through the forms
of the lower house. It was communicated to the senate by Mr
Jefferson, on the thirtieth day of the month, and returned, pass
ed by them, without amendment, on the first day of June, which
was the last day of the session. The act, as it stands upon the
statute book of the session, is as follows : —
"An act to attaint Josiah Philips and others, unless they ren
der themselves to justice within a certain time.
" Whereas a certain Josiah Philips, labourer, of the parish
of Lynhavenund county of Princess Anne, together with divers
others, inhabitants of the counties of Princess Anne, and Nor-
folk, and citizens of this commonwealth, contrary to their
fidelity, associating and confederating together, have levied war
against this commonwealth, within the same, committing mur
ders, burning houses, wasting farms, and doing other acts of
hostility in the said counties of Princess Anne and Norfolk,
and still continue to exercise the same enormities on the good
people of this commonwealth ; and, whereas, the delays which
would attend the proceeding to outlaw the said offenders, ac
cording to the usual forms and procedures of the courts of law,
would leave the said good people, for a long time exposed to
murder and devastation :—
" Be it, therefore, enacted by the general assembly. That if
the said Josiah Philips, his associates and confederates, shall
not, on or before the last day of June, in the present year, ren
der themselves to the governor, or to some member of the privy
council, judge of the general court, justice of the peace, or com
missioned officer of the regular troops, navy or militia of this
commonwealth, in order to their .trials for the treasons, mur
ders, and other felonies by them committed, that, then, such of
tl\em, the said Josiah Philips, his associates and confederates,
as shall not so render him or themselves, shall stand and be
convicted and attainted of high treason, and shall suffer the
pains of death, and incur all forfeitures, penalties, and disabili
ties, prescribed by the law against those convicted and attainted
of high treason ; and that execution of this sentence of attain
der shall be done, by order of the general court, to be entered
so soon as may be conveniently, after notice that any of the
said offenders are in custody of the keeper of the public jail.
" And if any person committed to the custody of the keeper
of the public jail, as an associate or confederate of the said
Josiah Philips, shall allege that he has not been of his associ
ates or confederates, at any time after the first day of July, in

PATRICK HENRY. 161
the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-
seven, at which time thte said murders and devastations were
begun, a petit jury shall be summoned and charged, according
to the forms of the law, to try, in the presence of the said court,
the fact so alleged ; and if it be found against the defendant,
execution of this act shall be done as before directed.
"And that the good people of this commonwealth may not,
in the meantime, be subject to the unrestrained hostilities of the
said insurgents : Be itfurtHer enacted, That from and after the
passing of this act, it shall be lawful for any person, with or
without orders, to pursue and slay the said Josiah Philips, and
any others who have been of his associates or confederates, at
any time after the said first day of July aforesaid, and shall not
have previously rendered him or themselves to any of the offi
cers, civil or military, before described, or otherwise to take
and deliver them to justice, to be dealt with according to law.
Provided, that the person so slain be in arms at the time, or
endeavouring to escape being taken."
Philips was apprehended in the course of the autumn, and
indicted by Mr. Edmund Randolph, attorney-general, /or high
way-robbery, simply. On this charge he was tried at the Oc
tober term of the general court, convicted, and executed: so
that the act of attainder was never brought to bear upon him at
all. This is the whole case of Josiah Philips. The reader
will judge whether Mr. Henry deserves censure for having
communicated to the legislature the letter of Col. Wilson ; or
whether that body acted with too much severity toward a wretch,
who had not only set the laws of his country at defiance, but
was waging a cruel and dastardly war upon men without arms,
upon women and children ; and acting, not the part of a brave
and open enemy, but that of an enemy of the human family.
Just at the close of Mr. Henry's administration, Virginia
suffered an invasion of a few days, under the British officers
Collin and Matthew. They seized Fort Nelson, near Norfolk,
destroyed the naval stores at Gosport, burnt Suffolk, and dis
appeared before the militia could be rallied to chastise their in
solence. This occurred in the month of May, seventeen hun
dred and seventy-nine ; and the facility and impunity with which
the enterprise was accomplished, very probably suggested the
more serious invasion of the state, which afterward took place
under the traitor Arnold.
It would seem, that a wish was entertained to re-elect Mr.
Henry to the office of governor a fourth time, although the con
stitution declared him ineligible after the third year. The im
pression seems to have been that his appointment for the first
year, not having been made by delegates who had themselves
14*

16S wirt's life OP
been elected under the constitution, ought not to be counted as
one of the constitutional years of service. Mr. Henry, how
ever, had too scrupulous a respect for that instrument to accept
the office, even in a doubtful case; and, therefore, addressed
the following letter to the speaker : — "May 28, 1779.
"Sir : The term for which I had the honour to be elected
governor by the late assembly being just about to expire, and
the constitution, as I think, making me ineligible to that office,
I take the liberty to communicate to the assembly through you,
sir, my intention to retire in four or five days.
"I have thought it necessary to give this notification of my
design, in order that the assembly may have the earliest oppor
tunity of deliberating upon the choice of a successor to me in
office. With great regard,
"I have the honour to be, sir,
" Your most obedient servant,
"P. Henry."
Thus closed Mr. Henry's administration : and although he
had not an opportunity of distinguishing it by any splendid
achievements, it is honour enough that he had given universal
satisfaction, and that he retired with a popularity confirmed and
increased. It has been thought best not to break the chain of the narra
five, as to his public character, by noticing the changes which
had before this time occurred in his domestic relations. It
may be proper to pause here for the purpose of supplying this
omission. His wife, the partner of his youth, and the solace of his early
adversities, had died in the year seventeen hundred and seventy-
five, after having made him the father of six children. The
anguish of this blow was mitigated by the circumstance of her
having been, for several years, in a state of ill health and of
suffering, from which there was no hope of recovery ; and to
her, therefore, death indeed "came like a friend to relieve her
from pain."
Neither had the father lived to witness the promotion of his
son to the highest honours of the republic. He had lived how
ever, long enough to enjoy the first bloom of his fame, and to
see him the most celebrated and rising character in the state.
He had died about the year seventeen hundred and seventy, and
left behind him a name highly respectable for every private and
social virtue.
His uncle, for whom he seems to have had a strong affection,
had died during his government, and in token of his affection
and respect, had appointed him the executor of his will.

PATRICK HENRY. 163
His tender and indulgent mother still survived, and felt all
that pure and exquisite delight, which the well-deserved honours
of her son were calculated to inspire.
After the death of his wife, Mr. Henry sold the farm called
Scotch Town, on which he had resided in Hanover, and pur
chased eight or ten thousand acres of valuable land in the
county of Henry ; a county which had been erected during his
government, and which had taken its name from him, as did
afterward its neighbouring county of Patrick. In the year sev
enteen hundred and seventy-seven, he intermarried with Doro
thea, the daughter of Mr. Nathaniel W. Dandridge, with whom,
after the resignation or expiration of his office, he removed to
his newly-acquired estate, called Leatherwood, and there re
sumed the practice of the law. In the year seventeen hundred
and eighty, we find him again in the assembly, and one of the
most active members in the house.
During the winter session of this year. General Gates entered
the city of Richmond from his southern campaign, where he
had most wofully fulfilled General Lee's prediction.* His total
defeat at Camden, and a series of subsequent ill fortune, had
left South Carolina completely in the hands of the victorious
British ; and to increase his humiliation, congress had not only
superseded him in that command, by the substitution of General
Greene, but had passed a resolution requiring the commander-
in-chief to order a court of inquiry on his conduct. Under
these accumulated disgraces, the unfortunate general entered
the city of Richmond ; when Mr. Henry moved a resolution
which displays, in a most engaging light, the delicate and gene
rous sensibility of his character ; it was as follows : —
" Resolved, That a committee of four be appointed to wait
on Major-general Gates, and to assure him of the high regard
and esteem of this house ; that the remembrance of his former
glorious services cannot be obliterated by any reverse of for
tune ; but that this house, ever mindful of his great merit, will
omit no opportunity of testifying to the world, the gratitude
which, as a member of the American union, this country owes
to him in his military character."
The author may be permitted to say of a state, which is his
only by adoption, that in an assembly of Virginians, this gen
erous resolution could not fail to pass unanimously. The
committee appointed to communicate it to the general, were,
Mr. Henry, Mr. Richard H. Lee, Mr. Zane, and General Nel
son. We may be assured, that a committee, chosen with so
* When Gen. Charles Lee heard of Gen. Gates's appointment to the com
mand of,the southern army, he foretold that " his northern laurels would be
turned into southemwillouis."

164 wirt's life of
much judgment,* discharged their duty in a manner the most
grateful to the wounded feelings of the general ; and on the
next day, Mr. Henry reported the following answer, which was
spread upon the journal : — "Richmond, December 28, 1780.
" Sir : I shall ever remember with the utmost gratitude, the
high honour this day done me by the honourable the house of
delegates of Virginia. When engaged in the noble cause of
freedom and the United States, I devoted myself entirely to the
service of obtaining the great end of their union. That I have
been once unfortunate is my great mortification ; but, let the
event of my future services be what they may, they will, as
they always have been, be directed by the, most faithful integ
rity, and animated by the truest zeal for the honour and interest
of the United States. " Horatio Gates."
The spring and summer of the next year presented a period
of even deeper darkness than the autumn of seventeen hundred
and seventy-six. Virginia, had not, hitherto, been the theatre
of hostile operations of a very serious character ; her sufferings
had been rather those of sympathy with her northern and south
ern sisters ; but in this year the calamities of war were brought
home to her own bosom. Arnold's invasion took place in Ja
nuary : having carried his ravages as high up as Richmond and
Westham, he retired to Portsmouth, where he rested till April,
when General Philips succeeded to the command, and paid an
other visit of desolation to Manchester.
In the next month came Lord Cornwallis, with his victorious
army from the south, driving everything before him, and stri
king terror into whatsoever quarter he approached. Having
formed a junction between his forces and those under the com
mand of General Philips, there was no longer a military force
in the state which had the power to resist him. The inferior
body of republican troops, under the Marquis la Fayette, moved
before him, without the ability to strike a blow ; and Cornwallis
roamed at pleasure, and without any apprehension, through the
interior of the state.
The seventh of May was the day appointed by law for the
meeting of the assembly at Richmond. A few members met
and took the oaths prescribed bylaw; but the number not being
sufficient to proceed to business, the house was adjourned from
day to day until the tenth ; Avhen, upon information of the ap-
* Mr. Henry, the mover, had recently closed his administration with honour,
as the first republican governor of Virginia, and was the most considerable man
in the commonwealth ; Mr. Lee was a member of the congress, whose vote we
have just mentioned ; Mr. Zane represented the county in which Gen. Gates
lived ; and Gen. Nelson was the most popular military character in the state.

PATRICK HENRY. 165
proach of the enemy, they adjourned to the twenty-fourth, to
meet at Charlottesville. It was not until the twenty-eighth, that
a house was formed to proceed to business at this place ; when
Mr. Benjamin Harrison was elected speaker, and after making
the usual acknowledgments for that honour, proceeded to ad
dress the following remarks to the house ; which I quote, not
because they are a very favourable specimen of Mr. Harrison's
oratory, but to show the panic which prevailed even among the
first men of the country : —
"The critical and dangerous situation of our country leads
me to hope, that my recommending it to you to despatch the
weighty matters that will be under your consideration, with all
convenient speed, will not be taken amiss ; the people expect
that effectual and decisive measures will be taken to rid them
of an implacable enemy, that are now roaming at large in the
very bowels of our country, and I have no doubt of your an
swering their expectations ; the mode of doing this may indeed
be difficult : but it not being my province to point it out, I shall
leave it to your wisdom, in full confidence that everything that
is necessary for quieting the minds and dispelling the fears of
our constituents, will be done."
Eight days after this address, Mr. John Jouett, a citizen of
the place, entered the town on horseback, at full speed, and an
nounced the near and rapid approach of Tarlton, at the head
of three hundred Cavalry and mounted infantry. The house
had just met, and was about to commence business, when the
alarming cry of "Tarlton and the British," was spread through
the village ; and they had scarcely taken time to adjourn infor
mally to Staunton, when Tarlton rushed like a thunderbolt into
the village, in the confident expectation of seizing the whole
assembly ; but the birds had flown. He made seven of them
only prisoners. The rest reassembled in Staunton, on the sev
enth of June. On the tenth of June, a false report of his ap
proach produced another panic ; and the house having merely
taken time to resolve that they would meet at the Warm Springs,
if it should be found dangerous to meet in Staunton on the next
day ; and on their failure so to do, that the speaker might call
a meeting, when and where he pleased, again broke up and
dispersed. It was at this period of almost hopeless darkness, when the
energies of the state seemed to have been pretty nearly para
lyzed, that the project of a dictator was again revived ; and it
is again highly probable, that Mr. Henry was the character who
was in view for that office. Inquiries have been made of the
surviving members of that assembly to ascertain whether the
project could be traced to him, or whether he had any kind of

166 wirt's LIFE OF
participation in the proposal; but those inquiries have resulted
«i a conviction of his entire innocence. The project came from
other quarters, and seems to have been the last refuge of that
general despair which for a short time pervaded the whole
commonwealth. But this period of deep darkness was the harbinger of break
ing day. The morning dawned with the arrival of those aids
from France, which Mr. Henry had so long ago predicted ; and
the sun of American independence arose to set no more. He
lived to witness the glorious issue of that revolution which his
genius had set in motion; and (to repeat his own prophetic
language, before the commencement of the struggle) "to see
America take her stand among the nations of the earth." The
contest closed with the capture of Cornwallis, at Little York,
on the nineteenth of October, seventeen hundred and eighty-
one ; and thus, the ball of the revolution rested in the same
state in which it had received the first impulse.
This enlightened and patriotic statesman, however, was not
yet inclined to indulge himself in that repose to which he was
so well entitled. The constitution of the state had as yet. been
tried only in war, when the sense of common danger, and their
ardour in the common cause, might of themselves have been
sufficient to keep the people together, and to supply, in a good
degree, the place of government. It was necessary to see how
the instrument would work in peace ; what assurance it gave
of public order and well-regulated liberty ; or whether any, and
what defects in the plan required amendment.
There were other considerations, too; which called loudly for
attention. The war had left the country in a most deplorable
situation ; poor and in debt ; its warriors unrequited ; its finances
wholly deranged ; its jurisprudence unsettled ; and all its facul
ties weak, disordered, and exhausted. This was no time for
the patriot to quit his post. It demanded all his vigilance to
guard the infant republic against the machinations of its enemies,
both abroad and at home ; it required all his care and all his
skill to heal the numerous disorders which had flowed from the
war ; to nurse the new-born nation into health and strength ; to
develop its resources, moral and physical; and thus to give
security and permanence to its liberties.
With the view of contributing his aid to those great objects,
Mr, Henry still continued to represent the county of his resi
dence, in the legislature of the state, and controlled the pro
ceedings of that body, with a weight of personal authority, and
a power of eloquence, which it was extremely difficult, and in
deed almost impossible to resist. A striking evidence of this
power was given, immediately on the close of the revolution.

PATRICK HENRY. 167
in his advocating the return of the British refugees. The mea
sure was most vehemently opposed. There was no class of
human beings against whom such violent and deep-rooted pre
judices existed. The name of " British tory," was of itself
enough, at that period, to throw almost any company in Vir
ginia into fiames, and was pretty generally a signal for a coat
of tar and feathers ; a signal which was not very often disobeyed.
Mr. Henry's proposition in favour of a class of people so odious
could not fail to excite the strongest surprise ; and was, at first,
received with a repugnance apparently insuperable.
The late Judge Tyler, then the speaker of the house, op
posed it in the committee of the whole, with great warmth ; and
in the course of the discussion, turning from the chairman to
Mr. Henry, he asked him, " how he, above all other men, could
think of inviting into his family, an enemy, from whose insults
and injuries he had suffered so severely?" To this Mr. Henry
answered, that " the personal feelings of a politician ought not
to be permitted to enter those walls. The question," he said,
" was a national one, and in deciding it, if they acted wisely,
nothing would be regarded but the interest of the nation.
"On the altar of his country's good he was willing to sacri
fice all personal resentments, all private wrongs — and he flat
tered himself, that he was not the only man in the house who
was capable of making such a sacrifice. We have, sir," said
he, " an extensive country, without population — what can be a
more obvious policy than that this country ought to be peopled ?
— people, sir, form the strength, and constitute the wealth of a
nation. I want to see our vast forests filled up by some process
a little more speedy than the ordinary course of nature* I wish
to see these states rapidly ascending to that rank which their
natural advantages authorize them to hold among the nations of
the earth. Cast your eyes, sir, over this extensive country —
observe the salubrity of your climate ; the variety and fertility
of your soil^and see that soil intersected in every quarter by
bold, navigable streams, flowing to the east and to the west, as
if the finger of Heaven were marking out the course of your
settlements, inviting you to enterprise, and pointing the way to
wealth. " Sir, you are destined, at some time or other, to become a
great agricultural and commercial people ; the only question is,
whether you choose to reach this point by slow gradations, and
at some distant period ; lingering on through a long and sickly
minority ; subjected, meanwhile, to the machinations, insults,
and oppressions of enemies, foreign and domestic, without
sufficient strength to resist and chastise them ; or whether you
choose rather to rush at once, as it were, to the full enjoyment

168 wirt's life of
of those high destinies, and be able to cope, single-handed, with
the proudest oppressor of the old world.
If you prefer the latter course, as I trust you do, encourage
emigration ; encourage the husbandmen, the mechanics, the mer
chants of the old world, to come and settle in this land of prom
ise ; make it the home of the skilful, the industrious, the fortunate
and happy, as well as the asylum of the distressed ; fill up the
measure of your population as speedily as you can, by the means
which Heaven hath placed in your power ; and I venture to
prophesy there are those now living, who will see this favoured
land among the most powerful on earth ; able, sir, to take
care of herself, without resorting to that policy which is always
so dangerous, though sometimes unavoidable, of calling in
foreign aid,
" Yes, sir ; they will see her great in arts and in arms — her
golden harvests waving over fields of immeasurable extent; her
commerce penetrating the most distant seas, and her cannon
silencing the vain boasts of those who now proudly affect to
rule the waves. But, sir, you must have men ; you cannot get
along without them ; those heavy forests of valuable timber,
under which your lands are groaning, must be cleared away;
those vast riches which cover the face of your soil, as well as
those which lie hid in its bosom, are to be developed and gath
ered only by the skill and enterprise of men ; your timber, sir,
must be worked up into ships, to transport the productions of
the soil from which it has been cleared ; then you must have
commercial men and commercial capital, to take off your pro
ductions, and find the best markets for them abroad ; your
great want, sir, is the want of men ; and these you must have, and
will have speedily, if you are wise.
" Do you ask how you are to get them ? Open your doors,
sir, and they will come in ; the population of the old world is
full to overflowing ; that population is ground, too, by the op
pressions of the governments under which they live. Sir, they
are already standing on tiptoe upon their native shores, and
looking to your coasts with a wistful and longing eye ; they see
here a land blessed with natural and political advantages, which
are not equalled by those of any other country upon earth ;
aland on which a gracious Providence hath emptied the horn
of abundance ; a land over which peace hath now stretched
forth her white wings, and where content and plenty lie down
at every door !
" Sir, they see something still more attractive than all this ;
they see a land in which liberty, hath taken up her abode ; that
liberty, whom they had considered as a fabled goddess, exist
ing only in the fancies of poets ; they see her here, a real di-

PATRICK HENRT. i69
vinity ; her altars rising on every hand throughout these h«ppy
states ; her glories chanted by three millions of tongues ; and
the whole region smiling under her blessed influence. Sir, let
but this our celestial goddess, liberty, stretch forth her fair hand
toward the people of the old world ; tell them to come, and bid
them welcome ; and you will see them pouring in from the north,
from the south, from the east, and from the west ; your wilder
nesses will be cleared and settled ; your deserts will smile ; your
ranks will be filled ; and you will soon be in a condition to defy
the powers of any adversary.
" But gentlemen object to any accession from Great Britain ;
and particularly to the return of the British refugees. Sir, I
feel no objection to the return of these deluded people ;
they have, to be sure mistaken their own interests most
wofully, and most wofully have they suffered the punish
ment due to their offences. But the relations which we bear to
them and to their native country are now changed ; their king
hath acknowledged our independence ; — the quarrel is over ;
peace hath returned and found us a free people. Let us have
the magnanimity, sir, to lay aside our antipathies and prejudices,
and consider the subject in a political light.
"Those are an enterprising, moneyed people; they wil be
serviceable in taking off the surplus produce of our lands, and
supplying us with necessaries, during the infant state of our
manufactures. Even if they be inimical to us in point of feel
ing and principle, I can see no objection, in a political view, in
making them tributary to our advantage. And as I have no
prejudices to prevent my making this use of them, so, sir, I
have no fear of any mischief that they can do us. Afraid of
them ! — what, sir," — said he, rising to one of his loftiest atti
tudes, and assuming a look of the most indignant and sovereign
contempt, — " shall we, who have laid the proud British lion at
our feet, now be afraid of his whelps ?"
The force of this figure, and the energy with which it was
brought out, are said to have produced an effect that made the
house start simultaneously. It continued to be admired, long
after the occasion which gave it birth had passed away, and was
frequently quoted by Mr, Wythe to his students, while professor
of law at William and Mary college, as a happy specimen of
those valuable figures, which unite the beauty of decoration
with the effect Of argument.
The gentleman (Judge Tyler) to whom I am indebted for the
preceding incident, has favoured me also with the following
one, which I shall give in his own words : —
"Mr. Henry espoused the measure which took off the re
straints on British commerce, before any treaty was entered
15

170 wirt's life of
into ; in which I opposed him on this ground, that that measure
would expel from this country the trade of every other nation,
on account of our habits, language, and the manner of conduct
ing business on credit between us and them: also on this
ground, in addition to the above, that if we changed the then
current of commerce, we should drive away all competition,
and never perhaps should regain it, (which has literally hap
pened,) In reply to these observations, he was beyond all
expression eloquent and sublime.
" After painting the distresses of the people, struggling
through a perilous war, cut off from commerce so long that
they were naked, and unclothed, he concluded with a figure,
or rather a series of figures, which I shall never forget,
because, beautiful as they were in themselves, their effect was
heightened beyond all description, by the manner in which he
acted what h6 spoke : — ' Why,' said he, ' should we fetter com
merce ? If a man is in chains, he droops and bows to the earth,
for his spirits are broken,' looking sorrowfully at his feet ; ' but
let him twist the fetters from his legs, and he will stand erect,
— straightening himself, and assuming a look of proud defiance.
Fetter not commerce, sir — let her be as free as air — she will
range the whole creation, and return on the wings of the four
winds of heaven, to bless the land with plenty.' "
In the fall session of seventeen hundred and eighty-four, Mr.
Henry proposed and advocated several measures which deserve
particular mention : — one of them, on account of the originality
and boldness of mind from which it proceeded ; and others, be
cause they have sometimes been made the subjects of censure
against him. The first respects the Indians, Those unfortu
nate beings, the natural enemies of the white people, whom
they regarded as lawless intruders into a country set apart for
themselves by the Great Spirit, had continued, from their first
landing, to harass the white settlements, and hang, like a pesti
lence on their frontier, as it advanced itself toward the west.
The story of their accumulated wrongs, handed down by tra
dition from father to son, and emblazoned with all the colours
of Indian oratory, had kept their war-fires smoking from age to
age, and the hatchet and scalping-knife perpetually bright.
They had long since abandoned the hope of being able, by their
single strength, to exterminate the usurpers of their soil; but
either from the spirit of habitual and deadly revenge, or from
the policy of checking, as far as they could, the perpetually ex
tending encroachments of the white men, they had waged an
unremitting war upon their borders, marked with horrors which
eclipse the wildest fictions of the legendary tale. These peo
ple, too, besides the mischiefs to which they were prompted by

PATRICK HBNRY. 171
their own feelings and habits, were an ever-ready and a most
terrific scourge, in the hands of any enemy with whom this
country might be at variance.
The stories of these border skirmishes, which yet live in the
traditions of the west, are highly worthy of collection. They
exhibit scenes of craft, boldness, and ferocity, on the part of
the savages, and of heroic and desperate defence by the semi-
barbarous men, women, and children, who were the objects of
these attacks, which mark the characters of both sides in a most
interesting manner. Those tales of the long, obstinate, and
bloody defence of log-cabins ; of the almost incredible achieve
ments of women and little boys; of the sometimes total and
sometimes partial havoc of families ; of the captivity, tortures,
and death of some ; and the miraculous escape, wanderings, and
preservation of others — would form a book of more interest
than any other that could be put into the hands of a Virginia
reader ; and would furnish the subject Of many a novel, drama,
and painting. The adventure of Captain Smith and Pocahontas,
if you put aside the dignity of their characters, is cold and tame,
when compared with some which are related among the western
inhabitants of this state.
Dunmore, although thanked at the time for his services, was
afterward believed, by the house of burgesses, to have made use
of them in the years' seventeen hundred and seventy-four and
five, in order to draw off the attention of the colonists from the
usurpation of the British court : and, in the recent war of the
revolution, that merciless enemy had been again let loose upon
our frontier, with all the terrors of savage warfare. The return
of peace with Britain had given us but a short respite from their
hostilities. I perceive, by the journal of the house of delegates,
that on the fifth of November, seventeen hundred and eighty-
four, it was, on the motion of Mr. Henry,
" Resolved, That the governor, with the advice of council,
be requested to adopt such measures as may be found necessary
to avert the danger of hostilities with the Indians, and to incline
them to treat with the commissioners of congress ; and for that
purpose to draw on the treasury for any sum of money not ex
ceeding one thousand pounds, which shall stand charged to the
account of money issued for the contingent charges of govern
ment." _A treaty with the Indians, however, was well known to be a
miserable expedient ; the benefits of which would scarcely last
as long as the ceremonies that produced it. The reflecting po
litician could not help seeing, that, in order to remove the an
noyance effectually, the remedy must go to the root of the dis
ease — that that inveterate and fatal enmity which rankled in the

1T8 wirt's life of
hearts of the Indians must be eradicated — that a common inte
rest and congenial feelings between them and their white neigh
bours must be created — and humanity and civilization gradually
superinduced upon the Indian character. The difficulty lay in
devising a mode to effect these objects. The white people who
inhabited the frontier, from the constant state of warfare in
which they lived with the Indians, had imbibed much of their
character ; and learned to delight so highly in scenes of crafty,
bloody, and desperate conflict, that they as often gave as they
received the provocation to hostilities;
Hunting, which was their occupation, became dull and tire
some, unless diversified occasionally by the more animated and
piquant amusement of an Indian skirmish ; just as " the blood
more stirs to rouse a lion than to start a hare." The policy,
therefore, which was to produce the deep and beneficial change
that was meditated, must have respect to both sides, and be cal
culated to implant kind affections in bosoms which at present
were filled only with reciprocal and deadly hatred. The remedy
suggested by Mr. Henry was to encourage marriages between
these conterminous enemies ; and having succeeded, in the
committee of the whole house, in procuring the report of a res
olution to this effect, he prepared a bill which he is said to
have advocated with irresistible earnestness and eloquence.
The inducements held out by this bill, to promote these mar
riages, were, pecuniary bounties to be given on the certificate
of marriage, and to be repeated at the birth of each child ; ex
emption from taxes ; and the free use of a seminary of learning,
to be erected for the purpose, and supported at the expense of
the state.
This bill, which is thoughtworthy of preservation, as a polit
ical curiosity, is as follows : —
"A bill for the encouragement of marriages with the Indians.
"Whereas, intermarriages between the citizens of this com
monwealth and the Indians living in its neighbourhood, may
have great effect in conciliating the friendship and confidence
of the latter, whereby not only their civilization may in some
degree be finally brought v '3t, but in the meantime, their hos
tile inroads be prevented : for encouraging such intermarriages.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That if any free
white male inhabitant of this commonwealth shall, according to
the laws thereof, enter into the bonds of matrimony with an
Indian female, being of lawful age, and under no precontract to
any Indian male, and shall thereby induce her to become an in
habitant of this commonwealth, and to live with him in the
character of a wife, such male inhabitant, on producing a certifi
cate of such marriage, under the hand and seal of the person

PATRICK HENRT. 173
celebrating the same, shall be entitled to receive a premium of
 pounds, out of any unappropriated money which the
treasurer may have in his hands, or of such money as may
hereafter be appropriated to such use ; shall, over and above
such premium, be entitled to the sum of  pounds, for every
child proceeding from such marriage, on a certificate of the birth
thereof, and their app^arent cohabitancy, under the hand and seal
of any one justice of thC peace of the county in which he re
sides, and shall, moreover, be exempted from all taxes on his
person and property for and during the time of such cohabitancy.
"And be it further enacted. That if any free ferriale inhabit
ant of this commonwealth shall, in like manner, intermarry
with any male Indian of lawful age, they shall, on a certificate
thereof, as aforesaid, be 'entitled to  pounds, to be paid as
aforesaid, and laid out under the direction of the court of the
county within which such marriage shall be celebrated, in the
purchase of live stock, for his and her use, and such male In
dian shall be annually, on the first day of October, entitled to
 pounds, to be paid as aforesaid, and laid out under the di
rection of the said court, in the purchase of clothes for his use ;
and each male child proceeding from such intermarriage, shall,
at the age of  be removed to such public seminary of
learning, as the executive may direct, and be there educated
until the age of twenty-one, at the public expense, to be defrayed
out of such funds as may hereafter be appropriated to the same.
And the governor, with the advice of council, is hereby author
ized and desired to cause the benefit of this provision to be ex
tended to all such male children ; and if any such male Indian
shall become an inhabitant of this commonwealth, he shall be
moreover exempted from all taxes on his person or the property
he may acquire.
"And be it further enacted, That the offspring of the inter
marriages aforesaid, shall be entitled, in all respects, to the same
rights and privileges, under the laws of this commonwealth, as
if they had proceeded from intermarriages among free white
inhabitants thereof.
"And be ii further enacted, That the executive do take the
most effectual and speedy measures for promulgating this act to
such tribe or tribes of Indians as they may think necessary,"
On the third reading of the bill, the first blank was filled with
ten — the second with Jive — the -third with ten — the fourth with
three — and the fifth with ten years.
While Mr, Henry continued a member of the house, the
progress of this bill was unimpeded. It passed through a first
and second reading, and was engrossed for its final passage,
when his election as governor took effect, and displaced him
15*

174
from the floor: on the third day after which event the bill was
read a third time and rejected.
It were a useless waste of time to speculate on the probable
effects of this measure, had it succeeded. It is considered,
however, as indicative of great humanity of character, and as
marked with great boldness, if not soundness of policy. Mr.
Henry is said to have been extremely sanguine as to its efficacy,
and to have supported it by some of the highest displays of his
eloquence. The other two measures to which I have adverted, as having
been patronised by Mr. Henry, at this session, were, the incor
poration of the Protestant Episcopal church, and what is called
" a general assessment." These measures have been frequently
Stated, in conversation, as proofs of a leaning on the part of
Mr. Henry, toward an established church, and that, too, the
aristocratic church of England. To test the justness of this
charge, the journals of the house of delegates have been exam
ined, and this is the result of the evidence which they liirnish:
on the seventeenthof November, seventeen hundred aid eighty-
four, Mr. Matthews reported from the committee o"". the whole
house, on the state of the commonwealth, the folk wing resolu
tion : —
"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that acts
ought to pass for the incorporation of all societies of the
Christian religion, which may apply for tlf same."
The ays and noes having been called for, on the passage of
this resolution, were, ays, sixty-two, noes, twenty-three; Mr.
Henry being with the majority.
The principle being thus established in relation to ^Z2 religious
societies, which should desire a legal existence for the benefit
of acquiring and holding property to the use of their respective
churches, leave was given, on the same day, to bring in a bill
to incorporate the clergy of the Protestant Episcopal church,
which had brought itself within that principle by having applied
for an act of incorporation; and Mr, Henry was one, but not
the chairman,* of the committee appointed to bring in that bill.
How a measure which holds out to all religious societies,
equally, the same benefit, can be charged with partiality, be
cause accepted by one only, it is not very easy to discern. It
would seem, to an ordinary mind, that on the same principle,
the Christian religion itself might be charged with partiality,
since its offers, though made to all, are accepted but by a few ;
and it is very certain, that if Mr. Henry is to be suspected of
• The chairman was Mr. Carter H. Harrison ; the rest of the committee
Tfere, Mr. Henry;, Mr. Thomas Smith, Mr. William Anderson, and Mr. 'Tasse-
WfiU.

PATRICK HENRT. 176
t bias toward an established church, on account of this vote,
the charge will reach some of the foremost and best-establish
ed republicans in the state, whose names stand recorded with
Mr. Henry's on this occasion, and who hold to this day the
undiminished confidence of their countrymen.
The other measure, the general assessment, proceeded from
a number of petitions from different counties of the common-
werjlh, which prayed that as all persons enjoyed the benefits
</. religion, all might be required to contribute to the expense
of supporting some form of worship or other. The commit
tee to whom these petitions were referred, reported a bill
whose preamble sets forth the grounds of the proceeding, and
furnishes a conclusive refutation of the charge of partiality to
any particular form of religion. The bill is entitled, " A bill,
establishing a provision for teachers of the Christian religion ;'
and its preamble is in the following words : —
*' Whereas the general diffusion of Christian knowledge
hath a natural tendency to correct the morals of men, restrain
their vices, and preserve the peace of society ; which cannot
be effected without a competent provision for learned teachers,
who may be thereby enabled to devote their time and attention
to the duty of instructing such citizens as, from their circum
stances and want of education, cannot otherwise attain such
knowledge; and it is judged such provision may be made by
the legislature, without counteracting the liberal principle
heretofore adopted and intended to be preserved, by abolishing
all distinctions of pre-eminfince among the different socic'
ties or communities of Christians."
The provisions of the bill are in the strictest conformity with
the principles announced in the close of the preamble ; the
persons subject to taxes are required, at the time of giving in
a list of their titheables, to declare to what particular religious
society they chose to appropriate the sums assessed upon them,
respectively ; and, in the event of their failing or declining to
specify any appropriation, the sums thus circumstanced are
directed to be paid to the treasurer, and applied by the general
assembly to the encouragement of seminaries of learning,
in the counties where such sums shall arise.
If there be any evidence of a leaning toward any particular
religious sect in this bill, or any indication of a desire for an
established church, the author of these sketches has not been
able to discover them. Mr. Henry was a sincere believer in
the Christian religion, and had a strong desire for the success
ful propagation of the gospel, but there was no tincture of big
otry or intolerance in his sentiments ; nor have I been able to
learn that he had a punctilious preference for any particular

176 wirt's life of
form of worship. His faith regarded the vital spirit of the
gospel, and busied itself not at all with external ceremonies or
controverted tenets.
Both these bills, " for incorporating the Protestant Episcopal
church," and "establishing a provision for teachers of the
Christian religion," were reported after Mr. Henry had ceased
to be a member of the house; but the resolutions on which
they were founded were adopted while he continued a mem
ber, and had his warmest support. The first bill passed into
a law ; the last was rejected by a small majority on the third
reading. The same session afforded Mr. Henry a double opportunity
of gratifying, in the most exquisite manner, that natui-ally bland
and courteous spirit, which so eminently distinguished his
character. General Washington and the Marquis la Fayette,
both of them objects of the warmest love and gratitude to this
country, visited Richmond in November. They arrived on
different days. The general entered the city on the fifteenth,
and the journal of the next morning exhibits the following
order : —
" The house being informed of the arrival of General Wash
ington in this city. Resolved, nemine contradicente, that as a
mark of their reverence for his character, and affection for his
person, a committee of five members be appointed to wait upon
him, with the respectful regard of this house, to express to
him the satisfaction they feel in the oppor);Unity afforded by
his presence of offerilig this tribute to his merits ; and to as
sure him that as they not only retain the most lasting impres
sions of the transcendant services rendered in his late public
character, but have, since his return to private life, experienced
proofs that no change of situation can turn his thoughts from
the welfare Of his country, so his happiness can never cease
to be an object of their most devoOt wishes and fervent suppli
cations. "And a committee was appointed of Mr. Henry, Mr. Jones,
(of King George,) Mr. Madison, Mr. Carter H. Harrison, and
Mr. Carrington."
To this spontaneous and Unanimous burst of feeling. Gen
eral Washington returned an answer marked with his char
acteristic modest)', and full of the most touching sensibility.
It is worthy of insertion, as showing, in a soft and winning
light, a character with which we are apt to associate only the
images of a dignity and reserve, approaching to sternness.
" Gentlemen," said he, " my sensibility is deeply affected by
'this distinguished mark of the affectionate regard of your hon
ourable house. I lament, on this occasion, the want of those

PATRICK HENRY. 17t
powers which would enable me to do justice to my feelings ;
and shall rely upon your indulgent report to supply the defect;
at the same time, I pray you to present for me, the strongest
assurances of unalterable affection and gratitude, for this last
pleasing and flattering attention of my country."
The marquis, who had been to France since the close of hos
tilities, made his entree on the morning of the seventeenth of
November ; and the house, immediately on its meeting, came
to the following resolution :—
" The house being informed of the arrival, this morning, of
the Marquis de la Fayette in this city. Resolved, nemine con
tradicente, that a committee of five be appointed, to' present to
him the affectionate respects of this house, to signify to him
their sensibility to the pleading proof given by this visit to the
United States, and to this state in particular, that the benevolent
and honourable sentiments which originally prompted him to
embark in the hasardous fortunes of America, still render the
prosperity of its affairs an object of his attention and regard;
and to assure him, that they cannot review the scenes of blood
and danger through which we have arrived at the blessings of
peace, without being touched, in the most lively manner, with
the recollection, not only of the invaluable services for which
the United States at large are so much indebted to him, but of
that conspicuous display of cool intrepidity and wise conduct,
during his command in the campaign of seventeen hundred and
eighty-one, which, by having so essentially served this state in
particular, have given him so just a title to its particular ac
knowledgments. That, impressed as they thus are with the
distinguished lustre of his character, they cannot form a wish
more suitable, than that the lesson it affords may inspire all
those whose noble minds may emulate his glory, to pursue it
by means equally auspicious to the interests of humanity.
"And a committee was appointed of Mr. Henry, Mr. Mad
ison, Mr. Jones, (of King George,) Mr. Matthews, and Mr.
Brent." To this address, the marquis made the following polite and
feeling answer : —
"Gentlemen : With the roost respectful thanks to your
honourable body, permit me to acknowledge, not only the flat
tering favour they are now pleased to confer, but also the con-
slant partiality, and unbounded confidence of this state, which
in trying times, I have so happily experienced. Through the
continent, gentlemen, it is most pleasing for me to join with my
friends in mutual congratulations ; and I need not add what my
sentiments must be in Virginia, where step by step have I so
keenly felt for her distress, so eagerly enjoyed her recovery.

178 wirt's life of
" Our armed force was obliged to retreat, but your patriotic
hearts stood unshaken ; and while, either at that period, or in our
better hours, my obligations to you are numberless ; I am happy
in this opportunity to observe, that the excellent services of
your militia were continued with unparalleled steadiness. Im
pressed with the necessity of federal union, I was the more
pleased in the command of an army so peculiarly federal ; as
Virginia herself freely bled in defence of her sister states.
"In my wishes to this commonwealth, gentlemen, I will per
severe with the same zeal, that once and for ever has devoted
me to her. May her fertile soil rapidly increase her wealths-
may all the waters which so luxuriantly flow within her limits,
be happy channels of the most extensive trade — and may she in
her wisdom, and the enjoyment of prosperity, continue to give
the world unquestionable proofs of her philanthropy and her
regard for the liberties of all mankind. "La Fayette,"
Time had now brought forward several new political charac
ters, who had risen high in the public estimation: but Mr. Henry
and Mr. Lee still kept their ground far in the van. A gentle
man of great distinction, who began his public career in seven
teen hundred and eighty-three, found both these eminent
men in the house of delegates, and heard them for the first
time in debate : he served through the two sessions of that and
those of the following year, and has communicated to me so
vivid and interesting a comparison of their merits, as they struck
his young and ardent mind, that I cannot consent to withhold it
from the reader.
" I met with Patrick Henry in the Assembly in May, seven
teen hundred and eighty-three. I also then met with Richard H.
Lee. I lodged with Mr. Lee one or two sessions, and was
perfectly acquainted with him, while I was yet a stranger to
Mr. Henry. These two gentlemen were the great leaders in
the house of delegates, and were almost constantly opposed :
there were many other great men who belonged to that body ;
but, as orators, they cannot be named with Henry or Lee. Mr.
Lee was a polished gentlemen : he had lost the use of one of
his hands, but his manner was perfectly graceful.
" His language was always chaste, and although somewhat
too monotonous, his speeches were always pleasing ; yet he
did not ravish your senses, nor carry away your judgment by
storm. His was the mediate class of eloquence described by
Rollin in his belles lettres ; he was like a beautiful river, mean
dering through a flowery mead, but which never overflowed its
banks. It was Henry who was the mountain torrent that
swept away everything before it : it was he alone who thun-

PATRICK HENRY. 179
dered and lightened : he alone attained that sublime species of
eloquence also mentioned by Rollin.
" It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to hear
these two great masters, almost constantly opposed to each
other, for several sessions. I had no relish for any other
speaker. Henry was almost always victorious. He was as
much superior to Lee in temper as in eloquence ; for while,
with a modesty approaching almost to humility, he would apol
ogise to the house for being so often ' obliged to differ from
the honourable gentleman, which he assured them, was
from no want of respect for him.' Lee was frequently much
chafed by the opposition ; and I once heard him say aloud, and
petulantly, after sustaining a great defeat, that, ' if the votes
were weighed instead of being counted, he should not have
lost it.'*
" Mr. Henry was inferior to Mr. Lee in the gracefulness of
his action, and perhaps also in the chasteness of his language:
yet bis language was seldom incorrect, and his address always
striking. He had a fine blue eye, and an earnest manner,
which made it impossible not to attend to him. His speaking
was unequal, and always rose with the subject and the exigency.
In this respect he differed entirely from Mr, Lee, who was al
ways equal, and therefore less interesting. At some times,
Mr. Henry would seem to hobble, (especially at the beginning
of his speeches,) and at others, his tones would be almost dis
agreeable : yet it was by means of his tones, and the happy
modulation of his voice, that his speaking had perhaps its
greatest effect.
* This hit of Mr. Lee was thought » very happy one at the time. I
have heard it mentioned by several others who were members of the house,
particularly by Judge Tyler. This gentleman represented it as having occurred
after a division and count of the house, and just as the members were about
to return to their seats. A member who was in the majority, and who was
not very remarkable either for intellect or urbanity, said, with a coarse laugh,
to Mr. Lee, " Well, you see you have lost it." Upon which the latter, look
ing at him with rather a contemptuous and sneering countenance, answered,
" Yes, I have lost it, but if votes were weighed instead of being counted, I
should not have lost it."
Was this thought original in Mr. Lee, or had he unconsciously borrowed it
ftom the younger Pliny? " Sed hoc pluribus [levins] visum est. Nume-
rantur enim sententice, non ponderantur : nee aliud in publico consilio potest
fieri, in quo nihil est tam insequale, quam a^qualitas ipsa ; nan cum sit impar
prudentia, par omnium jus est." — Plin. Epist. Lib. II. Epist. XII.
"Yet these reflections, it seems, made no impression upon the majority.
Votes go by number, not weight ; nor can it be otherwise Jn assemblies of
this kind, where nothing is more unequal than that equality which pre
vails in them ; for though every member has the same weight of suffrage, everj
member has not the same strength of judgment." — Melmoth'b Translation oi
Pliny, London, 1748.

180f wirt's life of
"He had a happy articulation— a clear, bold, strong voice—
and every syllable was distinctly uttered. He was always very
unassuming, and very respectful toward his adversaries ; the
consequence was, that no feeling of disgust or animosity was
arrayed against him. He was great at a reply, and greater in
proportion to the pressure which was bearing upon him ; and
it seemed to me, from the frequent opportunities of observa
tion afforded me during the period of which I have spoken, that
the resources of his mind and of his eloquence were equal to
any drafts which could possibly be made upon them."
This inequality in the speeches of Mr. Henry, was imputed
by some of his observers to art. He always spoke, they say,
for victory, and wishing to carry every one with him, adapted
the different parts of his discourse to their different capacities.
A critic of a higher order would sometimes think him trifling,
when in truth he was making a most powerful impression on
the weaker members of the house. By these means it is said,
he contrived to worm his way through the whole body, and to
insinuate his influence into every mind. When he hobbled, it
was like the bird that thus artfully seeks to decoy away the
foot of the intruder from the precious deposite of her brood ; and
at the moment when it would be thought that his strength was
almost exhausted, he would spring magnificently from the
earth, and tower above the clouds.
He knew all the local interests and prejudices of every quar
ter of the state, and of every county in it ; and whether these
prejudices were rational or irrational, it is said that he would
appeal to them without hesitation, and, whenever he found it
necessary, enlist them in his cause. His address on these oc
casions has been highly admired even by those who have cen
sured the course as deficient in dignity and candour. It was
executed with so much delicacy and adroitness, and covered
under a countenance of such apostolic solemnity, that the
persons on whom he was operating were unconscious of the
design. Winding his way thus artfully through the house, from coun
ty to county, from prejudice to prejudice, with the power of mov
ing them, when he pleased, from tears to laughter, from laughter
to tears, of astonishing their imaginations, and overwhelming
their judgments and hearts, it is easy to conceive how irresist
ible he must have been. When with these prodigious faculties
the reader connects his engaging deportment out of the house
— the uncommon kindness and gentleness of his nature — the
simplicity, frankness, and amenity of his manners — the inno
cent playfulness and instruction of his conversation — the in
tegrity of his life — and the high sense of the services which he

PATRICK HENRY. 181
had rendered to the cause of liberty and his country — he will
readily perceiVei that the opinions and wishes of such a man
would be, of themselves, almost decisive of any question.
The artifice of resorting to erroneous local prejudices, in a
legislative debate, is certainly not to be commended. Truth
stands in need of no such aids. It must be admitted that there
is more purity as well as dignity, in supporting a sound meas
ure by sound arguments only : and we must be prepared to
become Jesuits, before we can justify a resort to wrong means
to promote even a right end. In excuse of Mr. Henry, we
have nothing to urge except immemorial and almost universal
usage ; and it is moreover highly probable, that many of the
instances, in which he was accused of resorting improperly to
local prejudices, were cases in which the questions were, from
their nature, to be decided in a great measures by local inter
ests. Of this description is the following one, now furnished,
at my request, in writing, by Judge Archibald Stuart, from
whom I had the pleasure to hear it in conversation several
years ago : —
" At your request, I attempt a narrative of the extraordinary
effects of Mr. Henry's eloquence in the Virginia legislature,
about the year seventeen hundred and eighty-four, when I was
present as a member of that body. .
"The finances of the country had been much deranged during
the war, and public credit was at a low ebb; a party in the leg
islature thought it then high time to place the character and
credit of the state on a more respectable footing, by laying tax
es commensurate with all the public demands. With this view,
a bill had been brought into the house, and referred to a com
mittee of the whole ; in support of which the then speaker, (Mr.
Tyler,) Henry Tazewell, Mann Page, William Ronald, and
many other members of great respectability, (including, to the
best of my recollection, Richard H. Lee, and, perhaps, Mr.
Madison,) took an active part. Mr. Henry, on the other hand,
was of opinion that this was a premature attempt; that policy
required that the people should have some repose after the fa
tigues and privations to which they had been subjected, during
a long and arduous struggle for independence.
"The advocates of the bill, in committee of the whole house,
used their utmost efforts, and were successful in conforming it
to their views, by such a majority (say thirty) as seemed to_ en
sure its passage. When the committee rose, the bill was in
stantly reported to the house; when Mr. Henry, who had been
excited and roused by his recent defeat, came forward again in
bU the majesty of his power. For some time after he com-
16

182 wirt's life of
menced speaking, the countenances of his opponents indicated
no apprehension of danger to their cause.
"The feeUngs of Mr. Tyler, which were sometimes warm,
could not on that occasion be concealed, even in the chair. His
countenance was forbidding, even repulsive, and his face turned
from the speaker. Mr. Tazewell was reading a pamphlet : and
Mr. Page was more than usually grave. After some time,
however, it was discovered that Mr. Tyler's countenance grad
ually began to relax ; he would occasionally look at Mr. Henry ;
sometimes smile ; his attention by degrees became more fixed ;
at length it became completely so : — he next appeared to be
in good humour ; he leaned toward Mr. Henry — appeared
charmed and delighted, and finally lost in wonder and amaze
ment. The progress of these feelings was legible in his counte
nance. " Mr. Henry drew a most affecting picture of the state of
poverty and suffering in which the people of the upper counties
had been left by the war. His delineation of theirv wants
and wretchedness was so minute, so full of feeling, ahd withal
so true, that he could scarcely fail to enlist on his side every
sympathetic mind. He contrasted the severe toil by which they
had to gain their daily subsistence, with the facilities enjoyed
by the people of the lower counties. The latter, he said, re
siding on the salt rivers and creeks, could draw their supplies
at pleasure, from the waters that flowed by their doors ; and
then he presented such a ludicrous image of the members who
had advocated the bill, (the most of whom were from the lower
counties,) peeping and peering along the shores of the creeks,
to pick up their mess of crabs, or addling off to the oyster-
rocks, to rake for their daily bread, * as filled the house with a
roar of merriment. Mr. Tazewell laid down his pamphlet, and
shook his sides with laughter ; even the gravity of Mr. Page
was affected : a corresponding change, of countenance prevailed
through the ranks of the advocates of the bill, and you might
discover that they had surrendered their cause. In this they
were not disappointed ; for on a division, Mr. Henry had a
majority of upward of thirty against the bill."
Kf this be a fair specimen of the cases (as probably it is) in
which Mr. Henry was accused of appealing improperly to local
prejudices, the censure seems undeserved. It is obvious that
the consideration urged by him, on this occasion, belonged
properly to the subject, and that the appeal to local circum
stances was fairly made. Candour will justify us in looking,
* At that day, (and perhaps still,) the poorer people on the salt creeks,
lived almost exclusively on fish ; passing whole days, and sometimes weeks,
Without seeing a grain of bread.

PATRICK HENRY. 183
with great distrust, tO the censures cast on this extraordinary*
man, by rivals whom he had obscured.
On the seventeenth of November, seventeen hundred and
eighty-four, Mr. Henry was again elected governor of Virginia,
to commence his service from the thirtieth day of the same
month. The communication made by him to the first legisla
ture which met after his election, is inserted in the Appendix;
it is given at large, as a specimen of Mr. Henry's style in more
extended compositions than have yet been submitted to the
reader, and for the further purpose of showing, that the objects
with which a governor of Virginia, acting within the pale of the
constitution, is conversant in time of peace, are not such as to
shed much lustre on his character, or to solicit very powerfully
the attention of his biographer. (See Appendix, Note B.)
In examining the public archives of this date, there is a cir
cumstance whose frequent and indeed constant recurrence,
presses itself most painfully on the attention : I mean the re
signation of state officers, on the plea of a necessity to resort
to some more effectual means' of subsistence. It is not generally
known, that the councils of Virginia were, during the period
of which we are now speaking, enlightened and adorned by
some of the brightest of her sons ; much less is it known that
they were driven from those councils, by that wretched policy
which has always regulated the salaries of officers in Virginia.
The letters of resignation, during the years seventeen hundred
and eighty-four, five, and six, which now stand on the public
files, afford the best comment on this policy.
Virginia lost during those years, the services of such men as
have rarely existed in this or any other country ; and such as
she can never hope to see again in her councils, until the sys
tem of penury shall yield to that of liberality. At the close of
the war, indeed, there was some apology for this penury; the
country was wretchedly poor and in debt. But this cause
has long since ceased, and with it also should cease the
affect. Virginia is now rich, and may fill her offices with the flower of
her sons ; but can it be expected that men who wish to live free
from debt, and to leave their families independent at their deaths,
will relinquish the pursuits by which they are able to affect
these objects, and enter upon a service full of care, responsi
bility, and anxiety; a service whose certain fruits (if it be their
only dependance) must be a life of pecuniary embarrassment;
and (what is still worse) their wives and children, after their
deaths, must be cast on the charity of a cold and unfeeling
world. Ought such a sacrifice to be expected ? and yet must
it not be the inevitable consequence of an exclusive dependance

184 wirt's life of
on the salary of any office in Virginia, which requires talents
of the highest order ?
How affecting is that spectacle which we have seen of a pub
lic officer, who, having worn out the prime and vigour of life in
the service of his country, instead of being enabled to retire, in
old age, to the repose and peace which he so justly deserved, is
compelled to toil on for subsistence, though trembling, perhaps,
under the weight of eighty winters, oppressed by debt, harassed
by his creditors, with the certainty before him of dying poor
and involved ; and leaving his posterity, if he have any, on the
parish ! How forcibly does it remind us of that pathetic ex
clamation of Wolsey : —
" 0 Cromwell, Cromwell,
Had I but served my God, with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not, in mine age
Have left me naked to my enemies!"
Is it in reference to the warm and generous state of Virginia,
that these reflections can be made, and made too with truth and
justice !
These remarks are not foreign to our story : in the fall of
seventeen hundred and eighty-six, while yet a year remained
of his constitutional term, Mr. Henry was under the necessity
of retiring from the office of governor. There never was a
man whose style of living was more perfectly unostentatious,
temperate and simple ; yet the salary had been inadequate to
the support of his family ; and, at the end of two years, he
found himself involved in debts, which for the moment, he saw
no hope of paying, but by the sacrifice of a part of his estate.
Let it be remenibered, that this occurred in the year seventeen
hundred and eighty-six ; and let it be further remembered, that
the salary was then very nearly what it still remains !
In consequence of Mr. Henry's declining a re-election, the
legislature proceeded to appoint his successor ; and then, on
the succeeding twenty-fifth of November, the house of dele
gates came to the following resolution : —
"Resolved, unanimously. That a committee be appointed to
wait on his excellency the governor, and present him the thanks
of this house, for his wise, prudent, and upright administration,
during his last appointment of chief magistrate of this com
monwealth, assuring him that they retain a perfect sense of his
abilities, in the discharge of the duties of that high and impor
tant office, and wish him all domestic happiness, on his return
to private life."
"To this resolution, Mr. Corbin, one of the committee, re
ported the following answer from Mr. Henry : —

PATRICK HENRY. 185
"Gentlemen: The house of delegates have done me dis
tinguished honour, by the resolution they have been pleased to
communicate to me through you. I am happy to find my en
deavours to discharge the duties of my station, have met with
their favourable acceptance.
"The approbation of my country is the highest reward to
which my mind is Capable of aspiring, and I shall return to
private life, highly gratified in the recollection of this instance
of regard shown me by the house ; having only to regret that
my abilities to serve my country have come so short of my
wishes. " At the same time that I make my best acknowledgments to
the house for their goodness, I beg leave to express my par
ticular obligations to you, gentlemen, for the polite manner in
which this communication is made to me."
On the fourth of December, in the same year, Mr. Henry
was appointed by the legislature, one of seven deputies from
this commonwealth to meet a convention proposed to be held
in Philadelphia, on the following May, for the purpose of re
vising the federal constitution. On this list of deputies, his
name stands next to that of him, who stood of right before all
others in America ; the order of appointment as exhibited by
the journals being as follows : George Washington, Patrick
Henry, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, James Madison, George
Mason, and George Wythe.
The same cause, however, which had constrained Mr. Henry's
retirement from the executive chair of state, disabled him now
from obeying this honourable call of his country. On his re
signing the government, he retired to Prince Edward county,
and endeavoured to cast about for the means of extricating him
self from his debts. At the age of fifty years, worn down by
more than twenty years of arduous service in the cause of his
country, eighteen of which had been occupied by the toils and
tempests of the revolution, it was natural for him to wish for
rest, and to seek some secure and placid port in which he
might repose himself from the fatigues of the storm. This,
however, was denied him ; and after having devoted the bloom
of youth and the maturity of manhood to the good of his country,
he had now in his old age to provide for his family.
" He had never," says a correspondent, (Judge Winston,)
" been in easy circumstances ; and soon after his removal to
Prince Edward county, conversing with his usual frankness
with one of his neighbours, he expressed his anxiety under the
debts which he was not able to pay; the reply was to this
effect : » Go back to the bar ; your tongue will soon pay your
16»

186 wirt's LlFK OF
debts. If you will promise to go, I will give yon a retaJninj
fee on the spot.'
" This blunt advice determined him to return to the practice
of the law ; which he did in the beginning of seventeen hun
dred and eighty-eight ; and during six years he attended reg
ularly the district courts of Prince Edward and New London,"
Direful must have been the necessity which drove a man of
Mr. Henry's disposition and habits, at his time of life, and
tempest-beaten as he was, to resume the practice of such a pro
fession as the law. He would not, however, undertake the
technical duties of the profession; his engagements were con
fined to the argument of the cause ; and Ms clients had of
course, to employ other counsel, to conduct the pleadings, and
ripen their cases for hearing. Hence his practice was restricted
to difficult and important cases ; but his great reputation kept
him constantly engaged ; he was frequently called to distant
courts ; the light of his eloquence shone in every quarter of the
state, and thousands of tongues were everywhere employed in
repeating the fine effusions of his genius.
The federal constitution, the fruit of the convention at Phila
delphia, had now come forth, and produced an agitation which
had not been felt since the return of peace. The friends and
the enemies to its adoption were equally zealous and active in
their exertions to promote their respective wishes ; the presses
throughout the continent teemed with essays on the subject ;
and the rostrum, the pulpit, the field, and the forest, rung with
declamations and discussions of the most animated character.
Every assemblage of people, for whatsoever purpose met, either
for court or church, muster or barbecue, presented an arena for
the political combatants ; and in some quarters of the union,
such was the public anxiety of the occasion, that gentlemen in
the habit of public speaking, converted themselves into a sort
of itinerant preachers, going from county to county, and from
state to state, collecting the people by distant appointments, and
challenging all adversaries to meet and dispute with them the
propriety of the adoption of the federal constitution.
All who sought to distinguish themselves by public speaking,
all candidates for popular favour, and especially the junior mem
bers of the bar, flocked to these meetings from the remotest dis
tances, and entered the lists with all the ardour, and gallantry
of the knights of former times at their tilts and tournaments.
Never was there a theme more fruitful of discussion, and never
was there one more amply or ably discussed.
Of the convention which was to decide the fate of this instru
ment in Virginia, Mr. Henry was chosen a member for the county
of Prince JBdward. Although the constitution had come forth

PATRICK HENRY. 187
with the sanction of the revered name of Washington, and car
ried with it all the weight of popularity which that name could
not fail to attach to any proposition, it had not the good fortune
to be approved by Mr. Henry. He was (to use his own expres
sion) "most awfully alarmed" at the idea of its adoption ; for he
considered it as threatening the liberties of his country; and he
determined, therefore, to buckle on once more the armour which
he had hung up in the temple of peace, and try the fortune of
this, the last of his political fields.

CHAPTER VIII.
Convention at Richmond on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution — ^Un
common Array of Men of Talent in the Convention — Mr. Henry's Reply to
Gen. Lee — To Mr. Pendleton — Synopsis of the chief Objections to the
Constitution — Mr. Henry's Reply to Mr. Madison and Mr. Corbin— Singular
Incident connected with Mr. Henry's closing Address — Session of the As
sembly in October — ^Mr. Henry nominates Richard H. Lee and Mr. Grayson
as Senators in Opposition to Mr. Madison — His Resolutions in the Assembly
on the Subject of the Constitution — Anecdote of his Retaliation upon a young
Member— Draft of Letters to Governor Clinton and to several States.
The convention met in Richmond, on the second of June,
seventeen hundred and eighty-eight, and exhibited such an array
of variegated talents, as had never been collected before within
the limits of the state, and such a one as it may well be feared
we shall never see again. A few of the most eminent of these
statesmen are still alive; of whom, therefore, delicacy forbids
us to speak as they deserve. Their powers, however, and the
peculiar characters of their intellectual excellence, are so well
known that their names will be sufficient to speak their respect
ive eulogies.
We may mention, therefore. Mr. Madison, the late president
of the United States ; Mr. Marshall, the chief-justice ; and Mr*
Monroe, now the president. What will the reader think of a
body, in which men like these were only among their equals!
Yet such is the fact; for there were those sages of other days,
Pendleton and Wythe ; there was seen displayed the Spartan
vigour and compactness of George Nichols; and there shone
the radiant genius and sensibility of Grayson ; the Roman en
ergy and the Attic wit of George Mason was there ; and there,
also, the classic taste and harmony of Edmund Randolph; "the
splendid conflagration" of the high-minded Innis; and the
matchless eloquence of the immortal Henry!

18S Wirt's life of
The debates and proceedings of this Convention, by Mr. Da
vid Robertson, of Petersburgh, have passed through two editions;
yet it is believed that their circulation has been principally con
fined to Virginia; and even in this state, from the rapid progress
of our population, that book is supposed to be in, comparatively,
few hands. Hence it has been thought proper to give a short
sketch of Mr, Henry's course in this body. It ought to be pre
mised, however, that the published debates have been said, by
those who attended the convention, to present but an imperfect
view of the discussion of that body. In relation to Mr. Henry,
they are confessedly imperfect; the reporter having sometimes
dropped him in those passages in which the reader would be
inost anxious to follow him.
From the skill and ability of the reporter, there can be no
doubt that the substance of the debates, as well as their general
course, are accurately preserved. The work is, therefore, a
valuable repository of the arguments by which the constitution
was opposed on one hand, and supported on the other; but it
must have been utterly impossible for a man who possesses the
sensibility and high relish for eloquence which distinguish the
reporter, not to have been so far transported by the excursions
of Mr. Henry's genius, as sometimes, unconsciously, to have
laid down his pen.
It was not until the fourth, that the preliminary arrangements
for the discussion were settled. Mr. Pendleton had been unan
imously elected the president of the convention ; but it having
been determined that the subject should be debated in committee
of the whole, the house on that day resolved itself into commit
tee, and the venerable Mr. Wythe was called to the chair. In
conformity with the order which had been taken, to discuss the
constitution, clause by clause, the clerk now read the preamble,
and the two first sections ; and the debate was opened by Mr.
George Nicholas.
He confined himself strictly to the sections under considera
tion, and maintained their policy with great cogency of argu
ment. Mr. Henry rose next, and soon demonstrated that his
excursions were not to be restrained by the rigour of rules.
Instead of proceeding to answer Mr. Nicholas, he commenced
by sounding an alarm calculated to produce a most powerful
impression. The effect, however, will be entirely lost upon the
reader, unless he shall associate with the speech which I am
about to lay before him, that awful solemnity and look of fear
ful portent, by which Mr. Henry could imply even more than
he expressed; and that slow, distinct, emphatic enunciation, by
which he never failed to move the souls of his hearers.
" Mr. Chairman : The public mind, as well as my own, is

PATRICK HENRY. 189
extremely uneasy at the proposed change of government. Give
me leave to form one of the number of those who wish to be
thoroughly acquainted with the reasons of this perilous and un
easy situation — and why we are brought hither to decide on this
great national question. I consider myself as the servant of
the people of this commonwealth — as a sentinel over their rights,
liberty, and happiness. I represent their feelings when I say,
that they are exceedingly uneasy, being brought from that state
of full security which they enjoyed, to the present delusive ap
pearance of things.
" A year ago, the minds of our citizens were at perfect repose.
Before the meeting of the late federal convention at Philadel
phia, a general peace and a universal tranquillity prevailed in
this country — ;but since that period, they are exceedingly uneasy
and disquieted. When I wished for an appointment to this
convention, my mind was extremely agitated for the situation
of public affairs. I conceive the republic to be in extreme
danger. "If our situation be thus uneasy, whence has arisen this fear
ful jeopardy? It arises from this fatal system — it arises from a
proposal to change our government — a proposal that goes to the
utter annihilation of the most solemn engagements of the states
— a proposal of establishing nine states into confederacy, to the
eventual exclusion of four states. It goes to the annihilation of
those solemn treaties we have formed with foreign nations. The
present circumstances of France — the good offices rendered us
by that kingdom, require our most faithful and most punctual
adherence to our treaty with her,
"We are in alliance with the Spaniards, the Dutch, the Prus
sians : those treaties bound us as thirteen states, confederated
together. Yet here is a proposal to sever that confederacy. Is
it possible that we shall abandon all our treaties and national
engagements? And for what? I expected to have heard the
reasons of an event, so unexpected to my mind and many others.
Was our civil polity or public justice endangered or sapped?
Was the real existence of the country threatened— or was this
preceded by a mournful progression of events?
"This proposal of altering our federal government is of a
most alarming nature. Make the best of this new government
— say it is composed by anything but inspiration — you ought to
be extremely cautious, watchful, jealous of your liberty ; for in
stead of securing our rights, you may lose them for ever. If a
wrong step be now made, the republic may be lost for ever. If
this new government will not come up to the expectation of the
people, and they should be disappointed, their liberty will be
lost, and tyranny must and will arise.

190 wirt's life of
"I repeat it again, and I beg gentlemen to consider, that a
wrong step made now, will plunge us into misery, and our re
public will be lost. It will be necessary for this convention to
have a faithful historical detail of the facts that preceded the
session of the federal convention, and the reason that actuated
its members in proposing an entire alteration of government,
and to demonstrate the dangers that awaited us: if they were of
such awful magnitude, as to warrant a proposal so extremely
perilous as this, I must assert, that this convention has an abso
lute right to a thorough discovery of every circumstance rela
tive to this great event,
"And here 1 would make this inquiry of those worthy char
acters who composed a part of the late federal convention; I
am sure they were fully impressed with the necessity of form
ing a great consolidated government, instead of a confederation.
That this is a consolidated government is demonstrably clear;
and the danger of such a government is to my mind very stri
king. I have the highest veneration for those gentlemen: but,
sir, give me leave to demand, what right had they to say, we,
the people ?
"My political curiosity, exclusive of my anxious solicitude
for the public welfare, leads me to ask, who authorized them to
speak the language of, we, the people, instead of, we, the states?
States are the characteristics, and the soul of a confederation.
If the states he not the agents of this compact, it must be one
great, consolidated, national government of the people of all
the states. I have the highest respect for those gentlemen who
formed the convention; and were some of them not here, I
would express some testimonial of esteem for them.
''America had, on a former occasion, put the utmost confi
dence in them; a confidence which was weH-placed; and I am
sure, sir, I would give up anything to them ; I would cheerfully
confide in them as my representatives. But, sir, on this great
occasion, I would demand the cause of their conduct. Even
from that illustrious man, who saved us by his valour, I would
have a reason for his conduct — that liberty which he has given
us by his valour, tells me to ask this reason — and sure I am,
were he here, he would give us that reason: but there are other
gentlemen here who can give uS this information, ' The people
gave them no power to use their name. That they exceeded
their power is perfectly clear.
"It isnot mere curiosity that actuates rae — I wish to hear the
real, actual, existing danger, which should lead us to take those
steps so dangerous in my conception. Disorders have arisen in
other parts of America; but here, sir, no dangers, no insurrec
tion, or tumult, has happened — everything has been calm and

PATRICK HENRY. 191
tranquil. But, notwithstanding this, we are wandering on the
great ocean of human affairs. I see no landmark to guide us.
We are running we know not whither.
"Difference in opinion has gone to a degree of inflammatory
resentment, in different parts of the country, which has been
occasioned by this perilous innovation. The federal convention
ought to have amended the old system — for this purpose they
were solely delegated: the object of their mission extended to
no other consideration. You must therefore forgive the solicit
ation of one unworthy member, to know what danger could
have arisen under the present confederation, and what are the
causes of this proposal to change our government?"
This inquiry was answered by an eloquent speech from Mr.
Randolph; and the debate passed into other hands; until on the
next day. General Lee, in reference to Mr. Henry's opening
speech, addressed the chair, as follows: —
"Mr. Chairman: I feel every power of my mind moved by
the language of the honourable gentleman, yesterday. The
eclat and brilliancy which have distinguished that gentleman,
the honours with which he has been dignified, and the brilliant
talents which he has so often displayed, have attracted my re
spect and attention. On so important an occasion, and before so
respectable a body, I expected a new display of his powers of
oratory: but, instead of proceeding to investigate the merits of
the new plan of government, the worthy character informed us
of horrors which he felt, of apprehensions in his mind, which
made him tremblingly fearful of the fate of the commonwealth.
"Mr, Chairman : Was it proper to appeal to the/ear of this
house? The question before us belongs to the judgment of this
house; I trust he is come to judge and not to alarm. I trust
that he, and every other gentleman in this house, comes with a
firm resolution, coolly and calmly to examine, and fairly and
impartially to determine,"
In the further progress of his speech. General Lee again said,
rather tauntingly, of Mr, Henry — "The gentleman sat down as
he began, leaving us to ruminate on the horrors with which he
opened," Mr, Henry, rising immediately after these sarcastic remarks,
gave a striking specimen of that dignified self-command, and
that strict and uniform decorum,, by which he was so pre-emi
nently distinguished in debate. Far from retorting the sarcasms
of his adversary, he seemed to have heard nothing but the com
pliments with which they stood connected, and rising slowly
from his seat, with a countenance expressive of unaffected hu
mility, he began with the following modest and disqualifying
exordium : —

1<,)2 wirt's life of
"Mr. Chairman: I am much obliged to the very worthy
gentleman for his encomium. I wish I was possessed of talents,
or possessed of anything, that might enable me to elucidate this
great subject. I own, sir, I am not free from suspicion. I am
apt to entertain doubts. I rose, on yesterday, not to enter upon
the discussion, but merely to ask a question which had arisen in
my own mind. When I asked that question, I thought the
meaning of ray interrogation was obvious. The fate of America
may depend on this question.
" Have they said, we, the states ? Have they made a propo
sal of a compact between states ? If they had, this would be a
confederation; it is, otherwise, most clearly, a consolidated
government. The whole question turns, sir, on that poor little
thing, the expression, we, the people, instead of, the states of
America." i
He then proceeded to set forth, in terrible array, his various
objections to the constitution; not confining himself to the
clauses under debate, but ranging through the whole instrument,
and passing from objection to objection, as they followed each
other in his mind. This departure from the ruje of the house,
although at first view censurable, was insisted upon by himself
and his colleagues, as being indispensable to a just examination
of the particular clause under consideration; because the policy
or impolicy of any provision did not always depend upon itself
alone, but on other provisions with which it stood connected,
and, indeed, upon the whole system of powers and checks that
were associated with it in the same instrument, and thus formed
only parts of one entire whole.
The truth of this position, in relation to some of the provi
sions, could not be justly denied ; and a departure once made
from the rigour of the rule, the debate became at large, on ev
ery part of the constitution; the disputants at every stage look
ing forward and backward throughout the whole instrument,
without any control other than their own discretion. Thus
freed from restraints, under which his genius was at all times
impatient, uncoupled and let loose to range the whole field at
pleasure, Mr. Henry seemed to have recovered, and to luxuriate
in all the powers of his youth. He had, indeed, occasion for
them all; for while he was supported by only three effective
auxiliaries, opposed to him stood a phalanx, most formidable
both for talents and weight of character; and several of whom
it might be said, with truth, that each was "in himself a host;"
for at the head of the opposing ranks stood Mr. Pendleton, Mr.
Wythe, Mr, Madison, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Nicholas, Mr. Ran-
dblph, Mr. Innis, Mr. Henry Lee, and Mr. Corbin. Fearful
odds ! and such as called upon him for the most strenuous ex
ertion of all his faculties.

PATRICK HBNRY. 193
Nor did be sink below the occasion. For twenty days, dur
ing which this great discussion continued without intermission,
his efforts were sustained, not only with undiminished strength,
but with powers which seemed to gather new force from every
exertion. All the faculties useful for debate were found united
in him, with a degree of perfection, in which they are rarely
seen to exist, even separately, in different individuals : irony,
ridicule, the purest wit, the most comic humour, exclamations
that made the soul start, the most affecting pathos, and the most
sublime apostrophes, lent their aid to enforce his reasoning, and
to put to flight the arguments of his adversaries.
The objection that the constitution substituted a consolidated
in lieu of a confederated government, and that this new consol
idated government threatened the total annihilation of the state
sovereignties, was pressed by him with most masterly power:
he said there was no necessity for a change of government so
entire and fundamental — and no inducement to it, unless it was
to be found in this splendid government, which we were told
was to make us a great and mighty people.
" Wp have no detail," said he, "of those great considerations,
which, in my opinion, ought to have abounded,hetore we should
recur to a government of this kind. Here is a revolution as
radical as that which separated us from Great Britain. It is as
radical, if in this transition our rights and privileges are endan
gered, and the sovereignty of the states be relinquished: and
cannot we plainly see, that this is actually the case? The rights
of conscience, trial by jury, liberty of the press,, all your immu
nities and franchises, all pretensions to human rights and privi
leges, are rendered insecure, if not lost, by this change so loudly
talked of by some, and so inconsiderately by others. Is this
tame relinquishment of rights worthy of freemen ? Is it wor
thy of that manly fortitude that ought to characterize repub
licans? "It is said eight states have adopted this plan : I declare, that
if twelve states and a half had adopted it, I would with manly
firmness, and in spite of an erring world, reject it. You are
not to inquire how your trade may be increased, nor how you
are to become a great and powerful people, but how your lib
erties can be secured ; for liberty ought to be the direct end of
your government. Is it necessary for your liberty, that you
should abandon those great rights by the adoption of this sys
tem? Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury, and the liberty
of the press, necessary for your liberty ? Will the abandonment
of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty?
Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings — give us that pre
cious jewel, and you may take everything else !
17

194 wirt's LIFE OF
"But I am fearful I have lived long enough to become an old-
fashioned fellow. Perhaps an invincible attachment to the dear
est rights of man, may, in these refined, enlightened days, be
deemed old-fashioned : if so, I am contented to be so : I say, the
time has been, when every pulse of my heart beat for American
liberty, and which, I believe, had a counterpart in 'the breast of
every true American ; but suspicions have gone forth — suspicions
of my integrity — publicly reported that my professions are not
real — twenty- three years ago was I supposed a traitor to my
country: I was then said to be a bane of sedition because I sup
ported the rights of my country: I maybe thought suspicious,
when I say our privileges and rights are in danger: but, sir, a
number of the peo.ple of this country are weak enough to think
these things are too true.
"I am happy to find, that the gentleman on the other side de
clares they are groundless : but, sir, suspicion is a virtue, as long
as its object is the preservation of the public good, and as long
as it stays within proper bounds : should it fall on me, I am con
tented; conscious rectitude is a powerful consolation: I trust
there are many who think my professions for the public good to
be real. Let your suspicion look to both sides : there are many
on the other side, who possibly may have been persuaded of the
necessity of these measures, which I conceive to be dangerous
to your liberty.
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect
every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing
will preserve it but downright force: whenever you give up that
force, you are inevitably ruined. I am answered by gentlemen,
that though I might speak of terrors, yet the fact was, that we
were surrounded by none of the dangers I apprehended, I con
ceive this new government to be one of those dangers: it has
produced those horrors which distress many of our best citizens.
We are come hither to preserve the poor commonwealth of Vir
ginia, if it can be possibly done: something must be done to
preserve your liberty and mine,
"The confederation, this same despised government, merits,
in my opinion, the highest encomium: it carried us through a
long and dangerous war: it rendered us victorious in that bloody
conflict with a powerful nation: it has secured us a territory
greater than any European monarch possesses: and shall a gov
ernment which has been thus strong and vigorous, be accused
of imbecility, and abandoned for want of energy? Consider
what you are about to do, before you part with this government.
Take longer time in reckoning things ; revolutions like this have
happened in almost every country of Europe : similar examples
are to be found in ancient Greece and ancient Rome : instances

PATRICK HENRT. 195
of the people losing their liberty by their own carelessness and
the ambition of a few.
"We are cautioned, by the honourable gentleman who pre
sides, against faction and turbulence: I acknowledge that licen
tiousness is dangerous, and that it ought to be provided against:
I acknowledge, also, the new form of government may effectu
ally prevent it: yet there is another thing it will as eSectually
do — it will oppress and ruin the people. There are sufficient
guards placed against faction and licentiousness : for when power
is given to this government to suppress these, or for any other
purpose, the language it assumes is clear, express, and unequiv
ocal: but when this constitution speaks of privileges, there is
an ambiguity, sir, a fatal ambiguity, an ambiguity which is
very astonishing!"
The adoption of the instrument had been maintained upon
the ground that it would increase our military strength, and en
able us to resist the lawless ambition of foreign princes : it had
been urged, too, that if the convention should rise without adopt
ing the instrument, disunion and anarchy would be the certain
consequences. In answer to these topics he said: —
"Happy will you be, if you miss the fate of those nations,
who, omitting to resist theii' oppressors, or negligently suffering
their liberty to be wrested from them, have groaned under in
tolerable despotism! Most of the human race are now in this
deplorable condition. And those nations who have gone in
search of grandeur, poieer, and splendour, have also fallen a
sacrifice, and been the victims of their own folly. While they
acquired those visionary blessings, they lost their freedom.
"My great objection to this government is, that it does not
leave us the means of defending our rights, or of waging war
against tyrants. It is urged by some gentlemen, that this new
plan will bring us an acquisition of strength, an army, and the
militia of the states. This is an idea extremely ridiculous:
gentlemen cannot be in earnest. Tliis acquisition will trample
on your fallen liberty! Let my beloved Americans guard
against that fatal lethargy that has pervaded the universe. Have
we the means of resisting disciplined armies, when our only de
fence, the militia, is put into the hands of congress?
"The honourable gentleman said, that great danger would
ensue, if the convention rose without adopting this system. I
ask, where is that danger? ¦ I see none. Other gentlemen have
told us within these walls, that the union is gone — or, that the
union will be gone. Is not this trifling with the judgment of
their fellow-citizens? Till they tell us the ground of their fears,
I will consider them as imaginary. I rose to make inquiry
where those dangers were; they could make no answer: I be
lieve I never shall have that answer.

196 wirt's life of
"Is there a disposition in the people of this country to revolt
against the dominion of laws? Has there been a single tumult
in Virginia? Have not the people of Virginia, when labouring
under the severest pressure of accumulated distresses, mani
fested the most cordial acquiescence in the execution of the
laws? What could be more lawful than their unanimous acqui
escence under general distresses? Is there any revolution in
Virginia? Whither is the spirit of America gone? Whither
is the genius of America fled ? It was but yesterday when our
enemies marched in triumph through our country. Yet the
people of this country could not be appalled by their pompous
armaments : they stopped their career, and victoriously cap
tured them! Where is the peril now compared to that?
" Some minds are agitated by foreign alarms. Happily for
us, there is no real danger from Europe : that country is engaged
in more arduous business: from that quarter there is no cause
of fear: you may sleep in safety for ever for them. Where is
the danger? If sir, there was any, I would recur to the Amer
ican spirit to defend us — that spirit which has enabled us to sur
mount the greatest difficulties : to that illustrious spirit I address
my most fervent prayer, to prevent our adopting a system de
structive to liberty.
"Let not gentlemen be told that it is not safe to reject this
government. Wherefore is it not safe? We are told there are
dangers; but those dangers are ideal; they cannot be demon
strated. To encourage us to adopt it, they tell us that there is
a plain, easy way of getting amendments. When I come to
contemplate this part, I suppose that I am mad, or, that my
countrymen are so. The way to amendment is, in my concep
tion, shut. Let us consider this plain, easy way."
He then proceeds to demonstrate, that as the constitution re
quired the concurrence of three fourths of the states to any
amendment, it followed that six tenths of the people, in four of
the smallest states, (not containing collectively one-tenth part of
the population of the United States,) would have it in theii^
power to defeat the most salutary amendments ; and then asjcs,
yls this, sir, an easy mode of securing the public liberty? It
is, sir, a most fearful situation, when the most contemptible mi
nority can prevent the alteration of the most oppressive govern
ment: for it may, in many respects, prove to be such. Is this
the spirit of republicanism? What, sir, is the genius of de
mocracy? Let me read that clause of the bill of rights of Vir
ginia, which relates to this : —
"'Third Article. That government is, or ought to be, insti
tuted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the
people, nation, or community; of all the various modes and

PATRICK HENRT. 197
forms of government, that is best which is capable of producing
the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectu
ally secured against the danger of mal-administration; and that
whenever any government shall be found inadequate, or con
trary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an
indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter,
or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive
to the public weal.'
"This, sir, is the language of democracy, that a majority of
the community have a right to alter their government when
found to be oppressive; but how different is the genius of your
new constitution from this? How different from the sentiments
of freemen, that a contemptible minority can prevent the good
of the majority? If, then, gentlemen, standing on this ground,
are come to that point, that they are willing to bind themselves
and their posterity to be oppressed, I am amazed, and inex
pressibly astonished !
"If this be the opinion of the majority, I must submit; but
to me, sir, it appears perilous and destructive; I cannot help
thinking so; perhaps'it may be the result of my age; these may
be feelings natural to a man of my years, when the American
spirit has left him, and his mental powers, like the members of
the body, are decayed. If, sir, amendments are left to the twen
tieth, or to the tenth part of the people of America, your liberty
is gone for ever,
"We have heard that there is a great deal of bribery practised
in the house of commons in England; and that many of the
members raised themselves to preferments by selling the rights
of the people. But, sir, the tenth part of that body cannot con
tinue oppressions on the rest of the people. English liberty is,
in this case,- on a firmer foundation than American liberty. It
will be easily contrived to procure the opposition of one tenth
of the people to any alteration, however judicious."
Mr, Pendleton had repelled the idea of danger from the
adoption of the constitution, on the ground of the facility
with which the people could recall their delegated powers, and
change their servants, "We will assemble in convention,"
said Mr, Pendleton, " wholly recall our delegated powers, or
reform them so as to prevent such abuse, and punish our serv
ants," In reply to this, Mr. Henry said: — "The honourable
gentleman who presides told us, that, to preventi abuses in our
government, we will assemble in convention, recall our dele
gated powers, and punish our servants for abusing the trust re
posed in them. Oh, sir, we should have fine times, indeed, if
to punish tyrants, it were only necessary to assemble the peo
ple ! Your arms wherewith you could defend yourselves, are
17*

198 wirt's LIFE OF
gone ! and you have no longer an aristocratical, no longer a
democratical spirit. Did you ever read of any revolution in
any nation, brought about by the punishment of those in power,
inflicted by those who had no power at all ? You read of a
riot act in a country which is called one of the freest in the
world, where a few neighbours cannot assemble, without the
risk of being shot by a hired soldiery, the engines of despo
tism, " We may see such an act in America. A standing army
we shall have also, to execute the execrable commands of ty
ranny ; and how are you to punish them? Will you order
them to be punished ? Who shall obey these orders ? Will
your mace-bearer be a match for a disciplined regiment? In
what situation are we to be ? The clause before you gives a
power of direct taxation, unbounded and unlimited ; exclusive
power of legislation, in all cases whatsoever, for ten miles
square ; and over all places purchased for the erection of forts,
magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, <^c. What resistance could
be made ? The attempt would be madness. You will find all
the strength of this country in the hands of your enemies ;
those garrisons will naturally be the strongest places in the
country. Your militia is given up to congress, also, in another
part of this plan ; they will therefore act as they think proper ;
all power will be in their own possession ; you cannot force
them to receive their punishment."
He continued to ridicule, very successfully, the alluring idea
of the expected splendour of the new government, and the
imaginany checks and balances which were said to exist in this
constitution: "If we admit," said he, "this consolidated gov
ernment, it will be because we like a great splendid one.
Some way or other we must be a great and mighty empire ;
we must have an army, and a navy, and a number of things !
When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of
America was different : liberty, sir, was then the primary ob
ject." And again : "This constitution is said to have beauti
ful features ; when I come to examine these features, sir, they
appear to me horribly frightful I Among other deformities, it
has an awful squinting ; it squints toward monarchy ! And
does not this raise indignation in the heart of every true Amer
ican ?
"Your president may easily become king; your senate is so
imperfectly constructed, that your dearest rights may be sacri
ficed by what may be a small minority ; and a very small
minority may continue, for ever, unchangeable, this govern
ment, although horridly defective; where are your checks in
this government ? Your strong hold will be in the hands of

PATRICK HENRT. 199
your enemies ; it is on a supposition that your American gov
ernors shall be honest, that all the good qualities of this gov
ernment are founded ; but its defective and imperfect construc
tion puts it in their power to perpetrate the worst of mischiefs,
should they be bad men ; and, sir, would not all the world,
from the eastern to the western hemisphere, blame our dis
tracted folly in resting our rights upon the contingency of our
rulers being good or bad ?
"Show me that age and country, where the rights and lib
erties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their
rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty?
I say, that the loss of that dearest privilege has ever followed,
with absolute certainty, every such mad attempt. If your
American chief be a man of ambition and abilities, how easy
is it for him to render himself absolute ! The army is in his
hands ; and if he be a man of address, it will be attached to
him ; and it will be the subject of long meditation with him
to seize the first auspicious moment to accomplish his design ;
and, sir, will the American spirit, solely, relieve you when this

happen " I would rather infinitely, and I am sure most of this con
vention are of the same opinion, have a king, lords, and com
mons, than a government so replete with such insupporta
ble evils. If we make a king, we may prescribe the rules by
which he shall rule hia people, and interpose such checks as
shall prevent him from infringing them : but the president in
the field, at the head of his army, can prescribe the terms on
which he shall reign master, so far that it will puzzle any
American ever to get his neck from under the galling yoke. I
cannot, with patience, think of this idea. If ever he violates
the laws, one of two things will happen : he will come at the
head of his army to carry everything before him ; or he will
give bail, or do what Mr. Chief Justice will order him. If he
be guilty, will not the recollection of his crimes teach him to
make one bold push for the American throne? Will not the
immense difference between being master of everything, and
being ignominiously tried and punished, powerfully excite him
to make this bold push ?
" But, sir, where is the existing force to punish him ? Can
he not, at the head of his army, beat down every opposition?
Away with your president ; we shall have a king : the army
will salute him monarch ; your militia will leave you, and as
sist in making him king, and fight against you: and what have
you to oppose this force? What will then become of you and
your rights ? Will not absolute despotism ensue ?" [Here Mr.
Henry strongly and pathetically expatiated on the probability

200 wirt's life of
of the president's enslaving America, and the horrid conse
quences that must result.] '
After the frank admission of the reporter, exhibited By the
words contained in these brackets, that he had not attempted
to follow Mr. Henry in this pathetic excursion, the reader will
perceive, that it would be doing injustice to the memory of that
eminent man, to multiply extracts from this book, as specimens
of his eloquence. The stenographer who should be able to
take down Mr. Henry's speeches, word for word, must have
other qualities besides the perfect mast^y of his art; he must
have the perfect mastery of himself, and be able, for the mo
ment, to play the mere automaton ; for without such self-com
mand, no man, who had a human heart in his bosom, could lis
ten tohiis startling exclamations, or horror-breathing tones, with
out keeping his eyes immovably riveted upon the speaker. His
dominion over his hearers was so absolute, that it was idle to
think of resisting him ; you would as soon think of resisting
the lightning of heaven.
-The very tone of voice in which he would address the
chairman, when he felt the inspiration of his genius ri
sing— "Mr. Chairman!" — and the awful pause which fol
lowed this call — fixed upon him at once every eye in the
assembly : and then his own rapt countenance ! — those eye."
which seemed to beam with light from another world, and un
der whose fiery glance the crest of the proudest adversary fell !
his majestic attitudes, and that bold, strong, and varied action,
which spoke forth, with so much power, the energies of his
own great spirit, rendered his person a spectacle so sublime,
and so awfully interesting, that to look in any other direction
when the spell was upon him was not to be expected from any
man who had eyes to see and ears to hear. Little cause have
we, therefore, to wonder or to complain, that a gentleman of
Mr. Robertson's lively admiration of genius, and of his quick
and kindling sensibility, was sometimes bedimmed by his own
tears, and at others torn from his task by those master-flights,
which rushed like a mighty whirlwind from the earth, and car
ried up everything in their vortex.
The chief objections taken to the constitution are reducible
to the following heads : —
I, That it was a consolidated, instead of a confederated gov
ernment: that in making it so, the delegates at Philadelphia
had transcended the limits of their commission : changed fun
damentally the relations which the states had chosen to bear
to each other: annihilated their respective sovereignties : de
stroyed the barriers which divided them : and converted the
whole into one solid empire. To this leading objection, al-

PATRICK HENRY. 201
most all the rest had reference, and were urged principally
with the view to illustrate and enforce it.
3. The vast and alarming array of specific powers given to
the general government, and the wide door opened for an un
limited extension of those powers, by the clause which author
ized congress to pass all laws necessary to carry the given
powers into effect. It was urged that this clause rendered the
previous specification of powers an idle illusion ; since, by the
force of construction arising from that clause, congress might
easily do anything and everything it chose, under the pre
tence of giving effect to some specified power.
3. The unlimited power of taxation of all kinds : the states
were no longer to be required, in their federative characters,
to contribute their respective proportions toward the expenses
and engagements of the general government: but congress
were authorized to go directly to the pockets of the people,
and to sweep from them en masse, from north to south, what
ever portion of the earnings of the industrious poor the rapa
city of the general government, or their schemes of ambitious
grandeur, might suggest.
It was contended, that such a power could not be exercised,
without just complaint, over a country so extensivo, and so
diversified in its productions and the pursuits of its people: that
it was iiiipossible to select any subject of general taxation which
would not operate unequally on the different sections of the
union, produce discontent and heart-burnings among the people,
and most probably terminate in open resistance to the laws : that
the representatives in congress were too few to carry with them
a knowledge of the wants and capacities of the people in the
different parts of a large state, and that the representation could
not be made full enough to attain that object, without becoming
oppressively expensive to the country: that hence taxation
ought to be left to the states themselves, whose representation
was full, who best knew the habits and circumstances of their
constituents, and on what subjects a tax could be most conve
niently laid, Mr. Henry said that he was willing to grant this
power conditionally; that is, upon the failure of the states to
comply with requisitions from congress: but that the absolute
and unconditional grant of it, in the first instance, filled his mind
with the most awful anticipations.
It was resolved, he saw clearly, that we must be a great and
splendid people; and that in order to be so, immense revenues
must be raised from the people : the people were to be bowed
do.vn under the load of their taxes, direct and indirect; and a
swarm of federal tax-gatherers were to cover this land, to blight
every blade of grass, and every leaf of vegetation, and consume

302 wirt's life of
Its productions for the enrichment of themselves and their mas
ters: it was not contended, he supposed, but that the state leg
islature, also, might impose taxes for their own internal pur
poses: thus the people were to be doubly oppressed, and be
tween the state sheriffs and the federal sheriffs to be ground to
dust: on this subject he drew such a vivid and affecting picture
of these officers, entering in succession the cabin of the broken
hearted peasant, and the last one rifling the poor remains which
the first had left as is said to have drawn tears from every eye.
4. The power of raising armies and building navies, and still
more emphatically, the control given to the general government
over the militia of the states, was most strenuously opposed.
The power thus given was a part of the means of that aggran
dizement which was obviously meditated, and there could be no
doubt that it would be exercised: so that this republic, whose
best policy was peace, was to be saddled with the expense of
maintaining standing armies and navies, useless for any other
purpose than to insult her citizens, to afford a pretext for in
creased taxes, and an augmented public debt, and finally to sub
vert the liberties of herpe6ple: her militia, too, her last remain
ing defence, was gone.
"Congress," said Mr. Henry, "by the power of taxation —
by that of raising an army and navy — and by their control over
the militia — have the sword in the one hand, and the purse in
the other. Shall we be safe without either? Congress have an
unlimited power over both; they are entirely given up by us.
Let him (Mr, Madison) candidly tell me where and when did
freedom exist, when the sword and purse were given up from
the people? Unless a miracle in human affairs shall interpose,
no nation eier did or ever can retain its liberty, after the loss
of the sword and the purse,"
The unlimited control over the militia was vehemently op
posed, on the ground, that the marching militia from distant
states to quell insurrection, and repel invasions, and keeping the
free yeomanry of the country under the lash of martial law,
would, in the first instance, produce an effect extremely inimical
to the peace and harmony of the union; and in the next, harass
the agricultural body of the people so much, as to reconcile
them, as a less evil, to that curse of nations, and bane of free
dom, a standing army: — and secondly, this power was opposed,
on the ground that congress, under the boundless charter of
constructive power which it possessed, might transfer to the
president the power of calling forth the militia, and thus enable
him to disarm all opposition to his schemes,
5. The several clauses providing for the federal judiciary were
objected to, on the ground of the clashing jurisdictions of the

PATRICK HENRT. 203
state and federal courts; and secondly, because infinite power
was given to congress to multiply inferior federal courts at plea
sure; a power which they would not fail to exercise, in order
to swell the patronage of the president, to their own emolument;
and thus enable him to reward their devotion to his views, by
bestowing on them and their dependants those offices which they
had themselves created.
6. It was contended that the trial by jtiry was gone in civil
cases, by that clause which gives to the supreme court appellate
power over the law and the fact in every case ; and which there
by enabled that tribunal to annihilate both the verdict and judg
ment of the inferior courts: and that in criminal cases also, the
trial by jury was worse than gone, because it was admitted, that
the common law, which alone gave the challenge for favour,
would not be in force as to the federal courts; and hence a jury
might, in every instance, be packed to suit the purpose of the
prosecution. 7, The authority of the president to take the command of the
armies of the United States, in person, was warmly resisted, on
the ground, that if he were a military character, and a man of
address, he might easily convert them into an engine for the
worst of purposes.
8. The cession of the whole treaty-making power to the pres
ident and senate, was considered as one of the most formidable
features in the instrument, inasmuch as it put it in the power of
the president and any ten senators, who might represent the five
smallest states, to enter into the most ruinous foreign engage
ments, and even to cede away by treaty any portion of the ter
ritory of the larger states: it was insisted, that the lower house,
who were the immediate representatives of the people, instead
of being excluded as they were by the constitution from all par
ticipation in the treaty-making power, ought at least to be con
sulted, if not to have the principal agency in so interesting a
national act.
9. The immense patronage of the president was objected to :
because it placed in his hands the means of corrupting the con
gress, the navy, and army, and of distributing, moreover,
throughout the society, a band of retainers in the shape of
judges, revenue officers, and tax-gatherers, which would render
him irresistible in any scheme of ambition that he might medi
tate against the liberties of his country.
10, The irresponsibility of the whole gang of federal officers
(as they were called) was objected to : there was indeed, in some
instances, a power of impeachment pretended to be given,
but it was mere sham and mockery; since, instead of being
tried by a tribunal, zealous and interested to bring them to jus-

204 wirt's LIFE OF
tice, they were to try each other for offences, in which, proba
bly, they were all mutually implicated. _
11. It was insisted, that if we must adopt a constitution ce
ding away such vast powers, express and implied, and so fraught
with danger to the liberties of the people, it ought at least to be
guarded by a bill of rights ; that in all free governments, and in
the estimation of all men attached to liberty, there were certain
rights unalienable — imprescriptible — and of so sacred a char
acter, that they could not be guarded with too much caution:
among these were the liberty of speech and of the press — what
security had we, that even these sacred privileges would not be
invaded? Congress might think it necessary, in-order to carry
into effect the given powers, to silence the clamours and cen
sures of the people; and, if they meditated views of lawless
ambition, they certainly will so think : what then would become
of the liberty of speech and of the press?
Several objections of a minor character were urged, such as : —
1. That the ambiguity with which the direction for publishing
the proceedings of congress was expressed, (''from time to
time,") put it in their power to keep the people in utter igno
rance of their proceedings ; and thus to seize the public liberties
"by ambuscade."
2. That the ninth section of the first article, professing to set
out restrictions upon the power of congress, gave them, by ir
resistible implication, the sovereign power over all subjects not
excepted, and thus enlarged their constructive powers, ad in
finitum. 3, That congress had the power of involving the southern
states in all the horrors which would result from a total eman
cipation of their slaves; and that the northern states, uninter
ested in the consequences of such an act, had a controlling ma
jority, which possessed the power, and would not probably want
the inclination to effect it,
4, That the pay of the members was by the constitution to
be fixed by themselves, without limitation or restraint, "They
may, therefore," said Mr, Henry, "indulge themselves in the
fullest extent. They will make their compensation as high as
they please. I suppose, if they be good men, their own deli
cacy will lead them to be satisfied with moderate salaries. But
there is no security for this, should they be otherwise inclined."
These objections, and many others which it were tedious to
enumerate, were pressed upon the house day after day, with all
the powers of reasoning and of eloquence ; and where argument
and declaniation were found unavailing, the force of ridicule
was freely resorted to. Thus, in relation to the objection of
consolidation, Mr. Madison had said : —

PATRICK HENRT. 205
"There are anumber of opinions as to the nature of the gov
ernment; but the principal question is, whether it be a federal
or consolidated government. In order to judge properly of the
question before us, we must consider it minutely in its principal
parts. I conceive, myself, that it is of a mixed nature: — it is,
in a manner, unprecedented: we cannot find one express exam
ple in the experience of the world — it stands by itself. In some
respects, it is a government of a federal nature ; in others, it is
of a consolidated nature."
He then proceeds to point out and discriminate its federal
from its national features. Mr. Corbin, on the same side, ex
pressed himself satisfied with Mr. Madison's definition of the
instrument; but begged leave to call it hy another name, viz.,
" a representative federal government, as contradistinguished
from a confederacy."
Mr. Henry, in replying to thesc-gentlemen, says: — "This
government is so new, it wants a name ! I wish its other nov
elties were as harmless as this. We are told, however, that,
collectively taken, it is without an example .' — that it is national
in this part, and federal in that part, &c. We may be amused,
if we please, by a treatise of political anatomy. In the brain
it is national: the stamina are federal — some limbs are feder
al, others national. The senators are voted for by the state
legislatures-^*o/ar it is federal. Individuals choose the mem
bers of the first branch — here it is national.
"It is federal in conferring general powers; but national in
retaining them. It is not to be supported by the states — the
pockets of individuals are to be searched for its maintenance.
What signifies it to me, that you have the most curious ana
tomical description of it in its creation? To all the common
purposes of legislation, it is a great consolidation of govern
ment. You are not to have the" right to legislate in any but
trivial cases ; you are not to touch private contracts : j'ou are
not to have the right of having armies in your own defence :
you cannot be trusted with dealing out justice between man and
man. " What shall the states have to do ? Take care of the poor
— repair and make highways — erect ¦ bridges — and so on, and
so on ! Abolish the state legislatures at once. What purposes
should they be continued for? Our legislature will indeed be a
ludicrous spectacle — one hundred and eighty men, marching in
solemn farcical procession, exhibiting a mournful proof of the
lost liberty of their country,, without the power of restoring it.
But, sir, we have the consolation, that it is a mixed government'
that is, it may work sorely in your neck ; but you will have some
comfort by saying, that it was a federal government in its origin !"
18

206 wirt's life of
Notwithstanding this ridicule, however, thrown on some of
their arguments, Mr. Henry did not fail, on every proper occa
sion, to do justice to the great abilities and merits of his adver
saries. To the eloquence of Col. Innis he paid a memorable
tribute; and in one short sentence sketched a picture of it so
vivid, and so faithful, that it would be injustice to both gentle
men not to give it a place: — "That honourable gentleman is
endowed with great eloquence — eloquence splendid, magnificent,
and sufficient to shake the human mind I"
No circumlocution could have described with half the spirit
and truth, that rare union of pomp and power which distinguished
Col. Innis; whose car of triumph was always a chariot of war;
pugnm vel pompce, pariter aptus. One of the most singular
instances on record of the fallacy of the human memory, oc
curred in the course of these debates : this was in relation to
the case of Josiah Phillips, which has been already mentioned.
Mr. Randolph, in answer to Mr. Henry's panegyrics on the con
stitution of the state of Virginia, brought forward that case in
the following terms : —
"There is one example of this violation (of the state consti
tution) in Virginia, of a most striking and shocking nature; an
example so horrid, that if I conceived my country would pas
sively permit a repetition of it, dear as it is to me, I would seek
means of expatriating myself from it. A man, who was then a
citizen, was deprived of his life thus: — from a mere reliance on
general reports, a gentleman in the house of delegates informed
the house, that a certain man (Josiah Philips) had committed
several crimes, and was running at large perpetrating other
crimes; he, therefore, moved for leave to attaint him; he ob
tained that leave instantly; no sooner did he obtain it, than he
drew from his pocket a bill ready written for that effect; it was
read three times in one day, and carried to the senate; I will
not say that it passed the same day through the senate ; but he
was attainted very speedily and precipitately, without any proof
better than vague reports!
" Without being confronted with his accusers and witnesses :
without the privilege of calling for evidence in his behalf, he
was sentenced to death, and was afterward actually executed.
Was this arbitrary deprivation of life, the dearest gift of God to
man, consistent with the genius of a republican government?
Is this compatible with the spirit of freedom? This, sir, has
made the deepest impression in myheart, and I cannot contem
plate it without horror." Now the reader, by adverting to the
statement which has been already given of Philips's case, and
which is founded on record, will find that there is not one
word of this eloquent invective that is consistent with the facts.

PATRICK HBNRY. 207
What makes the case still more strange is, that Mr. Ran
dolph, at the happening of the occurrence to which he alludes,
held the double office of clerk of the house of delegates, and
attorney-general of the commonwealth ; in the first character,
he had, only ten years before, been officially informed, that the
bill of attainder had not been founded on report, but on a com
munication of the governor, enclosing the letter of the command
ing officer of the militia in the quarter which was the theatre of
Philips's ravages ; that that letter had been in due form commit
ted to the whole house on the state of the commonwealth, whose
resolutions led to the bill in question ; and that the bill, instead
of being read three times in one day, had been regularly, and
according to the forms of the house, read on three several days.
While in his character of attorney-general, he had himself
endicted and prosecuted Philips for highway robbery — con
fronted him with the witnesses, whose names are given at the
foot of the endictment, still extant among our records, and en
dorsed in Mr. Randolph's own hand-writing ; convicted him on
that charge, on which charge, and on which alone. Philips, was
regularly sentenced and executed. Yet, not only Mr. Ran
dolph, but all the other members who had occasion to advert to
the circumstance, and even Mr. Henry, on whom it is supposed
to have been designed to bear, proceed in their several crimina
tions and defences, upon the admission that Philips had fallen a
victim to the bill of attainder. Had the incident been of a com
mon character, there would have been nothing strange in its
having been forgotten ; but it is one of so singular and interest
ing a nature, that this total oblivion of it by the principal actors
themselves becomes a matter of curious history. (See Appen
dix. NoteC.)
The convention had been attended, from its commencement,
by a vast concourse of citizens of all ages and conditions. The
interest so universally felt in the question itself, and not less the
transcendent talents which were engaged in its discussion, pre
sented such attractions as could not be resisted. Industry de
serted its pursuits, and even dissipation gave up its objects, for
the superior enjoyments which were presented by the hall ot
the convention. Not only the people of the town and neigh
bourhood, but gentlemen from every quarter of the state, were
seen thronging to the metropolis, and speeding their eager way
to the building in which the convention held its meetings.
Day after day, from morning till night, the galleries of the
house were continually filled with an anxious crowd, who forgot
the inconvenience of their situation in the excess of their enjoy
ment ; and far from giving any interruption to the course of the
debate, increased its interest and solemnity by their silence and

SOS WntT^S LIFE OF
attention. No bustle, no motion, no sound was heard among
them, save only a slight movement when some new speaker
arose, whom they were all eager to see as well as to hear ; or
when some masterstroke of eloquence shot thrilling along their
nerves, and extorted an involuntary and inarticulate murmur.
Day after day was this banquet of the mind and of the heart
spread before them, with a delicacy and variety which could
never cloy.
There every taste might find its peculiar gratifications — the
man of wit — the man of feeling-— the critiC— the philosopher —
the historian — the metaphysician.^-the lover of logic — the ad
mirer of rhetoric — every man vpho had an eye for the beauty
of action, or an ear for the harmony of sound, or a soul for the
charms of poetic fancy— in short, every one who could see, or
hear, or feel, or understand, might find in the wanton profusion
and prodigality of that attic feast, some delicacy adapted to his
peculiar taste. Every mode of attack and of defence, of which
the human mind is capable, in decorous debate — every species
of weapon and armour, offensive and defensive, that could be
used with advantage, from the Roman javelin to the Parthian
arrow, from the cloud of Eneas to the shield of Achilles — all
that could be accomplished by human strength, and almost
more than human activity, was seen exhibited on that celebra
ted floor.
Nor did the debate become oppressive by its unvarying fbr-
mality. The stateliness and sternness of extended argument
were frequently relieved by quick and animated dialogue.
Sometimes the conversation would become familiar and friendly.
The combatants themselves would seem pleased with this re
lief; forget that they were enemies, and by a sort of informal
truce piit off their armour, and sit down amicably together to
repose, as it were, in the shade of the same tree. By this agree
able intermixture of colloq>uial sprightliness and brilliancy with
profound, and learned, and vigorous argument — of social cour
tesy, and heroic gallantry, the audience, far from being fa
tigued with the discussion, looked with regret to the hour of ad
journment. In this great competition of talents, Mr. Henry's powers ot
debate still shone pre-eminent. They were now exhibiting
themselves in a new aspect. Hitherto his efforts, however
splendid, had been comparatively short and occasional. In the
house of burgesses in seventeen hundred and sixty-'five, in the
congress of seventeen hundred and seventy-four, and the state
convention of seventeen hundred and seventy-five, he had ex
hibited the impetuous charge of the gallant Francis the First :
but now, in combination with this fiery force, he wis displaying

PATRICK HENRT. 209
all the firm and dauntless constancy of Charles the Fifth. No
shock of his adversaries could move him from his ground. His
resources never failed. His eloquence was poured from inex
haustible fountains, and assumed every variety of hue and form
and motion, which could delight or persuade, instruct or as
tonish. Sometimes it was the limpid rivulet sparkling down the
mountain's side, and winding its silver course between margins
of moss — then gradually swelling to a bolder stream, it roared
in the headlong Cataract, and spread its rainbows to the sun —
now, it flowed on in tranquil majesty, like a river of the west,
reflecting from it polished surface, forest, and cliff, and sky —
anon, it was the angry ocean, chafed by the tempest, hanging
its billows, with deafening clamours, among the cracking
shrouds, or hurling them in sublime defiance at the storm that
frowned above.
Toward the close of the session, an incident occurred of a
character so extraordinary as to deserve particular notice. The
question of adoption or rejection was now approaching. The
decision was still uncertain, and every mind and every heart
was filled with anxiety. Mr, Henry partook most deeply of
this feeling ; and while engaged, as it were, in his last efforts,
availed himself of the strong sensations which he knew to per
vade the house, and made an appeal to it which, in point of sub
limity, has never been surpassed in any age or country of the
world. After describing, in accents which spoke to the soul, and to
which every other bosom deeply responded, the awful immen
sity of the question to the present and future generations, and
the throbbing apprehensions with which he looked to the issue,
he passed from the house and from the earth, and looking as
he said, "beyond that horizon which binds mortal eyes," he
pointed — with a countenance and action that made the blood
run back upon the aching heart — to those celestial beings who
were hovering over the scene, and waiting with anxiety for a
decision which involved the happiness or misery of more than
half the human race.
To those beings — with the same thrilling look and action —
he bad just addressed an invocation that made every nerve
shudder with supernatural horror — when, lo ! a storm at that
instant arose, which shook the whole building, and the spirits
whom he had called seemed to have come at his bidding. Nor
did his eloquence, or the storm immediately cease-^but avail
ing himself of the incident, with a master's art, he seemed to
mix in the fight of his ethereal auxiliaries, and "rising on the
wings of the tempest, to seize upOn the artillery of Heaven,
18*

SIO wirt's lifb of
and direct its fiercest thunders against the heads of his adver
saries," The scene became insupportable ; and the house
rose without the formality of adjournment, the members rush
ing from their seat with precipitation and confusion.*
But all his efforts were in vain. Either the justice of the op
posing cause, or the powers of his adversaries, or the prejudg
ed opinions and instructions of the members, rendered his rea
soning and his eloquence equally unavailing. Out of a house,
composed of one hundred and sixty-eight members, the ques
tion of ratification was carried by a majority of ten. Mr.
Henry seemed to have a presage of this result: After fhe
storm which has been mentioned. Colonel Innis, who, in his
character of attorney-general, had been nitherto attfending a
court of oyer and terminer, came into the house, and the de
bate was renewed. Mr. Henry, in answering him, closed the
last speech which he delivered on the floor, with the following
remarks : —
" I beg pardon of this house for having taken up mot-e time
than came to my share ; and I thank them for the patience and
polite attention with which I have been heard. If I shall be in
the minority, I shall have those painful sensations which arise
from a conviction of being overpowered in a good cause. Yet,
I will be a peaceable citizen ! My head, my hand, and my
heart shall be free to retrieve the loss of liberty, and remove
the defects of that system, in a constitutional way. I wish
not to go to violence, but will wait with hopes that the spirit
which predominated in the revolution is not yet gone : nor the
cause of those who are attached to the revolution yet lost — I
shall therefore patiently wait, in expectation of seeing that
government changed, so as to be compatible with the safety,
liberty, and happiness of the people,"
The objections, however, which had been urged, and the ar
guments by which they had been supported, although they
had not succeeded in preventing the ratification of the consti
tution, had produced a very serious effect on the house. Be
fore their final dissolution, they agreed to a bill of rights, and
a series of amendments (twenty in number,) embracing and
providing for the objections of Mr. Henry and his associates.
A copy of these amendments, engrossed on parchment, and
*The words above quoted are those of Judge Archibald Stevvart ; a gen
tleman who was present, a member of the convention, and one of those who
voted against the side of the question supported by Mr. Henry. The incident,
es given in the text, is wholly founded on the statements of those who were
witnesses of the scene,; and by comparing it with the corresponding passage
in the printed debates, the reader may decide hovir far these are to be relied on
aa specimens of Mr. Henry's eloquence.

PATRICK HENRY. 211
Signed by the president of th« convention, was ordered to be
transmitted to congress, together with the instrument of rati.'
fication. Similar copies were ordered to be transmitted to
the executive and legislatures of the several states ; and fifty
copies of the ratification and proposed amendments were ordered
lo be struck for the use of each county in this commonwealth.
Mr, Henry lost no ground with the people, at the time, for
the part which he had taken on this occasion ; and when after
ward the constitution began to develop its tendencies by prac
tical operation, so many of his predictions were believed by a
majority of the people of Virginia to be fulfilled, and so many
more in a rapid progress of fulfilment, that his character for
political penetration rose higher than ever. That he had lost
no ground at the time, two signal proofs were given in the ses
sion of assembly immediately following that of the convention.
The latter body rose on the twenty-seventh of June, and the
assembly met on the twentieth of October following. This
interval had been too short to permit the subsidence of that
high excitement, which the canvass of the constitution had
provoked ; and the assembly was consequently discriminated
by feelings of party as strong and determined, as those which
had characterized the convention itself.
The constitution having been adopted by a sufficient num
ber of states to carry it into effect, it became necessary at this
session to provide for its organization, and, among other meas
ures, to choose two senators to represent this state, in the con
gress of the United States. For this office, Mr. Madison was
presented by those who were at that time distinguished by the
appellation of federalists ; by which nothing nyjre was then
meant, than that they were advocates for the adoption of the
new federal constitution.
The anti-federalists, on the contrary, who were alarmed by
the vast powers which they considered as granted by the con
stitution, regarded it as a salutary cheek on the constructive
extension of those powers, and as the best means of securing
those amendments which they deemed essential to the liber
ties of the people, that the first congress should be composed
of men of their own sentimentSw In opposition to Mr. Madi
son, therefore, Mr. Henry took the unusual liberty of nomi
nating two candidates, Mr. Richard H. Lee and Mr. Grayson ;
and, notwithstanding the great accession of character which
Mr. Madison had acquired by the ability with which he had es
poused the ratification of the constitution, those gentlemen
were elected by a considerable majority.
At the same session of the assembly, Mr. Hrnry, whose
mind seems to have been filled with the most oppressive soli-

212 wirt's life of
citude by the unconditional adoption of the constitution, and
who brooded with correspondent anxiety over the most effect
ive means of procuring amendments, moved, in the committee
of the whole house, the following preamble and resolu^
tions : —
" Whereas the convention of delegates of the people of this
commonwealth did ratify a constitution or form of government
for the United States, referred to them for their consideration,
and did also declare that sundry amendments to exceptionable
parts of the same ought to be adopted ; and whereas the sub
ject-matter of the amendments agreed to by the said convention
involves all the great, essential, and unalienable rights, liber
ties, and privileges of freemen ; many of which, if not cancel
led, are rendered insecure under the said constitution, until the
same shall be altered and amended : —
" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that
for quieting the minds of the good citizens of this common
wealth — and securing their dearest rights and liberties — and
preventing those disorders which must arise under a govern
ment not founded in the confidence of the people — application
be made to the congress, of the United States, as soon as they
shall assemble under the said constitution, to call a convention
for proposing amendments to the same, according to the mode
therein directed.
" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that a
committee ought to be appointed to draw up and report to the
house, a proper instrument of writing, expressing the sense of
the general assembly, and pointing out the reasons which in
duce them to urge their application thus early, for calling the
aforesaid convention of the states.
" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that
the said committee ought to be instructed to prepare the draft
of a letter, in answer to one received from his excellency
George Clinton, Esq., president of the convention of New
York— rand a circular letter, on the aforesaid subject, to the
other states in the union, expressive of the wish of the general
assembly of this commonwealth, that they may join in an appli
cation to the new congress, to appoint a convention of the states,
so soon as the congress shall assemble under the new consti
tution." These were carried in committee, and immediately reported
to the house; when a motion was made to amend them, by
striking out from the word ." whereas," and substituting in lieU
of the original, the following preamble and resolutions : —
" Whereas, the delegates appointed to represent the good
people of this commonwealth, in the late convention held in

PATRICK HBNRY. 213
the month of June last, did, by their act of the twenty-fifth of
the same month, assent to and ratify the constitution, recom
mended on the seventeenth day of September, seventeen hun
dred and eighty-seven, by the federal convention for the gov
ernment of the United States, declaring themselves, with a sol
emn appeal to the Searcher of hearts for the purity of their
intentions, under the conviction, " that whatsoever imperfec
tions might exist ih the constitution, ought rather to be exam
ined in the mode prescribed therein, than to bring the Union
into danger by a delay, with a hope of obtaining amendments
previous to the ratification.
" And whereas, in pursuance of the said declaration, the
Same convention did, by their subsequent act of the twenty-
seventh of June, aforesaid, agree to such amendments to the
said constitution of the government for the United States, as
were by them deemed necessary to be recommended tO the
consideration of the congress which shall first assemble under
the said constitution, to be acted upon according to the mode
prescribed in the fifth article thereof; at the same time enjoin
ing it upon their representatives in congress, to exert all their
influence, and use all reasonable and legal methods, to Obtain a
ratification of the foregoing alterations and provisions, in the
manner provided by the fifth article of the said constitution,
and in all congressional laws to be passed in the meantime, to
conform to the spirit of those amendments as far as the said
constitution would admit.
"Resolved, Therefore, that it is the opinion of this committee,
that an application ought to be made, in the name and on the
behalf of the legislature of this commonwealth, to the congress
of the United States, so soon as they shall assemble under the
said constitution, to pass an act recomtnending to the legislar
tures of the several states, the ratification of a bill of rights,
and of certain articles of amendnient, proposed by the conven
tion of this state, for the adoption of the United States; and
that, until the said act shall be ratified in pursuance of the fifth
article of the said constitution of the government for the United
States, congress do conform their ordinances tO the true spirit
of the said bill of rights and articles of amendment.
"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the
executive ought to be instructed to transmit a copy of the fore
going resolution to the congress of the United States, so soon
as they shall assemble, and to the legislatures and executive
authorities of each state in the union."
On this proposal of amendment a very animated debate en
sued, which resulted in its rejection, and the adoption of tho
original report, by a majority of mOre than tw6 for one.

214 wirt's life of
These two measures — the election of the senators named by
Mr- Henry, in opposition to so formidable a competitor as Mr,
Madison — and the carrying so strong a measure as the call of a
new continental convention, for the purpose of revising and al
tering the constitution — certainly furnish the most decisive proof,
that his influence remained unimpaired by the part which he
had taken in the convention of the state.
It was in the course of the debate which has been just men
tioned, that Mr. Henry was driven from his usual decorum into
a retaliation, that became a theme of great public merriment at
the time, and has continued ever since one of the most popular
anecdotes that relate to him.
He had insisted, it seems, with great force, that the speedy
adoption of the amendments was the only measure that could
secure the great and unalienable rights of the freemen of this
country^ — that the people were known to be exceedingly anxious
for this measure — that it was the only step which could recon
cile them to the new constitution — and assure that public con
tentment, security, and confidence, which were the sole objects
of government, and without which no government could stand
. — that whatever might be the individual sentiments of gentle
men, yet the wishes of the people, the foundation of all author
ity, being known, they were bound to conform to those wishes
— that, for his own part, he considered his opinion as nothing,
when opposed to those of his constituents; and that he was
ready and willing at all times and on all occasions, " to bow,,
with the utmost deference, to the majesty of the people."
A young gentleman, on the federal side of the house, who had
been a member of the late convention, and had in that body, re
ceived, on one occasion, a slight touch of Mr. Henry's lash, re
solved now, in an ill-fated moment, to make a set charge upon
the veteran, and brave him to the combat. He possessed faney,
a graceful address, and an easy, sprightly elocution; and had
been sent by his father, (an opulent man, and an officer of high
rank and trust under the regal government,) to finish his educa
tion in the colleges of England, and acquire the polish of the
court of St. James ; where he had passed the whole period of
the American revolution. >
Returning with advantages which were rare in this country,
and with the confidence natural to his years, presuming a little
too far upon those advantages, he seized upon the words, "bow
to the majesty of the people," which Mr, Henry had used, and
rung the changes upon them with considerable felicity.
He denied the solicitude of the people for the amendments,
so strenuously urged on the other side; he insisted that the peo
ple thought their "great and unalienaile rights" sufficiently se-

PATRICK HENRY. 21B
cured by the constitution which they had adopted : that the pre
amble of t^ie constitution itself, which was now to be considered
as the language of the people, declared its objects to be, among
others, the security of those very rights; the people then de
clare the constitution the guarantee of their rights, while the
gentleman, in opposition to this public declaration of their sen
timents, insists upon his amendments as furnishing that guaran
tee; yet the genfleman tells us, that "he bows to the majesty
of the people :" these words he accompanied with a most grace
ful bow.
"The gentleman," he proceeded, "had set himself in oppo
sition to the will of the people, throughout the whole course of
this transaction : the people approved of the constitution : the
suffrage of their constituents in the last convention had proved
it — the people wished, most anxiously wished, the adoption of
the constitution, as the only means of saving the credit and the
honour of the country, and producing the stability of the union:
the gentleman, on the contrary, had placed himself at the head
of those who opposed its adoption — yet, the gentleman is ever
ready and willing, at all times and on all occasions, to bow to
the majesty of the people," (with another profound and graceful
bow.) Thus he proceeded, through a number of animated sentences,
winding up each one with the same words, sarcastically repeat
ed, and the accompaniment of the same graceful obeisance.
Among other things, he said, "it was of little importance whether
a country was ruled by a despot, with a tiara on his head, or by
a demagogue in a red cloak, a caul-bare wig," &c., (describing
Mr, Henry's dress so minutely, as to draw every eye upon him,)
"although he should profess on all occasions to bow to the ma
jesty of the people."
A gentleman who was present, and who, struck with the sin
gularity of the attack, had the curiosity to number the vibrations
on those words, and the accompanying action, states, that he
counted thirteen of the most graceful bows he had ever beheld.
The friends Of Mr. Henry considered such an attack on a man
of his years and high character as very little short of sacrilege ;
on the other side of the house, there was. Indeed, a smothered
sort of dubious laugh, in which there seemed to be at least as
much apprehension as enjoyment. Mr, Henry had heard the
whole of it without any apparent mark of attention.
The young gentleman having finished his philipic, very much
at least to his own satisfaction, took his seat, with the gayest
expression of triumph in his countenance — "Heu ! Nescia
mens hominum, fati, sortisque futura, .'" Mr. Henry raised
himself up, heavily, and with affected awkwardness —

810 WJtRl's LlFB OF
"Mr. Speaker," said he, " I am a plain man, and have been
educated altogether in Virginia. My whole life has been spent
among planters, and other plain men of similar education, who
have never had the advantage of that polish which a court alone
can give, and which the gentleman over the way has so happily
acquired; indeed, sir, the gentleman's employments and mine
(in common with the great mass of his countrymen), have been
as widely different as our fortunes; for while that gentleman
was availing himself of the opportunity which a splendid for
tune afforded him, of acquiring a foreign education, mixing
among the great, attending levees and courts, basking in. the
beams of royal favour a* yS*- James', and exchanging courtesies
with crowned heads, I was engaged in the arduous toils of the
revolution; and was probably as far from thinking of acquiring
those polite accomplishments lyhich the gentleman has so suc
cessfully cultivated, as that gentleman then was from sharing in
the toils and dangers in which his unpolished countrymen were
engaged. "I will not, therefore, presume to vie with the gentleman in
those courtly accomplishments, of which he has just given the
house so agreeable a specimen ; yet such a bow as I can make,
shall be ever at the service of the people." — Herewith, although
there was no man who could make a more graceful bow than
Mr. Henry, he made one so ludicrously awkward and clownish,
as took the house by surprise, and put them into a roar of laugh
ter. — "The gentlpman, I hope, will commiserate the disadvan
tages of education under which I have laboured, and will be
pleased to remember, that I have never been a favourite with that
monarch, whose gracious smile he has had the happiness to enjoy."
He pursued this, contrast of situations and engagements, for
fifteen or twenty minutes, without a smile, and without the
smallest token of resentment, either in countenance, expression,
or manner. "You would almost have sworn," sa-ys a corres
pondent, "that he thought himself making his apology for his
own awkwardness, before a full drawing-room at St. James.'
I believe there was not a person that heard him, the sufferer
himself excepted, who did not feel every risible nerve affected.
His adversary meantime hung down his head, and sinking low
er and lower, until he was almost concealed behind the inter
posing forms, submitted'to the discipline as quietly as a Russian
malefactor, who had been beaten with the knout, till all sense
of feeling was lost." '
The documents reported and adopted by the house of dele
gates, in consequence of the foregoing resolutions, are the fol
ic^ win g-r-wMch are given because they are said to be from the
pen of Mr. H,e»ry; —

PATRICK HENRY. 217
"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that an
application ought to be made, in the name and on behalf of the
legislature of this commonwealth, to the congress of the United
States, in the following words, to wit: —
"The good people of this commonwealth,
"In convention assembled, having ratified the constitution
submitted to their consideration, this legislature has, in confor
mity to that act, and the resolutions of the United States in con
gress assembled, to them transmitted, thought proper to make
the arrangements that were necessary for Carrying it into effect.
Having thus shown themselves obedient to the voice of their
constituents, all America will find that so far as it depends on
them, that plan of government will be carried into immediate
operation. But the sense of the people of Virginia would be
but in part complied with, and but little regarded, if we went no
further. "In the very moment of adoption, and coeval with the ratifi
cation of the new plan of government, the general voice of the
convention of this state pointed to objects no less interesting to
the people we represent, and equally entitled to your attention.
At the same time that, from motives of affection for our sister
states, the convention yielded their assent to the ratification,
they gave the most unequivocal proofs that they dreaded its
operation under the present form.
"In acceding to a government under this impression, painful
must have been the prospect, had they not derived consolation
from a full expectation of its imperfections being speedily
amended. In this resource, therefore, they placed their confi
dence — a confidence that will continue to support them, while
they have reason to believe they have not calculated upon it in
vain. "In making known to you the objections of the people of
this commonwealth to the new plan of government, we deem it
unnecessary to enter into a particular detail of its defects, which
they consider as involving all the great and unalienable rights
of freemen: For their sense on this subject, we refer you to the
proceedings of their late convention, and the sense of this gen
eral assembly, as expressed in their resolutions of the  day
of  .
"We think proper, however, to declare that, in our opinion,
as those objections were not founded on speculative theory, but
deduced from principles which have been established by the
melancholy example of other nations, in different ages— so they
never will be removed, until the cause itself shall cease to exist.
The sooner, therefore, the public apprehensions are quieted, and
the government is possessed of the confidence of the people,
19

218 wirt's life of
the more salutary will be its operations, and the longer its du
ration. "The cause of amendments we consider as a common cause;
and since concessions have been made from political motives,
which we conceive may endanger the republic, we trust that a
commendable zeal will be shown for obtaining those provisions,
which experience has taught us are necessary to secure from
danger the unalienable rights of human nature.
" The anxiety with which our countrymen press for the ac
complishment of this important end, will ill admit of delay.
The slow forms of congressional discussion and recommenda
tion, if indeed they should ever agree to any change, would we
fear be less certain of success. Happily for their wishes, the
constitution hath presented an alternative, by submitting the de
cision to a convention of the states. To this, therefore, we re
sort, as the source from whence they are to derive relief from
their present apprehensions.
"We do, therefore, in behalf of our constituents, in the most
earnest and solemn manner, make this application to congress.
that a convention be immediately called, of deputies from the
several states, with full power to take into their consideration
the defects of this constitution that have been suggested by the
state conventions, and report such amendments thereto as they
shall find best suited to promote our common interests, and se
cure to ourselves, and our latest posterity, the great and unali
enable rights of mankind."
Draft of a letter to Governor Clinton on the same subject: —
"Sir: The letter from the convention of the state of New-
York hath been laid before us since our present session. The
subject which it contemplated was taken up, and we have the
pleasure to inform you of the entire concurrence in sentiment,
between that honourable body and the representatives in senate
and assembly of the freemen of this commonwealth.
"The' propriety of immediately calling a convention of the
states, to take into consideration the defects of the constitution
was admitted ; and in consequence thereof, an application agreed
to, to be presented to the congress, so soon as it shall be con
vened for the accomplishment of that important end. We here
with transmit to your excellency, a copy of this application,
wmcii we request may be laid before your assembly at their
next meeting. We take occasion to express our most earnest
wishes that it may obtain the approbation of New-York, and of
all other sister states."
Draft of a letter to the several states on the same subject: —
"The freemen of this commonwealth, in convention assem
bled, having, at the same time that they ra-tified the federal con-

PATRICK HENRV. 219
etitution, expressed a desire that many parts, which they con
sidered as exceptionable parts, should be amended — the general
assembly, as well from a sense of duty as a conviction of its
defects, have thought proper to take the earliest measures in
their power, for the accomplishment of this important object.
They have accordingly agreed upon an application to be pre
sented to the congress, so soon as it shall be assembled, request
ing that honourable body to call a convention of deputies from
the several states, to take the same into their consideration, and
report such amendments as they shall find best calculated to
answer the purpose.
"As we conceive that all the good people of the United States
are equally interested in obtaining those amendments that have
been proposed, we trust that there will be a harmony in their
sentiments and measures, upon this very interesting subject.
We herewith transmit to you a copy of this application, and
take the liberty to subjoin our earnest wishes that it may have
your concurrence."
In the two remaining years during which Mr. Henry contin
ued a member of the assembly, I find nothing worthy of par
ticular remark. In the spring of seventeen hundred and ninety-
one, he declined a re-election, with the purpose of bidding a
final adieu to public life: and although the tender of the most
honourable appointments, the solicitations of his numerous
friends and admirers, and ultimately his own wishes conspired
to draw him from his retreat, he never again made his appear
ance in a public character.

CHAPTER IX.
Mr. Henry continues the Practice of the Law^Case of " the British Debts"
—Uncommon Interest elicited to hear Mr. Henry on this Case — His Speech
—Mode of answering opposing Counsel—Sketch of Him in his professional
Charjacter — His Defence, of the Son of Dr. Holland on his Trial for Murder
— Anecdote of the Case of John Hook — He bids a final Adieu to his Profes
sion in 1794.
Mr, Henry still continued, however, rather through neces
sity than choice, the practice of the law : and in the fall of this
year, seventeen hundred and ninety-one, a cause came on to
be argued before the circuit court of the United States, in which
he made what has been considered his most distinguished dis
play of professional talents. This was the celebrated case of

230 wirt's life of
the British debts ; a case in which, from its great and exten
sive interest, the whole power of the bar of Virginia was em
barked, and which was discussed with so much learning, argu
ment, and eloquence, as to have placed that bar, in the estima
tion of the federal judges, (if the reports of the day may be
accredited,) above all others in the United States.
The cause was argued first in seventeen hundred and ninety-
one, before Judges Johnson and Blair, of the supreme court,
and Griffin, Judge of the district ; and afterward in seventeen
hundred and ninety-three, before Judges Jay and Iredell, and
the same district judge. Mr. Henry was one of the counsel
for the defendant, and argued the cause on both occasions.
The deep interest of the question, in a national point of view,
and the manner in which it involved more particulariy the
honour of the state of Virginia, and the fortunes of her citi
zens, had excited Mr. Henry to a degree of preparation which
he had never before made ; and he came forth, on this occasion,
a perfect master of every principle of law, national and muni
cipal, which touched the subject of investigation in the most
distant point.
Of the first argument, a manuscript report is still extant, ta
ken in shorthand by Mr. Robertson, the same gentleman who
reported the debates of the convention of Virginia in seven
teen hundred and eighty-eight. The second argimient was not
reported ; because, as Mr. Rpbertson states, he was informed
by the counsel, that it would be nothing more than a repetition
of the first ; and he adds, that he was afterward told it was
much inferior. What must we conclude, then, as to the pow
ers displayed by Mr. Henry in the first argument, when, in the
course. of the second and inferior one, he extorted from Judge
Iredell, as he sat on the bench, the exclamation: — "Gracious
God ! — He is an orator indeed P'
The report of the first argument, as deciphered by Mr. Rob
ertson, from his stenographic notes, has been obligingly sub-
sqaitted to the author of these sketches, and he has extracted
from it an imperfect analysis of Mr. Henry's speech. The re
port may unquestionably be relied on, so far as it professes to
state the principles of law, and the substance of the arguments
ur'gfed by the very eminent counsel engaged in the cause ; and
in this point of view, it is to be lamented that so valuable a
work should still exist only in the form of a manuscript. But,
as a sample of Mr, Henry's peculiar and inimitable eloquence,
it is subject to all the objections which, have been already urged
to the printed debates of the Virginia convention.
This manuscript report bears upon its face the most con
clusive prpOf of its inaccuracy in .those passages in which it

PATRICK HENRY. 22j
attempts to exhibit either the captivating flights of Mr. Hen
ry's fancy, or those unexpected and overwhelming assaults
which he made upon the hearts of his judges ; for in all such
passages, (it is believed, without an exception,) the pen has
been drawn through the sentence as originally written, in such
a manner, however, as to leave the words still legible ; while
the same thought, or something like it, has been interlined in
other words ; and even the interlineations themselves are of-
tener than otherwise erased, altered, and farther interlined, for
the purpose of seeking to amend the expression: so that, in
casting one's eyes over the manuscript report of Mr. Henry's
speech, in order to single out the most brilliant passages, those
which are the most blotted and blurred by erasures and inter
lineations may be selected at once, without the hazard of mis
take. Hence, it is obvious, that the reporter had not in his
stenographic notes, the very expression of the speaker; but
some hint merely of the thought, which he was afterward un
able to fill up to his own satisfaction. If farther evidence on
this subject were required, it is found in this circumstance : that,
on reading Mr. Robertson's imitations of the splendid parts
of Mr. Henry's speech to several of those who heard it deliv
ered, there has not been one who has not turned off from the
recital with the strongest expressions of disappointment, and
in several instances corrected by memory the language of the
reporter. This explanation is equally due to the memory of Mr. Henry,
to the reader, and the author ; for the author is fully aware,
that if the truth of the general character which he has attempt
ed to give of Mr. Henry's eloquence shall be tested by those
imperfect specimens to which, for want of more accurate ones,
he has been compelled to resort, discredit will be thrown upon
the whole work, and it will be regarded rather as romance than
history. But the ingenuous and candid reader will look be
yond those poor and wretched imitations, and my own equally
poor and wretched descriptions, to that proof of Mr, Henry's
eloquence which is furnished by its practical effects. Can
there be any doubt of the supreme eloquence of that man
who awakened and hushed at his pleasure, " the stormy wave
of the multitude ?" who, by his powers of speech, roused the
whole American people from north to south ? put the revolu
tion into motion, and bore it upon his shoulder, as Atlas is said
to do the heavens ? to whose charms of persuasion, not the
rabble merely, but all ranks of society, have borne the most
unanimous evidence ? who moved not merely the populace, the
rocks, and stones of the field, but, " by the summit took the
mountain-oaky and made him stoop to the olain ?"
19*

223 wirt's lifb or
Instead, then, of comparing our descriptions of Mr, Henry's
eloquence with the specimens which his reporters have made
of it, let the reader compare that description with the effects
which it actually wrought, and the universal testimony which
is borne to it, by the rapturous admiration of every one who
ever had the happiness to hear him ; and the author so far from
being afraid of the charge of exaggeration, will be apjwehen-
sive only of that of presumption, in attempting a description of
powers so perfectly undescribable.
But to return to his argument in the case of the British debts.
In order to render intelligible i the analysis which we propose
to give to the reader, it will be necessary to prefix to.it a state
ment of the case, of the pleadings, and the points made in ar
gument, by the opening counsel,
William Jones, a British subject, as surviving partner of the
mercantile house of Farrell and Jones, brought an action of
debt in the federal circuit court at, Richmond, against Doc
tor Thomas Walker, of the county of Albemarle, in Virginia,
on a bond which bore date before the revolutionary war ; to
wit, on the eleventh of May, seventeen hundred and seventy-
two. To this action the defendant pleaded five several
pleas : — •
1. The first was, the plea of payment generally, on which
the plaintiff took issue ; but it was not tried, the cause having
gone off on the demurrers growing out of the subsequent
|).leadings. 2. In -Ms second plea, the defendant relies on the act of se
questration, passied by the legislature of Virginia during the
revolutionary war, to wit, on the tiventieth of^October, seven
teen hundred and seventy-seven ; by which it was enacted, that
"it should be lawful for any citizen of this commonwealth, ow
ing money to a subject of Great Britain, to pay the same, or arty
part thereof, from time to time, as he shouJd think fit, into the
¦loan office of the state ; tiding thereout a certificate for the same
In the name of the creditor, with an endorsenient under the band
of the commissioner of the loian ofSce, expressing the name of
the pay<!e, delivering such certificate to the gbvernor and couH-
cil, whose receipt should discharge hint from so much of the
¦debt:" — 'and the defendant exhibits the governor's receipt for
two thousand one hundred and fifty-one pounds and eighteen
shillings, which he offers in bar to so much of the plaintiff's
demand, '
3, In his third plea, he sets out the act of forfeiture, passed
by the assembly on the third of May, seventeen hundred and
severUy-ninie, whereby it was, among other things, iena.ctftd,
"that all the praperty, real and pepacwiaJ,nntlHn 'the common-

PATRICK HENRY. 2S3
wealth, belonging at that time to any British subject, should be
deemed to be vested in the commonwealth;" as also the act of
the sixth of May, seventeen hundred and eighty-two, whereby
it was enacted, "that no demand whatsoever, originally due to
a subject of Great Britain, should be recoverable in any court
of this commonwealth, although the same might be transferred
to a citizen of this state, or to any other person capable of main
taining such action, unless the assignment had been or might be
made fora valuable consideration 6ona^(ie paid before the first
of May, seventeen hundred and seventy-seven:" and the plea
insists that the debt, in the declaration mentioned, was personal
property of a British subject, forfeited to the commonwealth
under the first-mentioned act, and a demand, whose recovery in
the courts of the commonwealth was barred by the last,
4, The fourth plea takes the ground, that the king of Britain
and his subjects were still alien enemies, and that the state of
war still continued, on the ground of the several direct viola
tions of the definitive treaty of peace, which follow: —
First, in continuing to carry off the negroes in his possession,
the property of American citizens, and refusing to deliver them,
or permit the owners to take them, according to the express
stipulations of that treaty : —
Secondly, in the forcible retention of the forts Niagara and
Detroit, and the adjacent territory: —
Thirdly, in supplying the Indians, who were at war with the
United States, with arms and ammunition, furnished within the
territories of the United States, to wit, at the forts Detroit and
Niagara, and at other forts and stations forcibly held by the
troops and armies of the king, within the United States; and in
purchasing from the Indians, within the territories aforesaid, the
plunder taken by them in war from the United States, and the
persons of American citizens made prisoners; which several
infractions, the plea contends, had abolished the treaty of peace,
and placed Great Britain and the United States in a state of war;
and that hence, the plaintiff, being an alien enemy, had no right
to sue in the courts of the United States,
5, The fifth plea sets forth, that at the time of contracting the
debt in the declaration mentioned, the plaintiff and the defend
ant were fellow-subjects of the same king and government; that
on the fourth of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six, the
government of the British monarch in this country was dissolved,
and the coallegiance of the parties severed; whereby the plea
contends, that the debt in the declaration mentioned was annulled.
To the second plea the plaintiff replied, in-sisting on the treaty
of peace of seventeen hundred and eighty-three, whereby it was
stipulated, that creditors on either side should meet with no

824 wirt's life of
lawful impediment to the recovery of the full value, in sterling
money, of all bona fide debts theretofore contracted; and also
on the constitution of the United States of seventeen hundred
and eighty-seven, by which it had been expressly declared, that
treaties which were then made, or which should thereafter be
made, under the authority of the United States, should be the
supreme law of the land, anything in the constitution, or the
laWs of any state, to the contrary notwithstanding.
The defendant rejoined, that the treaty had been annulled by
the infractions of it on the part of Great Britain, and so could
not aid the cause of the plaintiff; and farther, that the debt in
the declaration mentioned was not bona fide due, and owing to
the plaintiff at the date of the treaty, insomuch as the same (or
at least two thousand one hundred and fifty-One pounds and
eighteen shillings of it) had been discharged by the payment set
forth in the second plea; and hence, that it was not a subsisting
debt, within the terms and provisions of the treaty.
To this rejoinder, as also to the third, fourth, and fifth pleas
of the defendant, the plaintiff demurred ; and the cause came on
to be argued, on these demurrers, at Richmond, on the twenty-
fourth of November, seventeen hundred and ninety-one.
The Virginian reader will readily estimate the splendour and
power of the discussion in this case, when he learns the names
of the counsel engaged in it; on the part of the plaintiff, then,
were Mr, Ronald, Mr. Baker, Mr, Wickham, and Mr. Starke;
and on that of the defendant, Mr, Henry, Mr. Marshall, (af
terward chief justice of the United States,) Mr. Alexander-Camp
bell, and Mr, Innis, the attorney-general of Virginia: I mention
their names in the order in which they spoke on their respective
sides. The cause was opened with great. fairness and ability, by Mn
Ronald and Mr. Baker, in succession ; they were answered by
all the counsel of the defendant; and Mr. Wickham, Mr. Starke,
and Mr, Baker, were heard in the reply. The opening counsel
made the following points: —
First, that debts were not a subject of confiscation in war.
Secondly, that if they were, Virginia, at the time of passing
the acts relied on by the defendant, was not a sovereign and in
dependent state. Great Britain not having at that time assented
to her independence ; > and hence, that she had not the power of
legislating away the debts of fellow-subjects not represented in
her legislative councils — which councils, were themselves a
usurpation in the eye of the law.
Thirdly, that if debts were subject to confiscation, and Vir
ginia were competent to pass laws to that effect, she had not
done so ; and Mr, Baker particularly entered into a minute and

PATRICK HENRY. 225
ingenious scrutiny of the language of the several acts of as
sembly, to prove that, so far from having been forfeited, the
debts were recognised as existing British debts down to the yeai
seventeen hundred and eighty-two.
Fourthly, that if all these points were against the plaintiff.
the right of recovering those debts was restored by the treaty
of seventeen hundred and eighty-three, and the constitution o)
the United States, which recognised that treaty as the supreme
law of the land; and,
Fifthly, that the alleged infractions of the treaty on the part
of Great Britain did not produce the effect of abolishing the
treaty; that this was a national concern, with which the indi
vidual plaintiff and defendant had nothing^to do; that the ques
tion of infraction was one to be decided by the supreme power
of the nation only, and one of which the court could not, with
any propriety, take cognizance.
Mr. Baker closed his opening speech on Thursday evening,
the twenty-fourth of November, and it was publicly understood
that Mr. Henry was to commence his reply on the next day.
The legislature was then in session ; but when eleven o'clock,
the hour for the meeting of the court, arrived, the speaker found
himself without a house to do business. All his authority and
that of his sergeant-at-arms were unavailing to keep the mem
bers in their seats ; every consideration of public duty yielded
to the anxiety which they felt, in common with the rest of their
fellow-citizens, to hear this great man on this truly great and
extensively-interesting question.
Accordingly, when the court was ready to proceed to business,
the court-room of the capitol, large as it is, was insufficient to
contain the vast concourse that was pressing to enter it. The
portico, and the area in which the statue of Washington Stands,
were filled with a disappointed crowd, who, nevertheless, main
tained their stand without. In the court-room itself, the judges
through condescension to the public anxiety, relaxed the rigour
of respect which they were in the habit of exacting, and per
mitted the vacant seats of the bench, and even the windows be
hind it, to be occupied by the impatient multitude. The noise
and tumult, occasioned by seeking a more favourable station,
were at length hushed, and the profound silence which reigned
within fhe room gave notice to those without, that the orator
had risen, or was on the point of rising.
Every eye in front of the bar was riveted upon him wilb the
most eager attention; and so still and deep was the silence, that
every one might hear the throbbing of his own heart. Mr.
Henry, however, appeared wholly unconscious that all this prep
aration was on his account, and rose with as much simfdicity

826 wirt's life of
and composure, as if the occasion had been one of ordinary oc
currence. Nothing can be more plain, modest, and unaffected,
than his exordium: — "I stand here, may it please your honours,
to support, according to my power, that side of the question
which respects the American debtor.
"I beg leave to beseech the patience of this honourable court;
because the subject is very great and important, and because I
have not only the greatness of the subject to consider, but those
numerous observations which have come from the opposing
counsel to answer. Thus, therefore, the matter proper for my
discussion is unavoidably accumulated. Sir, there is a circum
stance in this case, that is more to be deplored than that which
I have just mentioned, and that is this : those animosities which
the injustice of the British nation hath produced, and which I
had well hoped would never again be the subject of discussion,
are necessarily brought forth.
"The conduct of that nation, which bore so hard upon us in
the late contest, becomes once more the subject of investigation.
I know, sir, how well it becomes a liberal man and a Christian
to forget and to forgive. As individuals professing a holy reli
gion, it is our bounden duty to forgive injuries done us as indi
viduals. But when to the character of Christian you add the
character of patriot, you are in a different situation. Our mild
and holy system of religion inculcates an admirable maxim of
forbearance. If your enemy smite one cheek, turn the other to
him. But you must stop there. You cannot apply this to your
country. As members of a social community, this maxim does
not apply to you. When you consider injuries done to your
country, your political duty tells you of vengeance. Forgive
as a private man, but never forgive public injuries. Observa
tions of this nature are exceedingly unpleasant, but it is my
duty to use them,"
With the same primeval simplicity, he enters upon the argu
ment; not making a formal division of the whole subject, but
merely announcing the single proposition which he was about
to maintain for the time; thus, immediately after the exordium
which has been quoted he proceeds thus: —
"The first point which I shall endeavour to establish will be,
that debts in common wars become subject to forfeiture; and if
forfeited in common wars, much more must they be so in a rev
olution war, as the late contest was. In considering this sub
ject, it will be necessary to define what a debt is, I mean by it
an engagement, or promise, by one man to pay another, for a
valuable consideration, an adequate price. By a contract thus
made, for a valuable consideration, there arises what, in the law
phrase, is called a lien on the body and goods of the promissox

PATRICK HENRY. 227
or debtor. This interest, which the creditor becomes entitled
to, in the goods and body of his debtor, is such as may be taken
from the creditor, if he be found the subject of a hostile country.
''This position is supported by the following authorities."
He then cites and reads copious extracts from Grotius and Vat-
tel, which seem to support his position decisively — and then
proceeds thus: — "This authority decides in the most clear and
satisfactory manner, that, as a nation, we had powers as exten
sive and unlimited as any nation on earth. This great writer,
after stating the equality and independence of nations, and who
are, and who are not enemies, does away the distinction between
corporeal and incorporeal rights, and declares that war gives
the same right over the debts, as over the other goods of an
enemy. "He illustrates his doctrine by the instance of Alexander's
remitting to the Thessalians, a debt due by them to the Theban
commonwealth: this is a case in point — for supposing the sub
jects of Alexander had been indebted to the Thebans, might he
not have remitted the debts due by them to that people, as well
as the debts due thera by his allies, the Thessalians? Let me
not be told that he was entitled to the goods of the Thebans,
because he had conquered them. If he could remit a debt due
by those whose claim of friendship was so inferior, those who
were only attached to him by the feeble ties of contingent and
temporary alliance — if his Macedonians, his immediate and nat
ural subjects, were indebted to the Thebans, could he not have
remitted their debts?
"This author states, in clear, unequivocal terms, by fair in
ference and unavoidable deduction, that when two nations are
at war, either nation has a right, according to the laws of nature
and nations, to remit to its own citizens debts which they may
owe to the enemy. If this point wanted further elucidation, it
is pointedly proved by the authority which I first quoted from
Grotius, that it is an inseparable concomitant of sovereign pow
er, that debts and contracts similar to those which existed in
America, at the time the war with Great Britain broke out, may,
in virtue of the eminent domain, or right, be cancelled and
destroyed, " ' A king has a greater right in the goods of his subjects,
for the public advantage, than the proprietors themselves.
And when the exigency of the state requires a supply, every
man is more obliged to contribute toward it, than to satisfy his
creditors. The sovereign may discharge a debtor from the ob
ligation of paying, either for a certain time, or for ever '
What language can be more expressive than this? Can the
mind of man conceive anything more comprehensive?

228 wirt's life of
"Rights are of two sorts, private and inferior, or eminent and
superior, such as the community hold over the persons and es
tates of its members for the common benefit. The latter is par
amount to the former. A king or chief of a nation has a
greater right than the owner himself over any property in the
nation. "The individual who owns private property cannot dis
pose of it, contrary to the will of his sovereign, to injure the
public, "This duthor is known to be no advocate for tyranny,
yet he mentions that a king has a superior power over the prop
erty in his nation, and that by virtue thereof, he may discharge
his subjects for ever from debts which they owe to an enemy,
"The instance which our author derives from the Roman his
tory, affords a striking instance of the length to which the ne
cessities and exigencies of a nation. will warrant it to go. It
was a juncture critical to the Roman affairs. But their situation
was not more critical or dangerous than ours at the time these
debts were confiscated. It was after the total defeat and dread
ful slaughter at Cannae, when the state was in the most imminent
danger. Our situation in the late war was equally perilous.
Every consideration must give way to the public safety,
"That admirable Roman maxim, salus populi suprema lex,
governed that people in every emergency. It is a maxim that
ought to govern every community. It was not peculiar to the
Roman people. The impression came from the same source
from which we derive our existence. Self-preservation, that
great dictate implanted in us by nature, must regulate our con
duct; we must have a power to act according to our necessities,
and it remains for human judgment to decide what are the prop
er occasions for the exercise of this power. Call to your rec
ollection our situation during the late arduous contest. Was
it not necessary in our day of trial, to go to the last iota of hu
man right? The Romans fought for their altars and household
gods. By these terms they meant everything dear and valuable
to men. Was not our stake as important as theirs?
"But many other nations engage in the most bloody wars for
the most trivial and frivolous causes. If other nations who car
ried on wars for a mere point of honour, or a punctilio of gal
lantry, were warranted in the exercise of this power, were not
we, who fought for everything most inestimable and valuable to
mankind, justified in using it? Our finances were in a more
distressing situation than theirs at this awful period of our ex
istence. Our war was in opposition to the most grievous op
pression — we resisted, and our resistance was approved and
blessed by Heaven,
"The most illustrious men who' have considered human af
fairs, when they have revolved human rights, and considered

PATRICK HENRY, 229
how far a nation is warranted to act in cases of emergen«y, de
clare that the only ingredient essential to the rectitude and va
lidity of its measures is, that they be for the public good, I
need hardly observe that the confiscation of these debts was for
the public good. Those who decided it were constitutionally
enabled to determine it, Grotius shows that you have not only
power over the goods of your enemies, but according to the
exigency of affairs, you may seize the property of your citizens."
After reading the apposite passage from Grotius, he says : —
"I read these authorities to prove, that the property of an enemy
is liable to forfeiture, and that debts are as much the subject of
hostile contest as tangible property. And Vattel, page 484, as
before mentioned, pointedly enumerates rights and debts among
such property of the enemy as is liable to confiscation. To this
last author I must frequently resort in the course of my argu
ment, I put great confidence in him, from the weight of his
authority^for he is universally respected by all the wise and
enlightened of mankind, being no less celebrated for his great
judgment and knowledge, than for his universal philanthropy.
One of his first principles of the law of nations is, a perfect
equality of rights among nations ; that each nation ought to be
left in the peaceable enjoyment of that liberty it has derived
from nature,
"I refir your honours to his preliminary discourse from 6th
to the 12th page; and as it will greatly elucidate the subject,
and tend to prove the position I have attempted to support, I
will read sections 17, 18, 19, and 20, of this discourse," Hav
ing read these sections, he touches transiently, but powerfully,
the objection to the want of national Independence to pass the
laws of forfeiture, till that independence was assented to by the
king of Great Britain, "When the war commenced," said he,
"these things, called British debts, lost their quality of external
obligation, and became matters of internal obligation, because
the creditors had no right of constraint over the debtors. They
were before the war, matters of perfect external obligation, ac
companied by a right of constraint; but the war having taken
away this right of constraint over the debtors, they were changed
into an internal obligation, binding the conscience only. For
it will not surely be denied, that the creditor lost the right of
* constraint over his debtor.
" From the authority of this respectable author, therefore —
from the clearest principles of the laws of nature and nations,
these debts became subject to forfeiture or remission. Those
authors state, in language as emphatic and nervous as the human
mind can conceive, or the human tongue can utter, that inde
pendent nations have the power of confiscating the property of
20

230 WIRT S LIFE OF
their enemies; and so had tliis gallant nation, America, being
a sovereign and complete nation, in all its forms and depart
ments, possessed all the rights of the most powerful and ancient
nations. Respecting the power of legislation, it was a nation
complete, and without human control. Respecting public jus
tice, it was a nation blessed by Heaven, with the experience of
past times; not like those nations, whose crude systems of ju
risprudence originated in the ages of barbarity and ignorance
of human rights,
"America was a sovereign nation, when her sons stepped
forth to resist the unjust hand of oppression, and declared them
selves independent. The consent of Great Britain was not ne
cessary (as the gentlemen on the other side urge) to create us
a nation. Yes, sir, we were a nation, long before the monarch
of that little island in the Atlantic ocean gave his puny assent
to it," — These words he accompanied by a most significant
gesture — rising on tiptoe — pointing as to a vast distance, and
half-closing his eyelids, as if endeavouring with extreme diffi
culty, to draw a sight on some object almost too small for vision
— and blowing out the words puny assent, with lips curled with
unutterable contempt, —
"America was, long before that time, a great and gallant na
tion. In the estimation of other nations we were so: the be
neficent hand of Heaven enabled her to triumph, anfl secured
to her the raost sacred rights mortals can enjoy. When these
illustrious authors, these friends to human nature, these kind
instructors of human errors and frailties,* contemplate the ob
ligations and corresponding rights of nations, and define the in
ternal right, which is without constraint and not binding, do
they not understand such rights as these, which the British
creditors now claim? Here this man tells us what conscience
says ought to be done, and what is compulsory. These British
debts must come within the grasp of human power, like all other
human things. They ceased to have that external quality, and
fell into that mass of power which belonged to our legislature
by the law of nations,"
He comes now to a very serious obstacle, which it required
both address and vigour to remove, Vattel, whom he had
cited to support his position of the forfeitable character Oi
debts, and who, so far as Mr, Henry had read him, does sup
port him explicitly, annexes a qualification to the principle,
which had been pressed with great power by the gentlemen
who opened the cause. The curiosity of the reader will be
gratified by seeing the manner in which he surmounted the
* In the second argument, he eulogized the writers on the laws of nations,
as " benevolent spirits, who held up the torch of science to a benighted world."

PATRICK HENRY, 231
objection, "But we are told, that admitting this to be true in
the fullest latitude, yet the customary law of Europe is against
the exercise of this power of confiscation of debts ; in support
of which position, they rely on what is added by Vattel, p. 484.
Let us examine what he says : — ' The sovereign has naturally
the same right over what his subjects may be indebted to ene
mies : therefore, he may confiscate debts of this nature, if the
term of payment happen in the time of war, or at least he may
prohibit his subjects from paying while the war lasts. But at
present, in regard to the advantage and safety of commerce, all
the sovereigns of Europe have departed from this rigour.
And as this custom has generally been received, he who should
act contrary to it, would injure the public faith ; for strangers
trusted his subjects only, from a firm persuasion, that the
general custom would be observed.'
" Excellent man ! and excellent sentiments ! The principle
cannot be denied to be good: but when you apply it to the case
before the court, does it warrant their concltlsions ? The
author says, that although a nation has a right to confiscate
debts due by its people to an enemy, yet, at present the cus
tom of Europe is contrary. It is not enough for this author to
tell us that this CMSJoOT is contrary to the right. He admits
the right. Let us see whether this custom has existence here.
Vattel, having spoken of the necessary law of nations, which
is immutable, and the obligations whereof are indispensable,
proceeds to distinguish the several other kinds of natural law
in the same preliminary discourse, pp. 11 and 12, thus : — ¦
" ' Certain maxims and customs consecrated by long use, and
observed by nations between each other, as a kind of law, form
this customary', law of nations, or the custom of nations. This
law is founded pn a tacit consent, or, if you will, on a tacit
convention of the nations that observe it with respect to each
other. Whence, it appears, that it is only binding to those
nations that have adopted it, and that is not universal, any
more than conventional laws. It must be here also observed
of this customary law, that the particulars relating to it do not
belong to a systematic treatise on the law of nations, but that
we ought to confine ourselves to the giving a general theory of
it, that is, to the rules which here ought to be observed, as well
with respect to its effects, as in relation to the matter itself:
and in this last respect, these rules will serve to distinguish the
lawful and innocent customs, from those that are unjust and
illegal !
"'When a custom is generally established, either between
all the polite nations in the world, or only between those of a
certain continent, as of Europe ^for example ; or those who

232 wirt's tlTB OF
have a more frequent correspondence ; if that custom is in its
own nature indifferent, and much more, if it be a wise and
useful one, it ought to be obligatory on all those nations who
are considered as having given their consent to it. And they
are bound to observe it wtSA respect to each other, while they
have not expressly declared that they will not adhere to it.
But if that custom contains anything unjust or illegal, it is of
no force ; and every nation is under an obligation to abandon
it, nothing being able to oblige or permit a nation to violate a
natural law,
" ' These three kinds of the law of nations, voluntary, con
ventional and customary, together, compose the positive law
of nations. For they all proceed from th« volition of nations ;
the voluntary law, from their presumed consent : the conven
tional law, from an express consent ; and the customary law,
from a tacit consent : and as there can be no other manner of
deducing any taw from the will of nations, there are only these
three kinds of the positive law of nations,'
"This excellent author, after having stated the voluntary
law of nations to be the result of the equality of nations, and
the conventional law to be particular compacts or treaties,
binding only on the contracting parties, declares, that the
customary law of nations is only binding to those nations
that have adopted it; that it is a particular and not a univer
sal law ; that it applies only to distinct nations. The case of
Alexander and the Thebans is founded on the general law of
nations, applicable to nations at war. It is enough for me, then,
to show that America, bei»g at war, was entitled to the privi
lege of national law. But, says Vattel, the present state of
European refinement controls the general law (of which he had
been before speaking);
" We know that the customary law of nations can only bindi
thosR who are parties to the custom. In the year 1776, wheni
America announced her will to be free, or in the year 1777,
when the law concerning British debts passed, was there a cus
tomary law of America to this effect? Or were the customary
laws of Europe binding on America? Were we a party to
any such cust&mary law ? Was there anything in OUr consti
tution or laws which, tied up our hands ? No, sir. To make
this customary law obligatory, the assent of all the parties to
be bound by it is necessary. There must be an interchange'
of it. _ .
"It is not for one nation or community to say to another j you
are bound by this law, because owr H«g"iowi approves of it.
It must not only be reeiproeal in its advantages and principles^'
bust it, must have been, reciprocal in its exercise. Virginia

PATRICK HENRY. 233
could not, therefore, be bound by it. Let us see whether it
could be a hard case on the British creditors, that this custom
ary law of nations did not apply in their favour. Were these
debts contracted /roni a persuasion of its observance ? Did
the creditors trust to this customary law of nations ? No, sir.
They trusted to what they thought as firm, the statute and
common law of England.
"Victorious and successful as their nation had, lately been,
when they, in their pride and inconsiderate self-confidence,
stretched out the hand of oppression, their subjects placed no
reliance on the customs of particular nations. They put con
fidence in those barriers of right, which were derived from
their own nation. Their reliance was, that the tribunals estab
lished in this country, under the same royal authority, as in
England, would do them justice. If we were not willing, they
possessed the power of compelling us to do them justice. The
debts, having, therefore, not been contracted _/roTO any reliance
on the customary law. of nations, were they contracted from
a regard ' to the rights of ccmmerce ?'
" From a view of promoting the commerce of those 'little
things called colonies ? This regard could not have been the
ground they were contracted on, for their conduct evinced that
they wished to take the right of commerce from us. What
other ingredient remains to show the operation of this custom
in their favour ? The book speaks of strangers trusting sub
jects of a different nation, from a reliance on the observance
of the customary law.
" The fact here was, that fellow-subjects trusted us, on the
footing just stated; trusted to the existing compulsory process
of law, not relying on a passive inert custom. A fearful,
plodding, sagacious trader, would not rely on so flimsy, so un
certain a dependance. Something similar to what he thought
positive satisfaction, he relied on. Were we not subject to the
same king ? The cases are then at variance. He states the
custom to exist for the advantage of commerce, and that a de
parture from it would injure the public faith. Public faith is
in this case out of the question.
"The public faith was not pledged^it could not therefore
be injured, I have already read to your honours from the 11 th
page of the preliminary discourse of Vattel, Hhat the customa
ry la^D of nations is only binding on those who have adopted it,
and that it is not universal, any more than conventional laws.^
It is evident we could not be bound by any convention or treaty
to which we ourselves were not a party : and from this author
ity it is equally obvious that we could not be bound by any
justomary law to which we were not parties,
20*

234 wirt's LIFE OF
" I think, therefore, with great submission; to the court, that
the right for which I contended, that is, that in common wars
between independent nations, either of the contending parlies
has a right to confiscate or remit debts due by its people to the
enemy, is not shaken by the customary law of nationsj as far
as it regards us, because the custom could not affect us. But
gentlemen say we were not completely independent till the
year 1783 ! To take them on their own ground, their argu
ments will fail them. There is a customary law which will op-
erate, pretty strongly on our side of the question. What were
the inducements of the debtors ? On what did the American
debtor rely?
" Sir, he relied for protection on that system of common and
statute law on which the creditors depended. Was he deceived
in that reliance ? That he was most miserably deceived, I be
lieve will not admit of a doubt. The customary law of nations
will only apply to distinct nations, mutually consenting thereto.
When tyranny attempted to rivet her chains upon us, and we
boldly broke them asunder, we wf re remitted to that amplitude
of freedom which the beneficent hand of Nature gave us. We
were not bound by fetters which are of benefit to one party,
while they are destructive to the other. Would it be proper
that we should be bound, and they unrestrained ?"
As a still farther answer to the objection, and as giving the
only rule of restraint in operating on the property of a belli-
gerant, he cites- the following principle from Vattel, and applies
it to the actual state of America : " Vattel, book the 3d, ch. 8,
sect. 137, says, that 'the lawful end gives a true right only to
those means which are .necessary for obtaining such end.
Whatever exceeds this, is censured by the laws of nature as
faulty, and will be condemned at the tribunal of conscience.
Hence it is, that the right to such or such acts of hostility
varies according to their circumstances. What is just and per
fectly innocent in a war, in one particular situation, is not
always so in another. Right goes hand in hand with necessity,
and the exigency of the case ; but never exceeds it.'
"This, sir, is the first dictate of nature, and the practice of
of nations ; and if your misfortunes and distresses should be
sad and dreadful, you are let loose from those common restraints
which may be proper on common occasions, in order to pre
serve the great rights. of human nature.
"This is laid down by that great writer in clear and unequiv
ocal terms. If then, sir, it be certain from a recurrence to
facts, that it was necessary for America to seize on British
property, this book warrants the legislature of this state in
passing those confiscating and prohibitory laws, I need onlv

PATRICK HENRY. 23S
refer to your recollection, for our pressing situation during the
late contest ; and happy am I, that this all-important question
comes on, before the heads of those, who were actors in the
great scene, are laid in the dust. An uninformed posterity
would be' unacquainted with the "awful necessity which im
pelled us on,
"If the means were within reach, we were warranted by the
laws of nature and nations to use them. The fact was, that
we were attacked by one of the most formidable nations under
heaven ; a nation that carried terror and dread with its thunder
to both hemispheres," — [This illustration of the power of Great
Britain was,, if we may trust respectable tradition, much more
expanded than we find it in the report ; and such was the force
of his imagination, and the irresistible energy of his delivery
and action, that the audience now felt themselves instinctively
recoiling from the tremendous power of that very nation,
which but a short time before had been exhibited as a mere dot
in the Atlantic, a point so microscopic as to be scarcely visible
to the naked eye: he proceeds to close the first member of his
first point thus :]
'' Our united property enabled us to look in the face that
mighty people. Dared we to have gone in opposition to them
bound hand and foot ? Would we have dared to resist them
fettered ? for we should have been fettered, if we had been
deprived of so considerable a part of our little stock of na
tional resources. In that most critical and dangerous emer
gency, our all was but a little thing. Had we a treasury?^ — an
exchequer? Had we commerce?' Had we any revenue?' Had
we anything from which a nation could draw wealth ? No,
sir. Our credit became the scorn of our foes. However, the
efforts of certain patriotic characters (there were not a few of
them, thank Heaven) gave us credit among our own people,
" But we had not a farthing to spare. We were obliged to
go on a most grievous anticipation, the' weight of which we
feel at this day. Recur to our actual situation, and the means
which we had of defending ourselves. The actual situation of
America is described here, where this author says, ' that right
goes hand in hand with necessity.' The necessity of being
great and dreadful, you are warranted to lay hold of every
atom of money within your reach, especially if it be the money
of your enemies. It is prudent and necessary to strengthen
yourselves and Weaken your enemies,
" Vattel, book 3d, ch, 8, sect, 138, says, ' The business of a
just war being to suppress violence and injustice, it gives aright
to compel, by force, him who is deaf to the voice of justice. It
»ives a right of doing against the enemy, whatever is necessary

236 wirt's life of
for weakening him — for disabling him from making any farther
resistance in support of his injustice — and the most effectOal,
the most proper methods may be chosen, provided they have
nothing odious, be not unlawful in themselves, or exploded by
the law of nature.' Here let me pause for a moment, and ask,
whether it be odious in itself, or exploded by the law of nature,
to seize those debts ?
"No — because the money was taken from the very offenders.
We fought for the great, unalienable, hereditary rights of hu
man nature. An unwarrantable attack was made upon us. An
attack, not only not congenial with motherly or parental tender
ness, but incompatible with the principles of humanity or civil
ization. Our defence then was a necessary one. What says
Vattel, book 3d, chapter 8, section 136? — 'The end of a just
war is to revenge or prevent injury ; that is, to procure by force
the justice which cannot otherwise be obtained ; to compel an
unjust person to repair an injury already done, or to give secu
rities against any wrong threatened by him.
" ' On a declaration of war, therefore, this nation has a right
of doing against the enemy whatever is necessary to this justi
fiable end of bringing him to reason, and obtaining justice and
security from him.' We have taken nothing in this necessary
defence, but from the very offenders — those who unjustly at
tacked us : for we had a right of considering every individual
of the British nation as an enemy. This I prove by the same
great writer, p, 519, section 139, of the same book : — 'An ene
my attacking me unjustly gives an undoubted right of repelling
his violences ; and he who opposes me in arms, when I demand
only my right, becomes himself the real aggressor, by his un
just resistance. He is the first author of violence, and obliges
me to make use of force, for securing myself against the
wrongs intended me either in my person or possessions ; for if
the effects of this -force proceed so far as to take away his life,
he owes the misfortune to himself; for, if by sparing him, I
should submit to the injury, the good would soon becorae the
prey of the wicked.
" ' Hence the right of killing enemies in a just war is de
rived ; when their resistance cannot be suppressed — when they
are not to be reduced by milder methods, there is a right of
taking away their life. Under the name of enemies, as we
have already shown, are comprehended not only the first au
thor of the war, but V\kewiaeallwho join him, and fight for his
cause.' Thus I think the first part of my position confirmed
and unshaken ; that in common wars, a nation not restrained
by the customary law of nations, has a right to confiscate debts."
In the second member ftf that point, he is released from the

PATRICK HENRY. 237
servility of quotation ; and, to borrow a phrase of his own,
" remitted to the amplitude" of his natural genius : the reader
will therefore be amused by a more copious extract : — " From'
this I will go on to the other branch of my position : that if,
in common wars, debts be liable to forfeiture, a fortiori, must
they be so in a revolution war. Let rae contrast the late war
with wars in common. According to those people called kings,
wars in common are systematic and produced for trifles ; for
not conforming to imaginary honours ; because you have not
lowered your flag before him at sea ; or for a supposed affront
to the person of an ambassador.
"Nations are set by the ears, and the most horrid devasta
tions are brought on mankind, for the most frivolous causes.
If then, when small matters are in contest, debts be forfeitable,
what must have accrued to us, as engaged in the late revolution
war — a war commenced in attainder, perfidy, and confiscation ?
If we take with us this great principle of Vattel, that right
goes in hand with necessity, and consider the peculiar situation
of the American people, we will find reason more than suffi
cient to give us a right of confiscating those debts.
" The most striking jjeculiarity attended the American war.
In the first of it, we were stripped of every municipal right.
Rights and obligations are correspondent, co-extensive, and in
separable — they must exist together, or not at alL We were,
therefore, when stripped of all our municipal rights* clear of
every municipal obligation, burden, and onerous engagement.
If then the obligation be gone, what is become of the corres
pondent right? They are mutually gone."
These little words, " they are mutually gone," which would
have made no figure in the pronunciation of an ordinary
speaker, are said to have formed a beautiful picture, as delivered
by Mr. Henry : his eyes seemed to have pursued these asso
ciated objects to the extremest verge of mortal sight, while the
fall of his voice, and correspondent fall of his extended hand,
with the palm downward, depicted the idea of evanescence
with indescribable force : the audience might iraagine, that
they saw the objects at the very instant when they vanished
in the distance, and became commingled with the air : and all
this, too, without any affected pause to give it effect ; without
any apparent effort on his part ; but with all the quickness of
thought and all the ease of nature.
"The case of sovereign and independent nations at war is
far different ; because, there private right is respected, and do
mestic asylum held sacred. Was it the case in our war? No,
sir. Daggers were planted in your chambers, and mischief,
death,, and destruction, might meet you at your firesids.

238 wirt's LIFE OF
" There is an essential variance between the late war and
comraon wars. In common wars, children are not obliged to
fight against their fathers, nor brothers against brothers, nor
kindred against kindred. Our men were compelled, contrary
to the most sacred ties of humanity, to shed the blood of their
dearest connexions. In common wars, contending parties re
spect municipal rights, and leave even to those they invade,
the means of paying debts, and complying with obligations ;
they touch not private property. For example, when a British
army lands in France, they plunder nothing: they pay for
what they have, and respect the tribunals of justice, unless they
have a mind to be called a savage nation.
" Were we thus treated ? Were we permitted to exercise in
dustry and to collect debts, by which we might be enabled to
pay British creditors ? Had we a power to pursue commerce ?
No, sir. What became of our agriculture? Our inhabitants
were mercilessly and brutally plundered, and our enemies pro
fessed to maintain their army by those means only. Our slaves
carried away, our crops burnt, a cruel war carried on against
our agriculture — disability to pay debts produced by pillage
and devastation, contrary to every principle of national law.
From that series of plenty in which we had been accustomed
to live and to revel, we were plunged into every species of hu
man calamity.
" Our lives attacked — charge of rebels fixed upon us — con
fiscation and attainder denounced against the whole continent ;
and he that was called king of England sat judge upon our
case — he pronounced his judgraent, not like those to whom poetic
fancy has given existence — not like him who sits in the in
fernal regions, and dooms to the Stygian lake those spirits who
deserve it, because he spares the innocent, and sends some to
the fields of Elysiura — not like him who sat in ancient imperial
Rome, and wished the people had but one neck, that he might
at one blow strike off their heads, and spare himself the trouble
of carnage and massacre, because one city would have satisfied
his vengeance — ^not like any of his fellow-men, for nothing
would satiate his sanguinary ferocity, but the indiscriminate de
struction of a whole continent — involving the innocent with
the guilty.
" Yes, he sat in judgraent with his coadjutors, and pronoun
ced proscription, attainder, and forfeiture, against men, women,
and even children at the breast. Is not this description point
edly true in all its parts? And who were his 'coadjutors and
executioners in this strange court of judicature? Like the
fiends of poetic imagination — Hessians, Indians and Negroes,
were his coadjutors and executioners. Is there anything in

PATRICK HBNRY, 239
this sad detail of offences which is unfounded ? anything not
enforced by the act of parliament against America ? We were
thereby driven o^it of their protection, and branded by the
epithet rebels. Ihe term rebel may not now appear in all its
train of horrid consequences,
"We know that when a person is called rebel by that gov
ernment, his goods and life are forfeited, and his very blood
pronounced to be corrupted, and the severity of the punish
ment entailed on his posterity. To whom may we apply for
the verity of this? The jurisprudence and history of that
nation prove, that, when they speak of rebels, nothing but
blood will satisfy thein. Is there nothing hideous in this part
of the portrait? It is unparalleled in the annals of mankind.
Though I have respect for individuals of that nation, my duty
constrains me to speaks thus,
" When we contemplate this mode of warfare, and the sen
timents of the writers on natural law on this subject, we are
justified in saying, that in this revolution war, we had a right
to consider British debts as subject to confiscation — and to seize
the property of those who originated that war. As to the in
juries done to agriculture, they appear in a diminutive view,
when compared to the injuries and indignities offered to per
sons, and mansions of abode. Sir, from your seat you might
have seen instances of the most grievous hostility : not only
private property wantonly pillaged, but men, women, and chil
dren, dragged publicly from their habitations, and indiscrimin
ately devoted to destruction. The rights of humanity were
sacrificed. We were then deprived not only of the benefits of
municipal, but natural law.
"If there shall grow out of these considerations a palpable
disability to pay those debts, I ask if the claim be just? For
that disability was produced by those excesses — by those very
men who come on us now for payment. Here give me leave
to say, that they sold us a bad title in whatever they sold us —
in real as well as in personal property. Describe the nature
of a debt: it is an engagement or promise to pay — but it must
be for a valuable consideration. If this be clear, was not the
title, to whatever property they sold us, bad in every sense of
the word, when the war followed? What can add value to
property? Force.
"Notwithstanding the equity and fairness of the debt when
incurred, if the security of the property received was after
ward destroyed, the title has proved defective. Suppose mill
ions were contracted for and received, those millions give you
no advantage without force to protect them. This necessary
protection is withdrawn by the very men who were bound to

240 wirt's lifb of
afford it, and who now demand payment. Neither lands, slaves,
nor other property, are worth a shilling, without protecting
force. This title was destroyed, when the act of pariiamenl,
putting us out of their protection, passed against America, I
say, sir, the title was destroyed by the very offenders who come
here now and demand payment. Justice and equity cancel the
obligation as to the price that was to be given for it, because
the tenure is destroyed, and the effects purchased have no
value, "Such a claim is unsupported by the plainest notions of right
and wrong. For this long catalogue of offences committed
against the citizens of America, every individual of the British
nation is accountable. How are you to be compensated for
those depredations on persons and property? Are you to go
to the kingdom of England, to find the very individual who did
you the outrage, and demand satisfaction of him ? To tell you
of such a remedy as this, is adding insult to injury. Every
individual is chargeable with national offences,"
To maintain this last position, he cites an authority expressly
in point, from Vattel, and proceeds thus : — " These observa
tions of Vattel amount to this : that a king or conductor of a
nation is considered as a moral person, by means of whom the
nation acquires or loses its rights, and subjects itself to pen
alties. The individuals, and the nation which they compose
are one, I will therefore take it for granted, that whatever
violences and excesses were committed on this continent are
chargeable to the plaintiff in this very action. Recollect our
distressed situation. We had no exchequer, no finances, no
army, no navy, no common means of defence,
" Our necessity — dire necessity compelled us to throw aside
those rules which respect private property, and to make im
presses on our own citizens to support the war. Right and
necessity being co-extensive, we were compelled to exert a
right the most eminent over the whole community. The salus
populi demanded what we did. If we had a right to disregard
the legal fences thrown round the property of our citizens, had
we not a greater right to take British property?
"Another peculiarity contributes to aid our defence. The
want of an exchequer obliged us to emit paper money, and
compel our citizens to receive it for gold. In the ears of some
men this sounds harshly. But they are young men, who do
not know and feel the irresistible necessity that urged us.
Would your arraies have been raised, clothed, maintained, or
kept together without paper raoney ? Without it, the war
would have stood still, resistance to tyranny would have stop
ped, and despotism, with all its horrid train of appurtenances,

PATRICK HENRY. 241
must have depressed your country. We compelled the people
to receive it in payment of all debts — we induced and invited
them (if we did not compel them) to put it into the treasury,
as a complete discharge from their debts.
" Sir, I trust I shall not live to see the day, when the public
counsels of America, will give ground to say that this was a
state trick, contrived to delude and defraud the citizens. What
must it be ostensibly, when, by the compact of your nation,
they had publicly bound and pledged themselves, that it was
and should be money, if afterward, in the course of huraan
events, when temptations present themselves, they shall de
clare that it is not money ?
" Sir, the honest planter is unskilled in political tricks and
deceptions. His interest ought never to be sacrificed. The
law is his guide. The law compelled him to receive it, and his
countrymen would have branded him with the name of enemy
if he had refused it. The laws of the country are as sacred
as the imaginary sanctity of British debts. Sir, national en
gagements ought to be held sacred ; the public violation of
this solemn engageraent will destroy all confidence in the gov
ernment. If you depart from the national compact one iota,
you give a dangerous precedent, which may imperceptibly and
gradually introduce the most destructive encroachment on hu
man rights."
He then proceeds to notice more directly the objection, that
we were not a people competent for legislation till the assent
of the British king was given to our independence: — "I will
beg leave here to dissent from the position of the gentleman
on the other side, which denied that we were a people, till our
enemies were pleased to say we were so. That we were a
people, and had a right to do everything which a great and a
royal — nay, an imperial people could do, is clear and indispu
table. Though under the humble appearance of republican
ism, our government and national existence, when examined,
are as solid as a rock — -nOt resting on the mere fraud and op
pression of rulers, nor the credulity nor barbarous igno
rance of the people ; but founded on the consent and convic
tion of enlightened human nature. That we bad every right
that completely independent nations can have, will be satisfac
torily proved to your honours, by again referring to Vattel."
He then cites and reads a passage from Vattel, the effect of
which is, that during a civil war, the parties, acknowledging no
common judge on earth, are to be considered as two distinct
people ; and to govern themselves in the conduct of the war
by the general laws of nations. After which he proceeds
thus : — 21

M2 wirt's life of
" Here then, sir, is proof abundant, that beMre tTie acknowl-
edgment of American independence by Great jiritain, we had
aright to be considered as a nation ; because o'a eaith we had
no common superior, to give a decision of the dispute between
us and our sovereign. After declaring ourselves a sovereign
people we had every right a nation can claim as an independent
community. But the gentlemen on the other side greatly rely
upon this principle, that a contract cannot be dissolved without
the consent of all the contracting parties : the inference is, that
the consent of the king of Great Britain was necessary to the
dissolution of the government.
" Tyranny has too often and too successfully riveted its
chains, to warrant a belief, that a tyrant will ever voluntarily
release his subjects from the governmental compact, , Rather
might it be expected, that the last iota of human misei-y would
be borne, and the oppression would descend from father to
son, to the latest period of earthly, existence. The despotism
of our sovereign ought to be considered as an implied consent,
on his part, to dissolve the compact between us ; and he and
his subjects raust be considered as one — -there can be no dis
tinction. For, in any other view, hia consent would not have
been obtained without force. There is such a thing, indeed,
as tyranny from free choice. ' Sweden not long ago surren
dered its liberties in one day, as Denraark had done formerly ;
so that this branch of the human family is cut off from every
possible enjoyment of human rights.
"But the right to resist oppression is not denied. The gen
tlemen's doctrine cannot therefore apply to national communi
ties. If any additional force was wanting to confirm what I
advance, it would be derived from the treaty of peace, which
further proves, that we were entitled to all the privileges of in
dependent nations. The consent of all the people of Europe
said we were free. Our former master withheld his consent
tiW a few unlucky events compelled him. And wheni he.gave
his fiat, it gave us, by relation back to the time of the declara
tion of independence, all the rights and privileges of a com
pletely sovereign nation : our independence was acknowledged
by him, previous to the completion of the treaty of peace. It
was not a condition of the treaty, but was acknowledged,, by
his own overture, preparatory to* it, '
"View the consequences of their, fatal doctrine. There
would not only have been long arrears of debts to pay, but a
long catalogue of crimes to be punished. If the ultimate ac
knowledgment of our independence by Great Britain had not
relation back to the time of the declaration of independence,
all the intermediate acts of legislation would be void— and

PATRICK HENRY. 243
every decision ami net, consequent thereon, would be null.
But, sir, we were a tomplete nation on every principle, accord
ing to the authorities! have already read ; in addition to which
I will refer your honours to Vattel, book iv. ch. vii. sec. 88, to
show we were entitled to the benefits of national law, and to
use all the resources of the community :
" ' From the equality of all nations really sovereign and inde-
pehdent, it is a principle of the voluntary law pf nations, that
no nation can control another in its internal municipal legisla
tion.' If we consider the business of confiscation sccording
to the immeraorial usages of Great Britain, we will find that
the law and practice of that country support my position. In
the wars which respect revolutions which have taken plac<! in
that island — life, fortune, goods, debts, and everything else
were confiscated. The crimen Ictsm majsstatisi as it is called,
involved everything. Every possible punishment has been
inflicted on suffering humanity that it could endure, by the
party Which had the superiority in those wars. Over the defeat
ed party, which was charged with rebellion,
" What would have been the consequences, sir, if we had
been conquered? Were we not fighting against that nrajesty ?
Would the justice of our opposition have been considered?
The most horrid forfeitures, confiscations, and attainders, would
have been pronounced against us. Consider their history,
from the time of William the First till this day. Were not
his Normans gratified with the confiscation of'the richest
estates in England? Read the excessive cruelties, attainders,
and confiscations, of that reign, England depopulated — its in
habitants stripped of the dearest privileges of humanity — de
graded with the most ignominious badges of bondage — and
totally deprived of the po'wer of resistance to usurpation and
tyranny, " This inability continued to the time of Henry the Eighth,
In his reign, the business of confiscation and attainder, made
considerable havoc. After his reign, some stop was put to that
effusion of blood which preceded and happened under it. Rec
ollect the sad and lamentable effects pf the York and Lancas
trian wars, Remeraber the rancorous hatred and inveterate
detestations of contending factions — the distinction of the
white and red roses, TO come a little lower — what happened
in that island in the rebellions of seventeen hundred and fif
teen arid seventeen hundred and forty-five? If we had been
conquered, would not our men have shared the fate of the peo
ple ' of /reZand .' A gr6at pari Of that island Was confiscated,
though the Irish pCople thbiight themselves engaged in a laud
able cause. What confiscation and punishments were inflicted

244 wirt's life of
in Scotland ? The plains of Culloden, and the neighbouring
gibbets, would show you, I thank Heaven that the spirit of
liberty under the protection of the Almighty, saved us from
experiencing so hard a destiny.
" But had we been subdued, would not every right haye been
wrested from us ? What right would have been saved ?
Would debts have been saved? Would it not be absurd to
save debts, while they should burn, hang, and destroy? Be
fore we can decide with precision, we are to consider the dan
gers we should have been exposed to, had we been subdued.
After presenting to your view this true picture of what would
have been our situation, had we been subjugated — surely a
correspondent right ¦will be found, growing out of the law of
nations in our favour.
" Had our subjugation been effected, and we pleaded for par
don — represented that we defended the most valuable rights of
human nature, and thought they were wrong— ^would our peti
tion have availed? I feel myself impelled, from what has
passed, to ask this question, I would not wish to have lived
too see the sad scenes we should have experienced,
" Needy avarice, and savage cruelty, would have had full
scope. Hungry Germans, blood-thirsty Indians, and nations
of another colour, would have been let loose upon us. The
sad effects of such warfare have had their full influence on a
number of our fellow-citizens. Sir, if you had seen the sad
scenes which I have known ; if you had seen the simple but
tranquil felicity of helpless and unoffending women and chil
dren, in little log huts on the frontiers, disturbed and destroyed
by the sad effects of British warfare and Indian butchery, your
soul would have been struck wUh horror ! Even those help
less women and children were the objects of the most shock-r
ing barbarity,
" Give me leave again to refer to Vattel, p. 9 :— ' Nations be
ing free, independent, and equal, and having a right to judge
according to the dictates of conscience, of what is to be done
in order to fulfil its duties ; the effect of all this is, the produ
cing, at least externally and among men, a_perfect equality of
rights between nations, in the administration of their affairs,
and the pursuit of their pretensions, without regard to the in
trinsic justice of their conduct, of which others have no right
to form a definitive judgment: so that what is permitted in
one, is also permitted in the other ; and they ought to be con
sidered in human society as having an equal right,'
"If it be allowed to the British nation to put to death, to for
feit and confiscate debts and everything else, may we not (hav
ing an equal right) confiscate — not life, for we never desire it—

PAtRlCK HENRY, 245

but that which is the common object of confiscation — property,
goods, and debts, -which strengthen ourselves and weaken our
enemies? I trust that this short recapitulation of events
shows, that if there ever was in the history of man a case re
quiring the full use of all human means, it was our case in the
late contest ; and we were therefore warranted to confiscate
the British debts,"
He now takes another ground to establish the confiscation;
I shall give his whole argument on this point in his own
words:— "I beg leave to add that these debts are lost on another prin-
eiple. By the dissolution of the British government, America
went into a state of nature — on the dissolution of that of which
we had been members, there being no government antecedent,
we went necessarily into a state of nature. To prove this, I
Weed only refer to the Declaration of Independence, pronoun
ced on the fourth day of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-
six, and our state constitution," — Here Mr, Henry read part
of the constitution. — "It recites many instances of misrule
6y the king of England — it asserts fhe right and expediency
of dissolving the British government, and going, into a state
of nature ; or, in other words, tO establish a new government.
The right of dissolving it and forming a new system, had pre
ceded the fpurth day of July, seventeen hundred and seventy
six. '
" A recapitulation of the events of the tyrannical acts of gov
ernment. Would demonstrate a right to dissolve it. But I may
go farther, and even say, that the act of parliament which de
clared us out of the king's protection, dissolved it. For what
is government? It is an express or implied compact between
the rulers and ruled, stipulating reciprocal protection and obe
dience. That protection was withdrawn, solemnly withdrawn
from us. Of consequence, obedience ceased to be due. Our
municipal rights were taken away by one blow. Municipal
obligations and government were also taken away by the same
blow, ' "Well, then, there being no antecedent government, we re
turned into a state of nature. Unless we did so, our new com
pact of government could only be a usurpation. In, a state of
nature'there is ho \ega\ lien in the person or property of any
one. If you are not Clear of every antecedent engagement,
what is the legality or strength of the present constitution of
government? If any antecedent engagements are to bind,
how far are they to reach ? You had no right to form a new
government, if ' the old system existed; and if it did not exist,
you wSfe necessarily and inevitably in a state of nature,
21*

246 wirt's life of
" In my hunjble opinion, by giving validity to such claims,
you destroy the very idea of the right to form a new govern
ment, Vattel calls government the totality of persons, estates,
and effects, formed by every individual of the new society, and
that totality represented by the governing power. How can
the totality exist while an antecedent right exists elsewhere?
See Grotius, page 4, which I have already read, and note 29 :
because the design and good of civil society necessarily re
quire, that the natural and acquired rights of each member
should admit of limitations several ways, and to a certain de
gree by the authority of him or them, in whose hands the sov
ereign authority is lodged. When we formed a new govern
ment, did there exist any authority that limited our rights?
How can the totality exist, if any other person or persons have
an existing claim upon you ?
" It appears to me, that that equality which is involved in a
state of nature cannot exist while such claim exists. The
court will recollect what I have already read out of Vattel, in
sections 15 and 18. The equality here ascribed to independ
ent nations is equally ascribed to men in a state of nature, A
moral society of persons cannot exist without this .absolute
equality. The existence of individuals in a state of nature,
depends in like manner upon, and is inseparable from suph
equality, " Rights, as before-mentioned, Vattel, pp, 8 and 9, are di
vided into internal and external: of external rights, he makes
the distinction of perfect and imperfect, I beseech your hon
ours to fix this distinction in your minds. The perfect external
right only is accompanied with the right of constraint. The
imperfect right loses that quality, and leaves it to the party to
comply or not to comply with it. When the former govern
ment was dissolved, the American people became indebted to
nobody. You either owe everything or nothing — and every
contract and engagement must be done away, if any.
" In a, state of nature you are free and equal. But how are
you free, if another have a lien on your body ? Where is
your freedom, or your equality with that person, who has the
right of constraining you? This right of constraint implies a
complete authority over you, but not however to enslave you.
This constraint is always adequate to the right or obligation.
Where can you find the possibility of this equality which pa-
ture gives her sons, if we admit an existing right of constraint?
"If it be a fact, that on the dissolution of the governrrient
we did enter into a state of nature, (and that we did, I humbly
judge, cannot be denied, as at that time no government existed
at all,) it destroys all claim to one farthing. This w.iU be found

PATRICK HENISllr. 247
to be true, as well upon the ground of equity and good con
science as in law, when it is considered, that when' we went
into a state of nature, the means of paying debts were taken
away from us by them; because, so far as they had power over
us, they prevented us from getting mpney to pay debts. They
interdicted us from the pursuit of prpfitable commerce; from
getting gold and silver, the only things they would take — they
unjustly drove us to this extremity. By the concession of the
worthy gentlemen, their attack upon us was unjust.
" But then, debts are not subject to confiscation, say gentle
men, because there were no inqjiests, no office foun^ for the
commonwealth. Has a debt an ear-mark ? Is it tangible or
visible? Has it any discriminating quality ? Unless tangible
or visible, how is it to be ascertained or distinguished ? What
does an inquest mean ? A solemn inquiry by a jury, by ocul,ar
examination, with other proofs. If an inquest of ofllce were
to be had of land, a jury could tell the lines and boundaries pf
it, because they may be distinguished from others, and its
identity may thereby be ascertained. If a horse be the object
of inquiry, he can be easily distinguished from any other horse.
"In like manner eyery other article of visible property may
be subject to inquests; but such a thing as an inquest of a debt
never existed, as far as my legal knowledge extends. What
are to be the cpnsequences, if this proceeding be requisite ?
You must set up a court pf inquisition, summon the whole na
tion, and ask every man how much do you owe ? This would
be productive of endless confusion, perplexity and expense.
without the desired effect. The laws of war and of nations
require no more than that the sovereign power should openly
signify its will, that the debts be forfeited. There is no par
ticular forensic form necessary. The question liere isnot,
whether this confiscation be traversed in all the forms (jf
m'unicipal regulations. There is a question bctiween Great
Britain and America similar to that between Alexander and the
Thebans. flfiis the sovereign signified his pleasure that deits
be remitted?
"A sign is completely sufficient, if it be understood by the
people. ' There is a necessity of thus speaking the legislative
will, that ;the other party may know it, and ret.aliat|e ; for what
is allowed to one, is to both parties. This was different from
the nature of a solpinn war. MVar is lajvful pr unlawful, ac
cording to, the manner pf conducting, it. In the prosecution of
a lawful solemn war, it is necessary that you do not depart from
certain rules pf moderation, bonour, and humanity, but act
according to the usual practice of belligerant powers. Did the
mother-country cpndiict the war against us iii this jpaBnerl

248 wirt's life 0*
We did openly say, we mean to confiscate your debts, and
modify them, because they have lost their perfect external
quality — they are imperfect— we claim that right, aS a sover
eign people, oVer that species of your property.
"Sir, it Was not done in a corner. It was undei'stopd bjf
our enemies. Thejr had a right to retaliate on any species of
our property they could find. The right of retaliation, or just
retortion, for equivalent damage on any part of an enemy's
property, is permitted to eVery nation. What right has the
British nation (for if the natioil have not the right, noneof its peo
ple have) td'dematid a breach of faith in the American govern
ment to its citizpris ? I have already mentioned the engage
ment of .the government with its citizens respecting the paper
money — If you take it, it shall be money. Shall it be judged
now not to be-money? Shall this compact be broken for the
sake of the British nation ? No, sir, the language of iiatiOnal
law is otherwise. ' ' '
"Sir, the laws of confiscation and paper-money made to
gether one system, connected and sanctioned by the legislature,
on which depended once the fate our country, ahd on which
depend now the happiness, the ease, and comfort of thousands
of your fellow-citizens. Will it not be a breach of the com
pact with your people, to say thai the money isnot to keep Up
its original standard in thte quality given it by law ? What were
the effects of this system? What would have been the effects,
had your citizens been apprized that British debts mtist be
paid? Would they have taken the money? Would they have de
posited the rnoney in the loan-office if they had been warned by
law, that they must deposite it, silbject to the future regulations
of peace ; that it should not release them from the creditors?
"However right it rtiay appear now to decry the paper-
money, it would haVe been fatal then ; for America might have
perished, without the aid and effect of that medium. YOur
citizens, trusting to this compact, submitted to a number of
things almost intolerable — impressments and violences on their
property — it encouraged them to exert themselves in defence
of their property against the enemy during the war. If the
debt in the declaration mentioned be recovered, the compact is
subverted, as respecting the paper-jnoney. And this subver
sion is to take effect for the interest of those men, whom, by
all laws human and divine, we were obliged to consider as en
emies ; men who were obliged to comply with the regulations
and requisitions of their klhg ; and our people will haVe been
labouring, not for themselves, but for the benefit of the British
subject. "When a vessel is in danger in a storm, those who abide on

PATRICK HENRY. 349
Board of her, and encounter the dangers of the sea to save her»
are allowed some little compensation for salvage, for their
fidelity and gallantry in endeavouring to prevent her loss ;
while those who abandon her are entitled to nothing. But, in
opposition to this wise and politic principle, we, who have
withstood the storms and dangers, receive no compensation ;
but those who left the political ship, and joined those on the
other side of the water who wished to sink her, and who caused
her to fight eight long years for her preservation, shall come in
at last, and get their full share of this vessel, and yet will have
been exonerated from every charge.
" For whom, then, were the people of America engaged in
war ? Not for themselves, I am sure — the property that they
saved will not be for themselves, but for those whom they had
a right to call enemies. I am not willing to ascribe to the
meanest American the love of money, or desire of eluding the
payment of his debts, as the motive of engaging in the war.
No, sir. He had nobler and better views. But he thinks him
self well entitled to those debts, from the laws and usages of
nations, as a compensation for the injuries he has sustained.
There is a sad drawback on this property saved. A national
debt for seventeen years, considerable taxes, which were pro
fusely laid during the war on lands and slaves ; and, since the
peace, we have been loaded' with a heavy taxation. I know
that I advocate this cause on a very advantageous ground, when
I speak of the right of salvage.
"The cargo on board the wrecked vessel belongs to the
British, it will have been saved for them ! but the salvage is
due to us only. If you take it on the ground of interest — you
may hold as a pledge — you may retain for salvage. If you
take it on the scale of the comraon law, or of national law— •
you may oppose damages to debts — retain the debts, to retri
bute and compensate for the injuries they have done you. I
have now got over and I trust established the first point ; that
is that debts in common wars are subject to forfeiture, and
much more so in a revolution war like the American war."
These copious extracts from the report on Mr. Henry's first
point are deemed necessary to give the reader an idea of his
mode of argumentation, so far as it can be furnished by this
report. It would be trespassing on the indulgence of the
proprietor of the manuscript, (which has never been published,)
and trespassing too, perhaps, on the patience of that portion
of my readers who can find no enjoyment in legal discussion,
to pursue any farther this extended mode of analysis. Having
established his first position, he presents his next point thus : —
" My next point is, that the British debts being so forfeited (as

2S0 WlRT S LIFE OF
I Conceive) can only be revived by the treaty; and unless they
be so revived, they are gone for ever, I will then consider hoW
this matter stands under the treaty,"
He proceeds then to show by authority, the rules by which
treaties are to be construed ; and demonstrates, that a treaty
can confer no benefit unless it be mutually observed with good
faith ; that perfidy on either side is a forfeiture of all its advatii^
tages ; ' that the stipulations of a treaty are in the nature of con
ditions precedent ; that a breach on either side dissolves the
covenant altogether, and places the parties on the general
ground which they occupied before the treaty ; that Great Brit
ain had violated the treatyj in the moment of its ratification, by
carrying ofl'our slaves, and detaining with an armed force those
posts of which she had stipulated the immediate surrender;
that the pretence of her having acted thus as a retaliatory
measure for the non-payment of the debts, was an insult to
common understanding, because she began her infractions be
fore any experiment had been made of a recovery of the debts ;
that the notion of a reprisal, preceding any injury — and a re
taliation, in advance, of any wrong on the opposite side, was
so far from mitigating her offence, that it was a daring insult ori
the honour and good faith of this nation ! Having, by a series
of authorities directly in point, established the right of the
American nation to regard the treaty as abolished by any per
fidious infraction of it, on the part of Great Britain, he sbbwS
next, that those infractions were established by the pleadings'
in the cause; because the defendant, by his several pleas, had
specified those infractions, and the plaintiff, by demurring tc
the pleas, had admitted the truth of their averments.
' Great Britain, then, as a nation, having by her own perfidy
forfeited all right to insist upon the treaty, and that treaty, as
between the nations, being annulled,- the next question was,
whether any individual of the British nation could claim any
advantage under the treaty ? This he shows could not be
done, because in making the treaty, the sovereigns of the tWo
nations acted for all the individuals of their respective nations ;
the individuals were bound by all the acts of those sovereigns,
whether in making or abolishing a treaty. "Here," said he,
" are two moral persons. Great Britain and America; making a
contract. i
The plaintiff claims and the defendant defends underi
and thfough them.; and if either nation or moral person:
has no right to benefits from such contract, individuals claim
ing under them can have none. The plaintiff then claims un
der his nation, but if that nation have committed perfidy re
specting the observance of the compact, no right can be car-

PATRICK HENRY. 251
ried therefroWi to the plaintiff. It puts him back in the same
situation he was in before the treaty," ,
He shows the absurdity of considering the treaty as annul
led, in relation to a*Z the individuals, in their collective char
acter of a nation, and yet as in full force for the benefit of each
individual separately; fpr if this plaintiff had a right to all the
beneficial effects of the treaty, every man in England had the
s^me right; and he cites, and reads from Vattel, a conclusive
authority, to show, that the conventional law of nations could
take its effect only from universal right, extending equally to
all the citizens or individuals of a nation.
But to say that America had a right to consider the treaty
as void against all the individuals of the British nation, .coZZecN
ively, while each and eyery individual of, that nation separ
ately, could enforce it upon her, was to offer to the understand
ing a paradoxical absurdity, as insulting to common sense, as
the conduct of Great Britain had been to the honour of the
American nation.
He contended further on this point, that if the treaty had
been observed by Great Britain, and were of consequence still
obligatory, it did not and could not operate where moneys had
been actually paid into the treasury under the laws of the
state; for the provision of the treaty is, " that creditors on
either side should meet with no lawful impediment to the re
covery of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted," The de
fendant, he said, having paid the money into the treasury ac
cording to the act of assembly, and the truth of the pay
ment being admitted in the record, this article of the treaty
could not support the plaintiff's claim.
" To derive a benefit from the treaty, the' plaintiff must de
mand a bona fide debt; that is, a debt bona fide due. The
word debt implies that the thing is due; for if it be not
due, how can it be a debt? To, give to these words, all debts
iheretofpre contracted, a strieilj literal sense, would be to au
thorize, a renewed, demand for debts which had been actually
.paid off to. the creditor; for these were certainly witliin {Ae
words ot the , treaty, being dete heretofore contracted: — to
avoid this absurd and dishonest consequence, you must look
at the intention of the thing ; and the intention certainly was
to embrace those eases where there had notbeen alegalpay-
ment , I ask," said he, ," why a payment made in gold and
silver is a legal payment? Because the coin of those metals
is made current by the laws of this country. If papers be
made current by the same auihority, why should not a pay
ment in ti be equally valid ? ,
"The British subject cannot demand payment, because I

2S2 wirt's LIFE OF
confront his demand with a receipt. Why Will a receipt dis
charge in any instance ?^because it is founded on the laws of
the country. A receipt given in consequence of a payment in
coin, is a legal discharge, only because the laws of the coun
try make it so. I ask then, why a receipt given in conse
quence of a payment into the treasury, be not of equal valid
ity, since it has precisely the same foundation ? It is expressly
constituted a discharge by a legislature having competent au
thority. This debt, therefore, having been legally paid by the
contractor, was not due from him at the time of making the
treaty, and therefore is not within the intention of that instru
ment. "But, say the gentlemen on the other side, the one payment
'has the consent of the creditor, and the other has not : he who
paid coin has the creditor's consent to the discharge, but he
who paid money into the treasury wants it. Have we not sat
isfied this honourable court, that the governing power had a
right to put itself in the place of the British subjects? Hav
ing had an unquestionable right to confiscate, sequester, or
modify those debts as they pleased, they had an equally indu
bitable right to substitute themselves in the stead of the plain
tiff, otherwise those authorities have been quoted in vain."
He then cites authorities to prove, that the law of the place
governs the contract ; and concludes that the payment into the
treasury having in this instance been made in consequence of
a law of this commonwealth, which was strictly consonant
with the laws of nations, and which had declared that such
payment should operate as a complete and final discharge,
this was not a subsisting debt, within the contemplation of the
treaty, and remained therefore, wholly unaffected by it.
" The next question was, whether this court could take no
tice of this infraction of the treaty, on the part of Great Brit
ain, and found their judgment upon it. On this question he
observes that the court were not called upon to step out of
their appropriate sphere, in order to invade the province of
the jury by trying facts ; the facts were all agreed by the plead
ings ; the court were nperely'called upon to Say what was the
law arising on those facts. '
"The existence or non-existence of the treaty, was a legal
inference from the facts agreed ; which the courts alone were
competent to decide. The plaintiff himself had forced this
question on the court, by relying in his replication on the
treaty, as restoring his right to recover this debt. He sets up
his right under this instrument expressly, and then questions
the jurisdiction of the court to decide upon the instrument!
The treaty, quoad hoc, is the covenant of the parties in this

PATRlOK HENRY. SB3
alt; the (jaestSott presented by the pleadings is, w^ietbfer the
plaintiff who, by that covenant, has taken upon hiinself the
performance of a precedent condition, can claim any benefit
under it, until he shall show that this precedent condition has
been performed.
" On this question," said he, " the gentlettian's argument is,
that the court have no poWer to decide on the construction of
the covenant, which he himself has brought befor*e them ; that
they have nothing to do with the dependance or independence
of the stipulations or the reciprocal rights of the parties, to
claim under the covenant, without showing a previous perform
ance on their respective parts !
'' He, on the contrary, insisted that, under the constitution
of the United States, the question belonged, peculiarly and
exclusively, to the judicial department; that by the Colistitu-
tion it was expressly provided, that the judicial power should
extend to all cases arising under treaties ; that the law of
treaties embraced the whole extent of natural and national law *
that the constitution therefore, by referring all cases arising un
der treaties to the judiciary, had of necessity invested them
with the power of appealing to that code of laws, by which
alone the construction, the operation, the efficacy, the legal ex
istence or non-existence of treaties, must be tested : and by
this code they were told in the most emphatic terms, that he
who violates one article of a treaty, releases the other party
from the performance of any part of it : that the reference of
*H cases arising under treaties, to the judicial department, car
ried with it every power near or remote, direct or collateral ,
which was essential to a fair and just decision of those cases
that in every such case, the Very first question was. Is there a
treaty or not? — not whether there has been a treaty — 'but
whether there is an existing obligatory, operative treaty.
" To decide this question, the court must bring the facts to
the standard of the laws of nations ; and by this standard iS
had been shown, that in the case at bar, there existed no treaty
from which a British subject could claim any benefit. That if
the judicial department had not the poWer of deciding this
question, there was no department in the American govern
ment which did possess it : the state governments have nothing
to do with it — congress cannot touch the subject — they may
indeed declare war for a violation ; but a nation w^s not to be
forced to this extremity on every occasion ; there were other
modes of redress, short of a declaration of war, to which na
tions had a right to resort ; and one of them, as he had shown.
was the power of withholding from the perfidious violator (4
a treaty, those benefits which he claimed under it.
22

354 Virt's LIFE or
"Now congress could not by a law declare a treaty void— rit
is not among those grants of power which the constitution
makes to them; they cannot, therefore, meddle with the sub
ject in any other way than by a declaration of war ; neither
can the president and senate touch it. They can make treaties ;
but the constitution gives them no power to expound a treaty ;
much less to declare it void; they can only unite with the
house of rejn'esentatives, in punishing an infraction by a dec
laration of war. To the judiciary alone then, belongs this
pacific power of withholding legal benefits, claimed under a
treaty, because of the mala fides of the party claiming them.
"Now what will be the situation of this country, compared
with that of Great Britain, if you deny this power to the judi
ciary ? If you haye not observed the treaty with good faith,
and go to England, claiming any benefit under the treaty, there
is a power there, called royal prerogative, which will tell you —
no — go home and act honestly, and you shall have your rights
under the treaty.
"Your breach of faith will not drive them to a declaration
of war — there is a power there which obtains redress by with
holding your rights, until you act with good faith : but where
is the reciprocal and corresponding power in our government,
if it be not in the judiciary ? It is nowhere ; we have no
redress short of a declaration of war. Is this one of the pre
cious fruits of the adoption of the federal constitution, to bind
us hand and foot with the fetters of technicality, and leave us
no way of bursting them asunder, but by a declaration of war,
and the effusion of human blood! It was never intended.
The wisdom and virtue which framed the constitution could
never have intended to place the country in this humiliating
and awful predicament."
"Give to this power of deciding on treaties, which is dele
gated to the federal judiciary, a liberal construction — give them
all the incidental powers necessary to carry it into effect —
open to them the whole region of natural and national law,
which furnishes the only rule of expounding those national
compacts, called treaties, and your government is unmutilated,
its measure of power is full up to the exigences of the nation,
and you treat on equal terms : but upon the opposite construc
tion, much better would it be that America should have no
treaties at all, than that having them, she should want those
means of enforcement and redress which all other nations
possess." Having thus established that debts are subject to confisca
tion in common wars, and much more so in the war of the rev
olution — that Virginia was an independent nation, and as such,

PATRICK HENRY. 255
eompetent to the exercise of this right of eminent domain— of
taking to herself the debts of her enemies — that she had in
fact exercised this right, and that this debt had, under one of
her laws of that character, been legally discharged — that the
treaty had no effect in reviving the claim, because the treaty
had been annulled by the infractions of it on the part of Great
Britain — and because if it had not, this was not a subsisting
debt, within the purview of the treaty — and ffnally, that the
court's jurisdiction extended to every question touching the
consequence or annulment of treaties.
He said he had noW finished his own view of the subject,
and should have taken his seat, but for the necessity of giving
a particular answer to the various objections to these princi
ples, which had been so ably urged by the counsel for the
plaintiff. In this part of his subject he shows the most masterly acute
ness, address, and vigour. A gentleman who was present, (the
late Mr. Hardin Burnley,) has described some of the circum
stances of his manner, with a very interesting minuteness : —
"Mr. Henry," he said, "had taken ample notes of the argu
ments of his adversaries : the people would give him his own
time to examine his notes, and select the argument or remark
that he meant to make the subject of his comments, observing
Jn these pauses the most profound silence. If the answer
he was about to give was a short one, he would give it without
removing his spectacles from his nose — but if he was ever
seen to give his spectacle a cant to the top of his wig, it was a
declaration of war, and his adversaries must stand clear."
I propose to give a few specimens only of his mode of an
swering the arguments of the opposing counsel. It had been
urged by them that the laws of nations had declared only the
estixieof an alien enemy liable to confiscation — but that debts
were mere rights — choses in action — and therefore not of a
confiscable character. His answer to this is a happy mixture
of ridicule and argument. It is short, and I shall give it in his
own words : —
" But a chose in action is not liable to forfeiture. Why ?
Because it is too terrible to be done. There is such a thing as
straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Things much
more terrible have been done — things, from which our nature,
where it has any pretensions to be pure and correct, must re
coil with horror. Show me those laws which forfeit your life,
attaint your blood, and beggar your wife and children. Those
sanguinary and inhuman laws, to which every thing valuable
must yield, are to be found in the code of that people, under
whom the plaintiff now claims.

236 wikt's life of
" Is il; so terrible to confiscate debts, when thef forfeit life^
and corrupt the very source of your blood ? Though every
other thing dear to humanity is forfeitable, yet debts, it seems,
must be spared ! Debts are too sacred to be touched? It is a
mercantile idea that worships Mammon instead of God. A,
chose in action shall pass — it is without your reach. What
authority can they adduce in support of such conclusive pre
eminence for debts? No political or human institution hs^s
placed them above other things. If debt be the most sacred of
all earthly obligations, I am uninfo>rmed from whence it has de-i
rived that eminence. The principle is to be found in the day
books, journals and legers of merchants; not in the writings^
or reasonings of the wise and well-informed — the enlightened
instructors of mankind.
" Can any gentlemen show me any instance, where the life
or property of a gentleman or plebeian in England is forfeited,
and yet his debts spared ? The state can claim debts due to
one guilty of high treason. Are they not subject to confisca
tion? I concur in, that sound principle, that good faith is es
sential to the happiness of mankind; that its want stops all
human intercourse, and renders us miserable. This principle
is permanent, arA umyersal. Look to what point of the com
pass you wi'l, you will find it pervading all nations. Who
does not set down its sacred inffuence as the only thing that
comforts human lifp? Does ihe plaintiff claim ffcrough good
faith? How does he derive his claim,? Through perfidy.-
through a poUut^id' channel. Everything of that kind wowlds
have come better froni our side of the question, than from theirs,"
Mr. Ronald had insisted strenuously, that there could be no
forfeiture or escheat without the inquest of a jury ; and that no'
act of'the legrslaiture liad, in fact; directly forfeited these debts.
In answer to this, Mr. Henry says, " but the gentleman has
observed, that neither the declaration of the legislature, by the.
act of 1779, that the British subjects had become aliens, and
their property vested in the commonwealth, nor any other act
passed on the subject, could divest the debts out of the British
creditors. It cannot be done without the solemnity' of an inw
quiry by juryi The debt of A or B, cannot be given to CJ,
without this solemnity.
^' Is the little legality of forms, which are necessary when
you speak of estates and titles, requisite on such mighty occa
sions as these? When the fate of a nation is concerned, yoir
are to speak the language of nature. When yoirr very exist
ence is at stake, are you, to speak the technical language of
books, audi to be confined to the limited rules of technical crit
icism? to those tricks and qinrks' — those little twists and l\itiii»

PATRICK HENRY. 2B7
of low chicanery and sophistry. Which are so beneficial to
professional men? Alexander said, in the style of that mighty
man, to the Thessalians, 'Yoffi are free from the Thebans,' and
the debts they owed them were thereby remitted.
" Every other sovereign has the same right to use the same
natural, manly, and laconic language ; not when he is victori
ous only, but in every situation, if he be in a state of hostility
with other nations. The acts use not the language of techni
cality, they speak not of releases, discharges andt acquittances ;
but they speak the legislative will, in simple speech, to the
huraan understanding — a style better suited to the purpose,
than the turgid and pompous phraseology of many great
writers," Mr, Ronald, who was a native of Scotland, and at the com
mencement of the revolutionary war at least, had been sus
pected of being not very warm in the American cause, had
urged the objection to the national competency of Virginia, at
the time of the passage of those laws of cotifiscation and for
feiture, on which the defendant relied ; and in the course of his
observations, had unfortunately used the remark, that Virginia
was, at that time, nothing more than a revolted colony.
When Mr, Henry came to notice this remark, he gave his
spectacles the war cant : — " But another observation," said he,
"was made ; that by the law of nations we had not a right to
legislate on the subject of British debtS: — we were not an inde
pendent nation — and I thought," said he, raising himself aloft,
while his frame dilated itself beyond the ordinary size, '*that I
heard the word — revolt .'"
At this word, he turjied upon Mr, Ronald his piercing eye,
and knit his brows at him, with an expression of indignation
and contempt, which seemed almost to annihilate him. It was
like a stroke of lightning. Mr, Ronald shrunk from the with
ering look : and, pale and breathless, cast down his eyes,
" seeming," says my informant, " to be in quest of an auger-
hole, by which he might drop through the floor, and escape for
ever from mortal sight."
Mr.! Henry perceived his suffering, and his usual good-nature
immediately returned to him. He raised his eyes gently tow
ard the court, and shaking his head slowly, with an expres
sion of regret, added, " I wish I had not heard it : for though
innocently meant, (and I am sure that it was so, from the char
acter of the gentleman whp mentioned it,) yet the sound dis
pleases me — it is unpleasant." Mr. Ronald breathed again,
and looked up, and his generous adversary dismissed the topic,
4o resume it no more.
It may give the reader some idea of the amplitude of this
22*

268 ¦wirt's, tiF'fi of
argument, when he is told that Mr. Henry was engaged thre?
days successively in its delivery ; and some faint conception o*
the enchantment which he threw over it, when he learns that
although it turn«d entirely on questions of law, yet the audi
ence, mixed as it was, seemed so far from being wearied, that
they followed; him throughout with increased enjoyment. The
room continued full to the last; and such was the '^ listening
silence" with which he was heard, that not a syllable that he
uttered is believed to have been lost.
When he finally sat down, the concourse rose with a general
murmur of admiration ; the scene resembled the- breaking up
and dispersion O'f a great theatrical assembly, which had been
enjoying for the first time, the exhibition of some new; and:
splendid drama : the speaker of the house of delegates was at
length able to command a quorum for business ; and every
quarter of the city, and, at length, every part of the state, was
filled with the echoes of Mr. Henry's eloquent speech.
His practice during these last years, of whicih we are now
speaking, was confined pretty generally to cases of conse
quence. He did, not like the profession, and was not willing'
to embark in any ea,se for the ordinary fees, I have an inter
esting sketch of him, in his. professional character, during
those y*ars, from the same elegant- pen, which in a former
page, exhibits the parallel betWieen him and Mr. Lee in 1784;
it is as follows : —
"At the bar, Mr. Hehry was eminently snccessfol. When
I saw him there, he must, from fhe course of his life, which
had been chiefly political, have becomC somewhat rtisty in the
learning of his profession : yet I considered him as a good
lawyer : he seemed to be well acquainted with the rules and
canons of property. He would not, indeed; undergo the
drudgery necessary for complicated business ; yet I am toldy;
that in the British debt cause, he astonished the public not less
by the matter than the manner of his speech.
" It was however as a criminal lawyer that his eloquence had
the fairest scope, and in that character I have seen him. He
was perfect master of the passions of his auditory, whether in
the tragic or comic line. The tones of his voice, to say noth
ing- of his matter and gesture, were insinuated into the feel^
ings of his hearers, in a, manner that baffles all description.
It seemed to operate by mere sympathy ; and by his tones
alone, it seemed to me, that he could make you cry or laugh at
pleasure. 1 will endeavour to give you some account of this;
tragic and comic effect in two instances, which I witnessed.
"About the year 1792, one Holland killed a young man in
Botetourt. The young man was populaor, and lived, I think,

PATRICK HENRYd 259)
with Mr. King, a wealthy merchant in Fincastle, who eraployeA
Mr, John Brackenridge to assist in the prosecution of Holland..
This Holland had gone up from the county of Louisa as a
schoolmaster, but had turned out badly, and was unpopular.
The killing was in the night, and was generally believed to b©
murder. He was the son of one Doctor Holland, who was
yet living in Louisa, and had been one of Mr, Henry's juvenile,
friends and acquaintances,
"It was chiefly at the instance of the father, and for a very
moderate fee, that Mr. Henry undertook to go out to the district
court of Greenbrier, to defend the prisoner. Such were the
prejudices there, that the people had openly and repeatedly
declared that even Patrick Henry need not come to defend
Holland, unless he brought a jury with him. On the day of
trial, the courthouse was crowded. I did not move from my
seat for fourteen hours ; and had no wish to do so. The ex
amination of the witnesses took up great part of the time, and'
the lawyers were probably exhaustedi Brackenridge was elo
quent; but Henry left no dry eye in the courthouse.
" The case I believe was murder ; though, possibly, maw-
slaughter only. Mr. Henry laid hold of this possibility with
such effect as to make all forget that Holland had killed the
storekeeper at all ; and presented the deplorable case of the
jury killing Holland, an innocent man. By that force of de
scription which he possessed in so wonderful a degree, he ex
hibited, as it were, at the clerk's table, old Holland' and his
wife, who. were then in Louisa^ but the drawing was so pow
erful, and so true to nature, that we seemed to see them before
us, arid to hear them asking of the jury, 'Where is our son?
What have you done with him ?*
"All this was done in a manner so solemn and touching, and
a tone sp irresistible, that it was impossible for the stoutest
heart not to take sides with the criminal : as for the jury, they
lost sight of the murder they were trying, and wept raost pro
fusely, with old Hol]E^nd and his wife, whom Mr. Henry painted,
and perhaps proved to be very, respectable. During the ex
amination of the evidence, the bloody clothes had been brought
in. Mr. Henry otiiected to their exhibition, and applied most
forcibly and pathetically Antony's remark on Cesar's wounds,
on those dumb mouths which would raise the stones of Rome
to mutiny.
"He urged that this sight would totally deprive the jury of
their judgment, which would be merged in their feelings. The
court were divided, and the motion fell. The result of the
trial was, that after the retirement of a half or quarter of an
hour) the jury brought in a vesdict of not guilty i bufcon being

860 wirt's life of
reminded by the court that they might find a decree of homi
cide, inferior to murder, they altered their verdict to guilty of
manslaughter." " Mr, Henry was not less successful in the comiC line, when
it became necessary to resort to it. You have no doubt heard
how he defeated John Hook, by raising the cry of 5ee/ against
him, I will give you a similar instance. In the year 1792,
there were many suits on the south side of James river, for
inflicting Lynch's law ; thirty-nine lashes, inflicted without trial
or law, on a mere suspicion of guilt, which could not be regu
larly proved. This lawless practice, which, sometimes by the
order of a magistrate, sometimes without, prevailed extensively
in the upper counties on James river, took its name from the
gentleman who set the first example of it,
"A verdict of five hundred pounds had been given in Prince
Edward district court, in a case of this kind. This alarmed the
defendant in the next case, who employed Mr, Henry to defend
him. The case was, that a wagoner and the plaintiff were
travelling to Richmond together, when the wagoner knocked
down a turkey, and put it into his wagon- Complaint was
made to the defendant, a justice of the peace; both the parties
were taken up, and the wagoner agreed to take a whipping
rather than be sent to jail : but the plaintiff refused : the jus
tice, however, gave him also a small flagellation ; and for this
the suit was brought, ¦
"The plaintiff, by way of taking off the force of the defence,
insisted that he was wholly it^ocent of the act committed,
Mr. Henry on the contrary contended, that he was a party
present, aiding and assisting, . In the course of his remarks,
he expressed himself thus: — 'But, gentleraen of the jury, the
plaintiff tells you he had nothing to do with the turkey — I dare
say, gentlemen, not until it was roasted,' &c. He pronounced
this word roasted with such rotundity of voice, such a ludi
crous whirl of the tongue, and in a manner so indescribably
comical, that it threw every one into a fit of laughter at the
plaintiff, who stood up in the place usually allotted to crimi
nals; and the defendant was let off with little or no daraages,"
The case of John Hook, to which my correspondent alludes,
is worthy of insertion. Hook was a Scotchraan, a man of
wealth, and suspected of being unfriendly to the American
cause. During the distresses of the American army, conse
quent on the joint invasion of Cornwallis and Phillips in sev
enteen hundred and eighty-one, a Mr, Venable, an army com
missary had taken two of Hook's steers for the use of the
troo{)s. The act had not been strictlyf egal ; and on the establish

PATRICK HENRY. 261
ment of peace. Hook, under the advice of Mr, Cowan, a gen
tleman of some distinction in the law, thought proper to bring
an action of trespass against Mr, Venable, in the district court
of New London, Mr, Henry appeared for the defendant, and
is said to have disported himself in this cause to the infinite
enjoyment of his hearers, the unfortunate Hook always ex
cepted. After Mr, Henry became animated in the cause, says
a correspondent, (Judge Stuart,) he appeared to have complete
control over the passions of his audience : at one time he ex
cited their indignation against Hook : vengeance was visible
in every countenance : again when he chose to relax and ridi
cule him, the whole audience was in a roar of laughter.
He painted the distress of the American army, exposed
almost naked to the rigour of a winter's sky, and marking the
frozen ground over which they marched, with the blood of
their unshod feet — " where was the man," he said, " who had
ai). American heart in his bosom, who would not have thrown
open his fields, his barns, his cellars, the doors of his house,
the pprtals of his breast, to have received with open arms, the
meanest soldier in that little band of famished patriots ? Where
is the man? — There he stands: — but whether the heart of an
American beats in his, bosom, you, gentlemen, are to judge."
He then carried the jury, by the powers of his imacinatiou,
to the plains around York, the surrender of which had follow
ed shortly. after the act complained of: he depicted the surren
der in the most glowing and noble colours of his eloquence —
the audience saw before theinweyes the humiliation and dejec
tion of the British, as they marched out of their trenches —
they saw the triumph which lighted up every patriot face, and
heard the shouts of victory, and the cry of "Washington and
liberty as it rung and echoed through the American rank, and
was reverberated from the hills and shores of the neighbouring
river — "but hark! what notes of discord are these which dis
turb the general joy, and silence the acclamations of victory' — •
they are the notes of John Hook, hoarsely brawling through
the American camp, 5ee/.' beef ! beef !"•
The whole audience were convujsed : a particular incident
will give a better idea of the , effect^ than any general descrip
tion. The clerk of the court, unable to command himself, and
unwilling to commit any breach of decorum in his place, rush
ed out of the courthouse, and threw himself on the grass, in
the most violent paroxysm of laughter, where he was rolling,
when Hook, with very different feelings, came out for relief
into the yard also, " Jemmy Steptoe," said he to the clerk,
" what the devil ails ye, mon ?" Mr, Steptoe was only able to.
say, that he could not help it. "Never mind ye," said Hook,

262 wirt's life of
"wait till Billy Cowan gets np he'll show him the la'," Mr.
Cowan, however, was so completely overwhelmned by the
torrent which bore upon his client, that when he rose to reply
to Mr, Henry, he was scarcely able to make an intelligible or
audible remark.
The cause was decided almost by acclamation. The jury
retired for form sake, and instantly returned with a verdict for
the defendant. Nor did the effect of Mr. Henry's speech stop
here. The people were so highly excited by the tory audacity
of such a suit, that Hook began to hear around him a cry more
terrible than that of beef; it was the cry of tar and feathers:
from the application of which it is said, that nothing saved
him but a precipitate flight and the speed of his horse,
I have' not attempted, in the course of these sketches, to fol
low Mr, Henry through his professional career, I have no ma
terials to justify such an attempt. It has been, indeed, stated
to me in general, that he appeared in such and such a case, and
that he shone with great lustre ; but neither his speeches in
those cases, nor any point of his argument, nor even any bril
liant passage has been communicated, so that the sketch that
could be given of them must be either confined to a meager
catalogue of the causes, or the canvass must be filled lip b;f
my own fancy, which would at once be an act of injustice to
Mr, Henry, and a departure from that historical veracity^
which it has been my anxious study in every instance to ob
serve, I have been told, for example, that in the year seventeen
hundred and seventy-four, Mr. Henry appeared at the bar of
the general court, in defence of a raarried man by the name of
Henry Bollard, indicted for the murder of a beautiful girl, who
lived in his houses to whom he had unfortunately become at
tached, and whom in a moment of frantic despair, he sacrificed
to his hopeless passion. The defence is said to have been
placed on the ground of insanity; and it is easy to conceive, in
general the figure which Mr, Henry must have made in such a
course. Those pathetic powers of eloquence, in which he
was so pre-eminently great, had ample scope for their exercise
in this case ; and we can credit, without difficulty, the assertion,
that he deluged the house with teai-s, and effected the acquittal
of his client. But this is all that we know of the case.*
* If this is the case of Henry Bullard, Who was indicted at the April term
of seventeen hundred and seventy-four, for the murder of Mary Pinner, this
honour claimed by my correspondent for Mr Henry, is not due ; for the records
of the general court show, that the indictment, although originally drawn for
the charge of murder, was reduced to manslaughter by the grand jury ; of
which onence the prisoner was convicted. There is, probably, some mistake
in the name.

PATRICK HENRY. 263
So also I learn that, on the same occasion after the war, he
appeared at the bar of the house of delegates, in support of a
petition of the officers of the Virginia line, who sought to be
placed on the footing of those who had been taken on conti-
nentalestablishment : and that, after having depicted their ser
vices and their sufferings in colours which filled every heart
with sympathy and gratitude, he dropped on his knees at the
bar of the house, and presented such an appeal as might almpst
have softened rocks, and bent the knotted oak. Yet no ves
tige of this splendid speech remains ; nor have I been able,
after the most diligent inquiries, to ascertain the year in which
it occurred ; similar petitions having been presented for several
successive sessions.
It was in the year seventeen hundred and ninety-four, that
he bade a final adieu to his profession, and retired to the bosom
of his own family. He retired, loaded with honours, public
and professional: and carried with him the admiration, the
gratitude, the confidence, and the love of his country. No
man had ever passed through so long a life of public service,
with a reputation more perfectly unspotted.
Nor had Mr, Henry, on any occasion, sought security from
censure, by that kind of prudent silence and temporizing neu
trality, which politicians so frequently observe. On the con
trary, his course had been uniformly active, bold, intrepid, and
independent. On every great subject of public interest, the
part which he had taken was open, decided, manly ; his coun
try saw his motives, heard his reasons, approved his conduct,
rested upon his virtue and his vigour ; and conterifiplated with
amazement, the evolution and unremitted display of his trans
cendent talents.
For more than thirty years he had now stood before that
country — open to the scrutiny and the censure of the invidious —
yet he retired, not only without spot or blemish, but with all
his laurels blooming full and fresh upon him — followed by the
blessings of his almost adoring countrymen, and cheered by
that most exquisite of all earthly possessions — the conscious
ness of having, in deed and in truth, played well his part. He
had now, too, become disembarrassed of debt; his fortune was
affluent ; and he enjoyed in his retirement, that ease and dig
nity, which no man ever more richly deserved.

264 WIRT 3 LIFE OF

CHAPTER X,
Mr. Henry's Retirement — State of Politics — Letter to his Daughter^He ii
again elected Governor — Declines the Office — His Position in reg^ard to the
two great Political Parties — Presents himself as a Candidate for the House
of Delegates— Speech before opening the Polls — Eminent Men arrayed
against Him — His Death.
Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to other parts
of his character, in this the concurrence is universal : that
there never was a man better constituted than Mr, Henry to
enjoy and adorn the retirement on which he had now entered.
Nothing can be more amiable, notning more interesting and
attaching, than those pictures which have been furnished from
every quarter, without one dissentient stroke of the pencil, pf
this great and virtuous man in the bosom of private life,
Mr, Jefferson says, that " he was the best-humoured com
panion in the world," His disposition was indeed all sweet
ness — his affections were warm, kind, and social — his patience
invincible — his temper ever unclouded, cheerful, and serene —
his manners plain, open, familiar, and simple — hi® conversation
easy, ingenuous, and unaffected, full of entertainment, full of
instruction, and irradiated with all those light and softer graces
which his genius threw without effort, over the most common
subjects. It is said that there stood in the court, before his door,
alarge walnut-tree, under whose shade it was his delight to
pass his summer evenings, surrounded by his affectionate and
happy family, and by a circle of neighbours whp loved him al
most to idolatry. Here he would disport himself with all the
careless gayety of infancy.
Here, too, he would sometimes warm the bosoms of the old,
and strike fire from the eyes of his younger hearers, by re
counting the tales of other times ; by sketching with the bold
ness of a master's hand, those great historic incidents in which
he had borne a part; and by drawing to the life, and placing
before his audience, in colours as fresh and strong as those of
nature, the many illustrious men in every quarter of the continent,
with whom he had acted a part on the public stage. Here, too,
he would occasionally discourse with all the wisdom and all the
eloquence of a Grecian sage, of the various duties and offices
of life; and pour forth those lessons of practical utility, with
which long experience and observation had stored his mind.
Many were the visiters from a distance, old and young, who
came on a kind of pious pilgrimage, to the retreat of the vete
ran patriot, and found him thus delightfully and usefully em
ployed — the old to gaze upon him with long-remembered affec-

PATRICK HENRY, 265
tion, and ancient gratitude — the young, the ardent, and the
emulous, to behold and admire, with swimming eyes, the cham
pion of other days, and to look with a sigh of generous regret,
upon that height of glory which they could never hope to reach.
Blessed be the shade of that venerable tree^ever hallowed the
spot which his genius has consecrated !
Mr, Henry received these visits with all his characteristic
plainness and modesty ; and never failed to reward the fatigue
of the journey by the warmest welcome, and by the unceremo
nious and fascinating familiarity, with which he would at once
enter into conversation with his new guests, and cause them to
forget that they were strangers, or abroad. Nor must the reader
suppose that in these conversations he assumed any airs of su
periority ; much less that his conversation was, as in some of
our conspicuous men, a continued, imperious, and didactic lec
ture. On the contrary, he carried into private life, all those
principles of equality which had governed him in public.
That ascendancy, indeed, which proceeded from the superior
energy of his mind, and the weight of his character, would
manifest itself unavoidably, in the deference of his companions ;
but there was nothing in his manner which would have ever
reminded them of it. On the contrary, it seemed to be his
study to cause them to forget it, and to decoy them into a free
and equal interchange of thought. If he took the lead in con
versation, it was not because he sought it ; but because it was
forced upon him by that silent delight with which he perceived
that his company preferred to listen to him.
But it was in the bosom of his own family, where the eye of
every visiter and even every neighbour was shut out — where
neither the love of fame, nor the fear of censure, could be sus
pected of throwing a false light upon his character — it was in
that very scene, in which it has been said that "no man is a
hero," that Mr. Henry's heroism shone with the most engaging
beauty. It was to his wife, to his children, to his servants,
that his true character was best known : to this grateful, de
voted, happy circle, were best known the patient and tender
forbearance, the kind indulgence, the forgiving mildness, and
sweetness of his spirit, those pure and warm affections, which
were always looking out for the means of improving their feli
city, and that watchful prudence and circumspection, which
guarded them from harm.
What can be more amiable than the playful tenderness with
which he joined in the sports of his little children, and the
boundless indulgence with which he received and returned their
caresses ? " His visiters," says one of my correspondents,
" have not unfrequently caught him lying on the floor, with a
23

366 wirt'.s life of
group of these little ones, climbing over him in every direction,
or dancing around him, with obstreperous mirth, to the tune
of his violin, while the only contest seemed to be who should
make the most noise." If there be any bachelor so cold of
heart as to be offended at this anecdote, I can only remind hini
of the remark of the great Agesilaus to the friend who found
him riding on a stick among his children: "Don't mention it,
till you are yourself a father .'"
Such were the scenes of domestic and social bliss, such the
delicious tranquillity, in which Mr. Henry passed the first years
of his retirement. Yet this retreat, which so well deserved to
have been considered as sacred, was doomed in a few years to
be disturbed by the bickerings of political party. Since Mr.
Henry's retirement from public life, new parties had arisen in
the United States, whose animosities had been carried to an
alarming height.
The federalists, who supported the measures of the new
government throughout, were accused by their adversaries of
a disposition to strain the constructive powers of the constitu
tion to their highest possible pitch ; of a secret wish to convert
the government, into a substantial monarchy at least ; to which
purpose, the assumption of state debts, the establishment of
the funding system, and of the national bank, the alarming in
crease of the public debt, the imposition of a heavy load of
internal taxes, the establishment of an army and' a navy, with
all their consequences of favouritism and extensive executive
patronage, were alleged to have been introduced.
They were branded with the name of aristocrats, a name of
reproach borrowed from the parties in France ; and were char
ged with being inimical to the cause of human liberty, as was
said to be proved by their hostiHty to the progress of the
French revolution, as well as by the alarming character of those
measures which they were pushing forward in America.' They
were suspected and accused of a preference for a government
of ranks and orders, and a secret love of titles of nobility; of
which it was said, one of their principal leaders had furnished
a decisive proof, so far as he was concerned, by having pro
posed the introduction of titles in the continental convention
which had framed the constitution.
The party which urged these charges, took the name of re
publicans and democrats ; declared themselves the friends of
liberty and the people, and the firm advocates of a government
of the people by the people. They were devoted, with enthu
siasm, to the cause of liberty in France : considered man, as
the only title of nobility which ought to be admitted, and his
freedom and happiness as the sOle objects of government ; this

PATRICK HENRY. 267
they contended, was the principle on which the American revo
lution had turned ; that the great objects of the revolution
could be no otherwise attained, than by a simple, pure, eco
nomical, and chaste administration of the federal government;
and by restricting the several departments under the new con
stitution, to the express letter of the powers assigned to them
by that instrument.
The federalists on the other hand, denied and repelled, with
great acrimony and vehemence, the charges which had been
urged against them by their adversaries. They contended that
the measures complained of were warranted by the constitution,
and were necessary to give to the federal government the effect
which was intended by its adoption. They insisted that they
were simply the friends of order and good government ; and
in, their turn, branded their adversaries with the name of Jaco
bins, who having caught the mania from France, were for
overturning all government and throwing everything into an
archy and uproar, in the hope of rising themselves to the top
of the chaos.
They alleged that the opposition was formed of the dregs of
the American people, headed and goaded on by a few design
ing men, and fermented into faction by the revolutionary ele
ments thrown among them, from abroad, in the shape of
French and Irish emigrants and convicts. They insisted that
it was indispensably necessary to the peace and order of the
American nation, that those foreign incendiaries should be
driven out from the land, and that the licentious fury of our
own populace should also be bridled. Under this impression,
were passed those alien and sedition laws, which are supposed
to have put an end to the federal power in America.
It is not my function to decide between these parties ; nor
do I feel myself qualified for such an office. I have lived too
near the times, and am conscious of having been too strongly
excited by the feelings of the day, to place myself in the chair
of the arbiter. . It would indeed, be no difficult task to present,
under the engaging air of historic candour, the arguments on
one side, in an attitude so bold and commanding ; and to exhibit
those on the other, under a form so faint and shadowy, as to
beguile the reader into the adoption of my own opinions.
But this would be unjust to the opposite party, and a disin
genuous abuse of the confidence of the reader. Let us then re
mit the question to the historian of future ages ; who, if the
particular memory of the past times shall not be lost in those
great events which seem preparing for the nation, will proba
bly decide, that, as in most family quarrels, both parties have
been somewhat in the wrong.

268 wirt's life of
For my purpose, it is sufficient to state the rise and existence
of those parties, and the fact that their collision had convulsed!
the whole society. Mr. Henry, although removed from the
immediate scene of contention, was still an object of too much
consequence to be viewed with indifference. He had a weight
of character which gave to his opinions a preponderating influ
ence on every subject, and both parties were equally anxious-
to gain him to their cause. His expressions were watched
with the most anxious attention, and it was not long before an
alarm of his defection from the popular cause was given. The
first occasion of it I discover, was the treaty of seventeen hun
dred and ninety-four, with Great Britain, commonly known
by the name of Jay's treaty.
It will be remerabered by the reader, that Mr. Henry had
objected to the constitution on the ground that it gave to the
president and senate the whole treaty-making power. This
construction of the instrument was not denied in the state con
vention ; but on the contrary, was at least impliedly admitted ;
and the provision was vindicated on the ground that the jiower
of treating could be nowhere more safely and properly
lodged. " When, therefore, the republican leaders in the house of
representatives claimed a right to participate in the ratification
of Jay's treaty, Mr. Henry considered them as inconsistent
with themselves, and as departing from their own construction
of the constitution. This charge and the defence, have both
been made known to me, by the following letter from Mr.
Henry to his daughter, Mrs. Aylett : —
" Red Hill, August 20, 1796.
"My Dear Betsy: Mr. William Aylett's arrival here,
with your letter, gave rae the pleasure of hearing of your wel
fare, and to hear of that is highly gratifying to me, as 1 so sel
dom see you," &o. [The rest of this paragraph relates to
family affairs.]
" As to the reports you have heard of my changing sides in
politics, I can only say they are not true. I am too old to
exchange my former opinions, which have grown up into fixed
habits of thinking. True it is, I have condemned the conduct
of our members in congress, because, in refusing to raise
money for the purposes pf the British treaty, they, in effect,
would have surrendered our country, bound hand and foot, to
the power of the British nation. This must have been the
consequence, I think; but the reasons for thinking so are too
tedious to trouble you with. The treaty is, in my opinion, a
very bad one, indeed.
But what must I think of those men, whom I myself warned

PATRICK HENRY. 269
of the danger of giving the power of making laws by means
of a treaty, to the president and senate, when I see these same
men denying the existence of that power, which they insisted,
in our convention, ought properly to be exercised by the presi
dent and senate, and by none other? The policy of these men,
both then and now, appears to me quite void of wisdom and
foresight. These sentiments I did mention in conversation
in Richmond, and perhaps others which I don't remember ;
but sure I ara, my first principle is, that from the British we
have everything to dread, when opportunities of oppressing
us shall offer.
" It seems that every word was watched which I casually
dropped, and wrested to answer party views. Who can have
been so meanly employed, I know not — nor do I care ; for I
no longer consider myself as an actor on the stage of public life.
It is time for me to retire ; and I shall never more appear in a
public character, unless some unlooked-for circumstance shall
demand from me a transient effort, not inconsistent with pri
vate life — in which I have determined to continue.
I see with concern our old commander-in-chief most abu
sively treated — nor are his long and great services remembered,
as any apology for his mistakes in an office to which he was to
tally unaccustomed. If he, whose character as our leader
during the whole war was above all praise, is so roughly han
dled in his old age, what may be expected by men of the com
mon standard of character ? I ever wished he might keep him
self clear of the office he bears, and its attendant difficulties — but
I am sorry to see the gross abuse which is published of him.
Thus, my dear daughter, have I pestered you with a long let
ter on politics, which is a subject little interesting to you,
except as it may involve my reputation. I have long learned
the Uttle value which is to be placed on popularity, acquired by
any other way than virtue ; and I have also learned, that it is
often obtained by other means.
The view which the rising greatness of our country presents
to my eyes, is greatly tarnished by the general prevalence of
deism ; which, with me, is but another name for vice and de
pravity. I am, however, much consoled by reflecting, that the
religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world,
been attacked in vain, by all the wits, philosophers, and wise
ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumph has been
complete. "What is there in the wit, or wisdom of the present de-
istical writers or professors, that can corapare them with Hume,
Shaftsbury, Bolingbroke, and others? and yet these have been
confuted, and their fame decaying; insomuch, that the puny

370 wirt's LIFE OF
efforts of Paine are thrown in to prop their tottering fabrici
whose foundations cannot stand the test of time.
" Among other strange things said of me, I hear it is said by
the deists that I am one of the number ; and, indeed, that
some good people think I am no Christian. This thought
gives rae much more pain than the appellation of tory ; because
I think religion of infinitely higher importance than politics;
and I find ranch cause to reproach myself, that I have lived so
long, and have given no decided and public proofs of my being
a Christian. " But, indeed, my dear child, this is a character which I prize
far above all this world has or can boast. And among all
the handsome things I hear said of you, what gives me the
greatest pleasure is, to be told of your piety and steady virtue.
Be assured there is not one tittle, as to disposition or character,
in which my parental affection for you would suffer a wish for
your changing ; and it flatters my pride to have you spoken of
as you are.
" Perhaps Mr. Roane and Anne may have heard the reports
you mention. If it will be any object with them to see what I
write you, show them this. But my wish is to pass the rest
of my days, as much as may be, unobserved by the critics of
the world, who would show but little sympathy for the defi
ciencies to which old age is so liable. May God bless you,
my dear Betsy, and your children. Give my love to Mr. Ay
lett, " And believe me ever your affectionate father,
"P. Henry."
This charge^ however, had not deprived Mr. Henry of the
confidence of his country ; for in the session of the legislature
which followed the date of his letter, he was for the third time
elected the governor of the state. The letter by which he de
clined the acceptance of that office is as follows : —
' To the honourable the speaker of the house of delegates.
" Charlotte County, November 29, 1796,
" Sir : I have just received the honour of yours, informing
me of my appointment to the chief magistracy of the common
wealth. And I have to beg the favour of you, sir, to convey
to the general assembly, my best acknowledgments, and warm
est gratitude for the signal honour they have conferred on me,
I should be happy if I could persuade myself, that my abilities
were commensurate to the duties of that office ; but my de
clining years warn me of my inability,
"I beg leave, therefore, to decline the appointment, and to
hope and trust that the general assembly 'will be pleased to

PATRICK HENRY. 271
excuse me for doing so ; as no doubt can be entertained that
many of my fellow-citizens possess the requisite abilities for
this high trust.
" With the highest regard, I am, sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
" P. Henry."
This was the last testimonial of public confidence which Mr.
Henry received from his native state. The rumours of his po
litical apostacy became strong and general. He was a prize
worth contending for; and it is not wonderful, therefore, that
the rival parties observed, with the most jealous distrust, every
advance which was made toward him by the other, and inter
preted such advances as so many stratagems to gain him over :
nor is it wonderful, if, during the fever of that hot and violent
struggle, many things were supposed to be seen, which did not
in fact exist : and that those which did exist were sometimes
seen under false shapes and colours.
It was reported at that day, that on Mr. Jefferson's resig
nation of the office of secretary of state, that office was of
fered to Mr. Henry, in the confidence, that while the offer
would gratify him, he would nevertheless reject it : however
this may be, it is certain that the embassy to Spain was offered
to him, during the first administration ; and that to France du
ring the second.*
These offers were known at the time ; and when compared
with his advanced age — ^the large family with which he was en
cumbered — his settled and well-known purpose of retirement —
and the consequent probability that these offers would not be
accepted — and the sentiments which he afterward expressed,
in favour of some of the measures of the administration,
which were extremely obnoxious in Virginia — those offers
were considered by the republicans, as so many strokes of po
litical flattery, addressed to the vanity of an old man, and
which had been but too successful in having won him to the
federal ranks.
That he approved of the alien and sedition laws, as good
measures, is undeniable ; indeed, he was not a man who would
deny any opinion that he held : and, however honest might
have been his conviction, both of the constitutionality and ex
pediency of thes^ measures, it is equally undeniable, that his
sentiments in relation to them, combined with the above causes,
by which those sentiments were suspected of having been in
fluenced, produced an extremely unpropitious effect on his
popularity in Virginia. • On the authority of Jadge 'Winston,

272 wirt's life of
The charge of apostacy, however, implies a previous com
mitment to the opposite side : but the evidence that Mr. Henry
ever stood committed to the democratic or to any other party,
(except the great American party of liberty and republican
government,) has not yet been seen by the author of these
sketches. At the time of his retirement, it is believed that the
post-constitutional parties were not distinctly marked. He
had no opportunity, after they were so marked, of expressing
his opinion publicly in favour of the one side or the other.
It is highly probable, that his opinions did not coincide
throughout with those of either side : and it would be rather
rash to infer, from his disapprobation of one or more measures
of the administration, or from his general love of liberty, that
he must of necessity have been attached at first to the demo
cratic side, Nor would it be more correct to infer, from his
having resisted the adoption of the federal constitution, that
he was therefore opposed to the measures of those who admin
istered it ; for the converse of this proposition, which must be
equally true, would have thrown many more into the federal
ranks than would have been willing to acknowledge the con
nexion. Mr. Henry had moreover declared, as we have seen,
in the last speech which he made in the state convention, in
opposition to the constitution, that if it should be adopted, he
would be a peaceable citizen ; that he would not go to violence,
but that he would seek the correction of whatever he thought
amiss, by quiet means.
Upon the whole, it would seem more liberal, more consonant
to the high character of Mr, Henry's mind, with his time of
life, and with that distant and feeble contrexion which he now
considered himself as holding with politics, and indeed with
the world — to believe that he looked, without passion or pre
judice of any kind, on the course of the administration, ap
proving or condemning, according to his own judgment, with
out reference to the pleasure Or opinions of either side : or if
we must suppose him under personal influence of any kind,
would it have been unpardonable in him, to have been influen
ced by the opinions of that raan who had ever stood first both
in his judgraent and affections, and whom all America acknowl
edged as the father of his country ? Other natural causes, too,
may be fairly considered as having united their influence in
producing this difference of political sentiment, between Mr.
Henry and the majority of his State.
In the year seventeen hundred and ninety-seven, his health
began to decline, and continued to sink ¦ gradually to the mo
ment of his death.* He had now passed through a stormy lif«
* Judge Winston.

PATRICK HENRY. 273
to his sixtieth year, and the vigour of his mind, exhausted
more by past toils than by years, began to give way. Those
energies which had enabled him to brave the power of Great
Britain, and to push forward the glorious revolution which
made us free, existed no longer in their original force.
The usual infirmities of age and disease began to press,
sorely and heavily, upon his sinking spirits. He was startled
by that clash of contending parties, which rang continually
around him, and invaded, with perpetually increasing horror,
the stillness of his retreat. His retirement cut him off, almost
entirely, from all communication with those who were best able
to explain the grounds, as well as the character and measure
of opposition to the offensive measures, which was intended ;
and the spirit and views of that opposition were, no doubt, ag
gravated to him by report.
Acting as those things did on the mind of an infirm old man ;
worn out by the toils and troubles of the past revolution, and
naturally wishing for repose ; alarmed too, and agonized by
the hideous scenes of that revolution which was then going on
in France ; and tortured by the apprehension that those scenes
'were about to be acted over again in his own country — it is not
surprising, that he was dismayed by the vehemence of that polit
ical strife which then agitated the United States ; nor would it
be surprising, if his solicitude to allay the ferment and restore
the peace of society, should, in some degree, have obscured
the decisions of his mind ; and placed him, rather by his fears
than his judgment, in opposition to the forcible resistance,
which he had been erroneously led to consider as meditated by
the democratic party.
In a mind thus prepared, the strong and animated resolu
tions of the Virginia assembly, in seventeen hundred and
ninety-eight, in relation to the alien and sedition laws, conjured
up the most frightful visions of civil war, disunion, blood, and
anarchy ; and under the impulse of these phantoms, to make
what he considered a virtuous effort for his country, he pre
sented himself in Charlotte county, as a candidate for the house
of delegates, at the spring election of seventeen hundred and
ninety-nine. On the day of the election, as soon as he appeared on the
ground, he was surrounded by the admiring and adoring crowd,
and whithersoever he moved, the concourse followed him. A
preacher of the Baptist Church, whose piety was wounded by
this homage paid to a mortal, asked the people aloud, '|Why
they thus followed Mr. Henry about?— Mr. Henry," said he,
" is not a god !"
"No," said Mr. Henry, deeply affected both by the scene.

274 wirt's LIFE OF
and the remark: "no, indeed, my friend; I ara but a poor
worm of the dust — as fleeting and unsubstantial as the shadow
of the cloud that flies over your fields, and is remembered no
more." The tone with which this was uttered, and the look
which accompanied it, affected every heart, and silenced every
voice. Envy and opposition were disarmed by his humility ;
the recollection of his past services rushed upon every mem
ory, and he "read his history" in their swimming eyes.
Before the polls were opened, he addressed the people of the
county to the following effect : — " He told them that the late
proceedings of the Virginian assembly had filled him with ap
prehensions and alarm ; that they had planted thorns upon his
pillow ; that they had drawn him from that happy retirement
which it had pleased a bountiful Providence to bestow, and in
which he had ' hoped to pass, in quiet, the remainder of his,
days ; that the state had quitted the sphere in which she had
been placed by the constitution ; and in daring to pronounce
upon the validity of federal laws, had gone out of her jurisdic
tion in a manner not warranted by any authority, and in the
highest degree alarming to every considerate man ; that such
opposition on the part of Virginia, to the acts of the general
government, m.ust beget their enforcement by military power-ji
that this would probably produce civil war ; civil war, foreign
alliances ; and that foreign alliances must necessarily end in
subjugation to the powers called in.
" He conjured the people to pause and consider well, before
they rushed into such a desperate condition, from which there
could be no retreat. He painted to their imaginations, Wash
ington, at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army,
inflicting upon them military execution : ' And where (he asked)
are our resources to meet such a conflict ? — Where is the citi
zen of America who will dare to lift his hand against the father^
of his country ?' '
" A drunken man in the crowd threw up his arm, and ex
claimed that 'he dared to do it.' — ' No,' answered Mr. Henry,
rising aloft in all his majesty: 'yoM dare not do it : in such a'
parricidal attempt, the steel would drop from your nerveless
arm!' ' The look and gesture at this moment, (says a corres
pondent,) gave to these words an energy on my mind unequalled
by anything that I have ever witnessed.' Mr. Henry, pre
ceeding in his address to the people, asked — ' whether the
county of Charlotte would have any authority to dispute an
obedience to the laws of Virginia;' and he pronounced Virginia
to be to the Union, what the county of Charlotte was to her,
" Having denied tbe right of a state to decide upon the con
stitutionality of federal laws, he added, that perhaps it might

PATRICK HENRY. 275
be necessary to say something of the merits of the laws in
question. His private opinion was, that they were good and
proper. But, whatever might be tbeir merits, it belonged to
the people, who held the reins over the head of congress, and
to thera alone, to say whether they were acceptable or other
wise to Virginians ; and that this must be done by way of peti
tion. That congress were as much our representatives as the
assembly, and had as goOd a right to our confidence.
" He had seen with regret, the unlimited power over the
purse and sword consigned to the general government ; but
that he had been overruled, and it was now necessary to sub
mit to the constitutional exercise of that power. 'If,' said he,
' I ara asked what is to be done, when a people feel themselves
intolerably oppressed, my answer is ready : — Overturn the
government. But do not, I beseeech you, carry matters to this
this length, without provocation. Wait at least until some in
fringement is made upon your rights, and which cannot other
wise be redressed ; for if ever you recur to another change,
you may bid adieu for ever to representative government.
" You can never exchange the present government but for a
monarchy. If the administration have done wrong, let us all
,go wrong together, rather than split into factions, which must
destroy that union upon which our existence hangs. Let us
preserve our strength for the French, the English, the Germans,
or whoever else' shall dare to invade our territory, and not ex
haust it in civil commotions and intestine wars.' He concluded,
by declaring his design to exert himself in the endeavour to allay
the heart-burnings and jealousies which had been fpraented in
the state legislature ; and he fervently prayed, if he was deem
ed unworthy to effect it, that it might be reserved to some
other and abler hand, to extend this blessingover the community,"
This was the substance of the speech written down at the
time by one of his hearers, " There was," says the writer,
•* an emphasis in his language, to which, like the force of his
articulation, and the commanding expression of his eye, no
representation can do justice ; yet I am conscious of having
given a correct transcript of his opinions, and in many in
stances, his very expression,"
Such was the last effort of Mr, Henry's eloquence : the
power of the noonday sun was gone ; but its setting splendours
were not less beautiful and touching. After this speech, the
polls were opened ; and he was elected by his usual command
ing majjority. His. intention having been generally known for
some time before the period of the state elections, the most
formidable preparations were made to oppose him in the as ¦
sembly.

376 wirt's LIFE OF
Mr. Madison, (the late president of the United States,) Mr.
Giles, of Amelia, Mr. Taylor, of Caroline, Mr, Nicholas Of
Albemarle, and a host of young men of shining talents from
every part of the state, were arrayed in the adverse rank, and
commanded a decided majority in the house. But Heaven, in
its mercy, saved him from the unequal conflict. The disease
which had been preying upon him for two years, now hastened
to its crisis ; and on the sixth day of June, seventeen hundred
and ninety-nine, this friend of liberty and of man was no
moi\e !
Here let us pause. The storm of seventeen hundred and
ninety-nine, thank Heaven ! has passed away ; and we again
enjoy the calm and sunshine of domestic peace. We are able,
now, to see with other eyes, and to feel with far different
hearts. Who is there that, looking back upon the part he bore
in those scenes, can say that he was at no time guilty of any
fault of conduct, any error of opinion, or any vicious excess
of feeling ? The man who can say this, is either very much
to be pitied, or most exceedingly to be envied.
But whatever we may be disposed to say or think of our
selves, there can be very little doubt, that that Being who is
the searcher of hearts, sees very much during that period, to
be forgiven in us all., It would, indeed, be presumptuous in
the extreme, amid the universal admission which is made of
the imperfections of human nature, in the happiest circum
stances, to contend for its infallibility, while acting under
the scourge of the most angry and vindictive passions.
Let it be admitted, then, that during the period of which we
are speaking, Mr. Henry was guilty of a political aberration;
but let all the peculiar circumstances of his case which have
been enumerated, be taken into the account,, and let it be far
ther remembered, that if he did go astray, as the majority of
the state believe, he strayed in company with the father of his
country — and where is the heart so cold and thankless, as to
balance a mistake thus committed, against a long life of such
solid, splendid, and glorious utility? Certainly not in Vir*
ginia — and it is to Virginians only that this appeal is made.
The sentiments now so universaUy expressed in relation to
Mr. Henry, evince, that the age of party resentment has pass
ed away, and that that of the noblest gratitude has taken its
place. But let us return to our narrative.
At the session Of the assemblyimmediatelyfollowingMr. Hen
ry's death, before the spirit of party had time to relent, and
give way to that generous feeling of grateful veneration for
bim, which now pervades the state, a federal member of the
house moved the following resolution : —

PATRICK HENRY. 277
" The general assembly of Virginia, as a testimonial of their
veneration for the character of their late illustrious fellow-
icilizen, Patrick Henry, whose unrivalled eloquence and supe-
:rior talents were, in times of peculiar peril and distress, so
uniformly, so powerfully, and so successfully, devoted to the
cause of freedom, and of his country — and, in order to invite
the present and future generations io an imitation of his vir
tues, and an emulation of his fame —
" Resolved, That the executive be authorized and requested,
to procure a marble bust of the said Patrick Henry, at the pub
lic expense, and to cause the same to be placed in one of the
niches of the hall of the house of delegates.",
' Nothing could have been more unfortunate for the success
of this resolution, than the time at which it was brought for
ward, and the mover by whom it was offered. The time, as
we have seen, was during that paroxysm of displeasure against
Mr. Henry, which even his death, although it had abated, had
not entirely allayed : and the mover was a gentleman who had
himself been recently counted on the republican side of the
house, and was now also smarting under the charge of apos
tacy. AH the ' angry passions of the house immediately arose at
such a proposition, frora such a quarter. A republican mem
ber moved to lay the resolution on the table ; the gentleman
who offered it replied with warmth, that if it were so disposed
of he would never call it up again. It was laid upon the table,
and has been heard of no more.
Thus lived, and thus died, the celebrated Patrick Henry of
Virginia ; a man who justly deserves to be ranked among the
highest ornaments and noblest benefactors of his country.
Had his lot been cast in the republics of Greece or Rome, his
name would have been enrolled by some immortal pen, among
the expellers of tyrants and the champions of liberty : the
proudest monuments of national gratitude would have risen to
his honour, and handed down his memory to future genera
tions. As it is, his fame as yet, is left to rest upon tradition, and on
that short notice which general history can take of him ; while
no memorial, no slab even, raised by the hand of national grat
itude, points us to his grave, or tells where sleep the ashes of
the patriot and the sage. May we not hope, that this reproach
upon the state will soon be wiped away, and that ample atone
ment will be made for our past neglect? 24

278 wirt's life of

CHAPTER XI.
Delineations of Mr. Henry's private Character — Anecdotes of Mr. Lee — of
Mr. Gallatin— Mr. Henry's Political Foresieht— Description of his Person-
Further General View of hi's Character — Conclusion.
Mr. Henry, by his two marriages, was the father of fifteen
children. By his first wife he had six, of whom two only sur
vived him ; by his last he had six sons and three daughters,
all of whom, together with their mother, were living at his
death. He had been fortunate during the latter part of his life ; and,
chiefly by the means of judicious purchases of lands, had left
his family, large as it was, not only independent, but rich.
In his habits of living, he was remarkably temperate and
frugal. He seldom drank anything but water ; and his table,
though abundantly spread, was furnished only with the most
simple viands. Necessity had imposed those habits upon him
in the earlier part of his life ; and use, as well as reason, now
made thera his choice.
His children were raised up with little or no restraint. He
seeras not to have thought very highly of early education. It
is indeed probable, that his own success, which was attributa
ble almost entirely to the natural powers of his mind, had di
minished the importance of an extensive education in his view..
But although they were suffered to run wild for some years,
and, indeed, committed to the sole guidance of nature, to a
much later period than usual, yet they 'were finally all well ed
ucated ; and not only by the reflected worth of their father,
but by their own merits, have always occupied a most respect
able station in society.
Mr. Henry's conversation was remarkably pure and chaste.
He never swore. He was never heard to take the name of
his Maker in vain. He was a sincere Christian, though after
a form of his own ; for he was never attached to any particu
lar religious society, and never, it is believed, communed with
any church, A friend who visited him not long before his
death, found him engaged in reading the Bible : — " Here," said
he, holding it up, " is a book worth more than all the other
books that were ever printed : yet it is my raisfortune never to
have found time to read it, with the proper attention and feel
ing, till lately, I trust in the mercy of Heaven that it is not
yet too late,"
He was much pleased with Soamc Jenyns' view of the in
ternal evidences of the Christian religion ; so much so, that

PATRICK HENRY. 279
labout the year seventeen hundred and ninety, he had an impres-
ision of it struck at his own expense, and distributed among the
people. His other favourite works on the subject were Dod
dridge's " Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," and
Butler's "Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed." This
latter work, he used at one period of his life to style, by way
of pre-eminence, his Bible. The selection proves not only
the piety of his temper, but the correctness of his taste, and
his relish for profound and vigorous disquisition.
His morals were strict. As a husband, a father, a master,
he had no superior. He was kind and hospitable to the stran
ger, and most friendly and accommodating to his neighbours.
In his dealings with the world, he was faithful to his promise,
and punctual in his contracts, to the utmost of his power.
Yet we do not claim for him a total exemption frora the fail
ures of huraanity. Moral perfection is not the, property of
man. The love of money is said to have been one of Mr.
Henry's strongest passions. In his desire for accumulation, he
was charged with wringing from the hands of his clients, and
more particularly those of the criminals whom he defended,
fees rather too exorbitant. He was censured too, for an at
tempt to locate the shores of the Chesapeake, which had here
tofore been used as a public common, although there was, at
that time, no law of the state which protected them from lo
cation. In one of his earlier purchases of land, he was blamed also
for having availed hiraself of the existing laws of the state, in
paying for it in the depreciated paper currency of the country ;
nor was he free from censure on account of some participation
which he is said to have had in the profits of the "Vazoo trade.
He was accused, too, of having been rather more vain of
his wealth, toward the close of his life, than became a man
so great in other respects. Let these things be admitted, and
"let the man who is without fault cast the first stone,"
In mitigation of these charges, if they be true, it ought to
be considered that Mr, Henry, had been, during the greater
part of his life, intolerably oppressed by poverty and all its
distressing train of consequences ; that the family for which
he had to provide was very large ; and that the bar, although
it has been called the road to honour, was not in those days the
road to wealth. With these considerations in view, charity
may easily pardon him for having considered only the legality
of the means which he used to acquire an independence ; and
she can easily excuse him too, for having felt the success of
his endeavors a little more sensibly than might have been be
coming.

280 wirt's life of
He was certainly neither proud, nor hard-hearted nor penu
nous : if he was either, there can be no reliance on human
testimony ; which represents him as being, in his general inter
course with the world, not only rigidly honest, but one of
the kindest, gentlest, and most indulgent of human beings.
While we are on this ungrateful subject of moral imperfec
tion, the fidelity of history requires us to notice another charge
against Mr. Henry. His passion for fame is said to have been
too strong ; he was accused of a wish to monopolize the public
favour ; and under the influence of this desire, to have felt no
gratification in the rising fame of certain conspicuous charac
ters ; to have indulged himself in invidious and unmerited re
marks upon thera, and to have been at the bottom of a cabal
against one of the most eminent. If these things were so
— alas ! poor human nature !
It is certain that these charges are very inconsistent with his
general character. So far from being naturally envious, and
disposed to keep back modest merit, one of the finest traits in
his character was, the parental tenderness with which he took
by the hand every young man of merit, covered him with his
segis in the legislature and led him forward at the bar. In re
lation to his first great rival in eloquence, Richard Henry Lee,
he not only did araple justice to him on every occasion, in pub
lic, but defended his fame in private, with all the zeal of a
brother ; as is demonstrated by an original correspondence
between those two eminent men, now in the hands of the
author. Of Colonel Innis, his next great rival, he entertained, and
uniformly expressed, the most exalted opinion ; and in the
convention of 1788, as will be remembered, paid a compliment
to his eloquence, at once so splendid, so happy, and so just,
that it will live for ever. The debates of that convention
abound with the most unequivocal and ardent declarations of
his respect, for the talents and virtues of the other eminent
gentlemen who were arrayed against him— Mr. Madison —
Mr. Pendleton — Mr. Randolph.
Even the justly great and overshadowing fame of Mr. Jef
ferson never extorted from him, in public af least, one invidi
ous remark ; on the contrary, the name of that gentleman, who
was then in France, having been introduced into the debates of
the convention, for the purpose of borrowing the weight of
his opinion, Mr. Henry spoke of him in the strongest and
warmest terms, not only of admiration, but of affection-^sty-
ling him "our illustrions fellow-citizen," — "our enlightened
amd worthy countryman," — " our common friend."
The iffirdinate love of money and of fame, are, certainly.

PATRICK HENRY. 281
base and degrading passions. They have sometimes tarnish
ed characters otherwise the most bright ; but they will find no
advocate or apologist in any virtuous bosom. In relation to
Mr. Henry, however, we may be permitted to doubt whether
the facts on which these censures (so inconsistent with his gen
eral character) are grounded, have not been misconceived;
and whether so much of them as is really true, may not be
fairly charged to the common account of human imperfection.
Mr. Henry's great intellectual defect was his indolence. To
this it was owing, that he never possessed that admirable alert
ness and vigoirros versatility of mind, which turns promptly
to everything, attends to everything, arranges everything,
and by systematizing its operations, despatches each in its
proper time, and place and manner. To the same cause it is to
be ascribed, that he never possessed that patient drudgery, and
that ready, neat, copious, and masterly command of details,
which forms so essential a part of the duties both of the states
man and the lawyer.
Hence, too, he did not avail himself of the progress of sci
ence and literature, in his age. He had not, as he might have
done, amassed those ample stores of various, useful, and curious
knowledge, which are so naturally expected to be found in a
great man. His library (of which an inventory has been fur
nished to the author) was extremely small ; composed not on
ly of a very few books, but those, too, commonly odd volumes.
Of science and literature, he knew little or nothing more than
was occasionly gleaned from conversation. It is not easy to
conceive, what a mind like his might have achieved in either,
or both of these walks, had it been properly trained at first. Or
industriously occupied in those long intervals of leisure which
he threw away.
One thing, however, may be safely pronounced ; that had
that mind of Herculean strength been either so trained, or so
occupied, he would have left behind him some written monu
ment, compared with which, even statutes and pillars would
have been but the ephemerae of a day. But he seems to have
been of Hobbes's opinion, who is reported to have said of
himself, that "if he had read as much as other men, he should
have been as ignorant as they were."* Mr. Henry's book
w^s the great volumj_ofJiuaiaaJiature^ In this, he was more
deepiy|]gag~Tliairjnv^iOi^ Heknew__mea.
tKorouplyTTSia''Ken^^ar^£h^^ ¦" Bayle : article Hobbes.
t " It is in vain," says the Chancellor D'Aguesseau, '' that the orator flatters
himself with having the talent to persuade men, if he has not acquired that of
knowing them." Discourse i., p. 1.

282 wirt's life of
His preference of this study, is manifested by the following
incident : — -he met once, in a bookstore, with the late Mr.
Ralph Wormley, who, although a great bookworm, was infi
nitely more remarkable for his ignorance of men, than Mr.
Henry was for that of books. — "What, Mr. Wormley," said
he, "still buying books?" "Yes," said Mr. Wormley, "I
have just heard of a new work, which I ara extremely anJcious
to peruse." " Take my word for it," said he, " Mr. 'Wormley,
"we are too old to read books: read men — they are the only
volumes that loe can peruse to advantage." But Mr. Henry'
might have perused both with infinite advantage, not only
to himself, but to his country, and to the world ; and that
he did not do it, may, it is believed, be fairly ascribed, rather
to the indolence of his temper, than the deliberate decision of
his judgment.
Judge Winston says, that "he was, throughout life, negli-'
gent of his dress :" but this, it is apprehended, applied rather
to his habits in the country, than to his appearance in public.
At the bar of the general court, he always appeared in a full
suit of black cloth, or velvet, and a tie wig, which was dressed
and powdered in the highest style of forensic fashion ; in the
winter season, too, according to the costume of the day, he
wore over his other apparel an ample cloak of scarlet cloth ;
and thus attired, made a figure bordering on grandeur. While
he filled the executive chair, he is said to have been justly at
tentive to his dress, and appearance ; " not being disposed to
afford the occasion of humiliating comparisons between the
past and present government."
He had long since, too, laid aside the offensive rusticity of
his juvenile manners. His manners, indeed, were still unosten
tatious, frank, and simple ; but they had all that natural ease
and unaffected gracefulness, which distinguish the circles of the
polite and wellbred. On occasions, too, where state and cere
mony were expected, there was no man who could act better his
part, I have had a description of Mr, Henry, entering, in the
full dress which I have mentioned, the hall of delegates, at
whose bar he was about to appear as an advocate, and saluting
the house, all around, with a dignity and even majesty, that
would have done honour to the most polished courtier in
Europe, This, however, was only on extraordinary occasions, when
such a deportment was expected, and was properly in its place.
In general, his manners were those of the plain Virginian gen
tleman — kind — open — candid — and conciliating^-warm With
out insincerity, and polite without pomp^— neither chilling by
his reserve, nor fatiguing by his loqaacilyr-^but adapting him-

PATRICK HENRY. 283
! self, without an effort, to the character of his company. " He
would be pleased and cheerful," says a correspondent, " with
persons of any class dr condition, vicious' and abandoned per
sons only excepted ; he preferi^ed those of character arid talents,
but would be amused with ahy Who coiild Contribute to his
amusement." He had himself a vein of pleasantry, which was extremely
amusing, withotit detracting from his dignity. His companions,
although perfectly at their ease with him, wei-e never known to
treat him With degrading familiarities. Their love and their
respCct for him equally forbade it. Nor had they any dread of
an assault upon their feelings ; for their was nothing cruel in
his wit.
The tomahawk and scalping-knife were no part of his collo
quial apparatus. He felt no pleasure ih seeing the victim
writhe under his stroke. The benignity of his sjjirit could not
have borne such a sight without torture. He found himself
happiest in communicating happiness to others. His conver
sation v^as instructive and delightful ;• stately Where it should
be so, but in general, easy, familiar, sprightly, and entertaining ;
always, however, good-humoured, and calculated to amuse
without wounding.
As a specimen of this light and good-natured pleasantry, the
following anedote has been furnished : Mr. Henry, together
with Mr. Richard H. Lee, and several other conspicuous mem
bers of the assembly, were invited to pass the evening and
flight at the house of Mr. Edmund Randolph, in the neighbour
hood of Richmond. Mr. Lee, who was as brilliant and copious
in conversation as in debate, had amused the company to a very
late hour, by descanting on the genius of Cervantes, particii
larly as exhibited in his chef d' ceuvre, Don Quixote.
'The dissertation had been continued rather too long : the
company began to yawn. When Mr. Henry, who had observed
il, although Mr. Lee had not, rose slowly from his chair, and
remarked as he walked across the rOom, that Don Quixote was
certainly a most excellent wOrk, and most skilfully adapted to
the purpose of the author : "but," said he, "Mr. Lee," stop
ping before him, with a most significant archness' of look,
"you have overlooked in your eulogy, one of the finest things
in the book.'' " 'What is tliat ?" asked Mr. Lee. " It is," said
Mr. Henry, " that divine exclamation of Sancho, ' Blessed be
the man that first invented sleep : it covers one all over, like 0,
cloak' " Mr, Lee took the hint ; and the company broke up
in good humour.
His quick and true discernment of characters, and his pre-
«cieD/? of political eVeiifS, were very much admired. The

384 wirtV life of
following examples of each, have been famished by Mr.
Pope : —
Mr. Gallatin eame to Virginia when a very young man : he
was obscure and unknown, and spoke the English language so
badly, that it was with difficulty he could be understood. He
was engaged in some agency which made it necessary to pre
sent a petition to the assembly, and endeavoured to interest the
leading members in its fate, by attempting to explain, out of
doors, its merits and justice. But they could not understand
him well enough to feel any interest either for him or his peti
tion. In this hopeless condition he waited on Mr, Henry, and
soon felt that he was in different hands.
Mr. Henry, on his part, was so delighted with the interview,
that he spoke of Mr. Gallatin everywhere in raptures — "he
declared him, without hesitation or doubt, to be the most sen
sible and best informed man he had ever conversed with — he is
to be sure," said he, " a most astonishing man ,'" The reader;
well knows how eminently Mr, Gallatin has since fulfilled this
character ; and considering the very disadvantageous circuni-
stances under which he was seen by Mr. Henry, is certainly
a striking proof of the superior sagacity of the observer.
In relation to his political foresight, the following anecdote
is in Mr. Pope's own words :— "In the year 1798, after Bona
parte had annihilated five Austrian arraies, and, flushed with
victory, was carrying away everything before him, 1 heard Mr.
Henry in a public company observe, (shaking his head after his
impressive manner) — ' It won't all do ! the present generation
in France is so debased by a long despotism, they possess so
few of the virtues that constitute the life and soul of republi
canism, that they are incapable of forming a correct and just
estimate of rational liberty.
" ' Their revolution will terminate differently from what you
expect — their state of anarchy will be succeeded by despotism ;
and I should not be surprised, if the very man at whose victo
ries you now rejoice, should, Cesar-like, subvert the liberties
of his country. All who know me,' continued Mr. Henry,
'know that I am a firm advocate for liberty and republicanism ;
I believe I have given some evidences of this. I wish it may
not be so, but I am afraid the event will justify this prediction.' "
The following is the fullest description which the author has
been able to procure of Mr. Henry's person. He was nearly
six feet high ; spare, and what may be called rawboned, with a
slight stoop of the shoulders — his complexion was dark, sun
burnt, and sallow, without any appearanCe of blood iii his
«heeks — his countenance grave, thoughtful, penetrating, and
strongly marked, with the lineaments of deep reflection — the

PATRICK HENRY, 288
earnestness of his manner, united with an habitual contraction or
knitting of his brows, and those lines of thought with which
his face was pirofusely furrowed, gave to his countenance, at
some times, the appearance of severity — yet such was the
power which he had over its expression, that he could shako
off from it in an instant, all the sternness of Winter, and robe it
in the brightest smiles of spring.
His forehead was high and straight; yet forming a sufficient
angle with the lower part of his face — his nose somewhat of the
Roman stamp,thoUgh like that which we see in the bust of Cicero,
it was rather long, than remarkable for its Cesarean form. Of
the colour of his eyes, the accounts are alraost as various as
those which we have of the colour of the chameleon — they are
said to have been bliie, gray, what Lavater calls green, hazel,
brown, and black — the fact seeras to have been that they were of
a bluish-gray, not large ; and being deeply fixed in his head,
overhung by dark, long, and full eyebrows; and farther shaded
by lashes that were both long and black, their apparent colour
was as variable as the lights in which they were seen — but all
concur in saying that they were, unquestionably, the finest fea
ture in his face — brilliant — full of spirit, and Capable of the most
rapidly-shifting and powerful expression — at one time piercing
and terrible as those of Mars, and then again soft and tender
as those of Pity herself — ^his cheeks were hollow — his chin
lortg, but well formed, and rounded at the end, so as to form a
proper counterpart to the upper part of his face.
" I find it diiScult," says the correspondent from whom I
have borrowed this portrait, " to describe his mouth ; in which
there 'was nothing remarkable, except when about to express a
modest dissent from some opinion on which he was comment
ing — he then had a soft of half-smile, in which the want of
conviction was perhaps more strongly expressed, than the sa
tirical emotion, which probably prompted it. His mannCr and
address to the court and jury might be deefned the excess of
humility, diffidence, and modesty.
" If, is rarely happened, he had occasion to answer any re
mark from the Bench, it Was impossible for Meekness herself
to assume a manner less presumptuous — but in the smile of
which I have been speaking, you might anticipate the want of
conviction, expressed in his answer, at the moment that he
submitted to the superior wisdom of the court, with a grace that
Would have done honour to Westminster hall. In his reply to
Counsel, his remarks on the evidence, and on the conduct Of the
parties, he preserved the same distinguis'hed deference and po
liteness, still accompanied, however, by the never-failing in
dex of this skeptical sniile, where the occasion prompfcd."

286 wirt's life of
In short, his features were manly, bold, and well-proportioned,
full of intelligence, and adapting themselves intuitively to every
sentiment of his mind, and every feeling of his heart. His
voice was not remarkable for its sweetness ; but it was firm, of
full volume, and rather melodions than otherwise. Its charms
consisted in the mellowness and fulness of its note, the ease and
variety of its inflections, the distinctness of its articulation, the
fine effect of its emphasis, the felicity with which it attuned
itself to every emotion, and the vast compass which enabled it
to range through the whole empire of human passion, from the
deep and tragic half whisper of horror, to the wildest excla
mation of overwhelming rage.
In mild persuasion, it was as soft and gentle as the zephyr
of spring ; while in rousing his countrymen to arms, the win
ter storm that roars along the troilbled Baltic, was not more
awfully sublime. It was at all times perfectly under his com
mand ; or rather, indeed, it seemed to command itself and to
i modulate its notes, most happily to the sentiment he was utter-
ling. It never exceeded, or fell short of the occasion. There
was none of that long-continued and deafening vociferation,
.'which always takes place, when an ardent speaker has lost
feossession of himself — no monotonous clangour, no discord-
nt shriek.
Without being strained, it had that body and enunciation
which filled the most distant ear, without distressing those
which were nearest him : hence it never became cracked or
hoarse, even in his longest speeches, but retained to tbe last
all its clearness and fulness of intonation, all the delicacy of
its inflection, all the charms of its emphasis, and enchanting
variety of its cadence.
His delivery was perfectly natural and well timed. It has
indeed been said, that, on his first rising, there was a species
of sub-cantus very observable by a stranger, and rather disar
greeable to him ; but that in a very few moments even this it
self became agreeable, and seemed, indeed, indispensable to the
full effect of his peculiar diction and conceptions. In point ot
time, he was very happy : the^-e was no slow and heavy drag
ging, no quaint and measured drawling, with equidistant pace^
no stumbling and floundering among the fractured members of
deranged and broken periods, no undignified hurry and trepida
tion, no recalling and recasting of sentences as he went along,
no retraction of one word and substitution of another not bet
ter, and none of those affected bursts of almost inarticulate
impetuosity, which betray the rhetorician rather than display
the orator.
On the contrary, ever self-collected, deliberate and dignified.

PATRICK HENRY. 287
he seemed to have looked through the whole period before he
commenced its delivery ; and hence his delivery was smooth,
and firm, and well accented ; slow enough to take along with
him the dullest hearer, and yet so commanding, that the quick
had neither the power nor the disposition to get the start Of
him. Thus he gave to every thought its full and appropriate
force ; and to every image all its radiance and beauty.
No speaker fever understood better than Mr, Henry the true |
use and power of the pause : and no one ever practised it with 1
happier effect. His pauses were never resorted to for the pur
pose of investing an insignificant thought with false import
ance ; much less were they ever rgsoxtgd to as a finesse to gain
time for thinking. The "^^''^^"^as'nev^^isposed^ to "ask.
' ''why that pause ?" nor to measure iS°TOratidirby a reTeifen ce
to "his waTcKT^Dh the contrary, it always came at the very 1
moment. >vhen..he- WQuIdJ)imseIf."have,jvished it. in ordM_to
weigh the striking and important thought which hadiiff^the^
uttered; and the interyal was alwaysJUled by the speaker_wi.th
a ^tchleSs ' f!n^sx^SJi£sSI^M^~S^slMsII^^S^LM3Si2
tjr ougfiTlre imncr^djthrou^hjl! e . beawt.
His gesture, and this varying play of his features and voice, .
were so excellent, so exquisite that many have referred his I
power as an orator principally to that cause; yet this was all/
his own, and his gesture, particularly, of so peculiar a cast,
that it is said it would have becorae no other man. I do not
learn that it was very abundant ; for there was no trash about it;
none of those false motions to which undisciplined speakers are
so generally addicted ; no chopping nor sawing of the air; no
thumping of the bar to express an earnestness, which was
much more powerfully, as well as more elegantly expressed by]
his eye and countenance. Whenever he moved his arm, orh
his hand, or even his finger, or changed the position of hisy
body, it was always to some purpose ; nothing was inefficient ; \
everything told ; every gesture, every attitude, every look was
emphatic ; all was animation, energy, and dignity.
Its great advantage consisted in this — that various, bold, and
original as it was, it never appeared to be studied, affected, or
theatrical, or "to overstep," in the smallest degree, "the mod
esty of nature ;" for he never made a gesture, or assumed an
attitude, which did not seem imperiously demanded by the occa
sion. Every look, every motion, every pause, every start was
completely filled and dilated by the thought which he was ut
tering, and seemed indeed to form a part of the thought itself.
His action, however jtrsflgoaaJi. nevftr, vehement. He was
never seen rushing "forward, shoulder foremostTlury in his
countenance, ahd phrensy in his voice, as if to overturn the

288 wirt's life of
bar, and c^wg*! his audience sword in hand. His judgment
was too manly and too solid, and his taste too true, to perniit
him to indulge in any such extravagance.
His good sense and his self-possession never deserted him.
In the loudest storm pf declamation, in the fiercest blaze ol
passion, there was a dignity and temperance which gave it
seeming. He had the rare faculty of imparting to his hearers
all the excess of his own feelings, and all the violence and tu
mult of his emotions, all the dauntless spirit of his resolution,
and all the energy of his soul, without any sacrifice of his own
personal dignity, and without treating his hearers otherwise
than as rational beings. He was not thn orator nf a day; arwl
therefore sought not to buiTd his fame on the sandy basis of a
falaejasteTTpstered. ,i£-mit-Created. by himself. He s^Q^s^r
immortality ; and therefore raised the pillars of Tils glory on
the only solid foundation; — the rock of Nature.
So much has been already said, incidentally, of his attain
ments, and the character Of his mind, both as a statesman and
an orator, that little remains to be added in a general way. As
a statesman, the quality which strikes us most is his political
intrepidity : and yet it has sometimes been objected to him, that
he waited on every occasion, to see which way the popular cur
rent was sitting, when he would artfully throw himself into it,
and seem to guide its course. Nothing can be more incorrect:
it would be easy to multiply proofs to refute the charge ; but I
shall content nsyself with a few which are pf general notoriety.
1. The American revolution is universally admitted to have
begun in the upper circles of society. It turned on principles
too remote and abtruse for vulgar apprehension or considera
tion. Had it depended on the unenlightened mass of the com
munity, no doubt can be entertained at this day, that the tax
imposed by parliament would have been paid without a ques
tion. Since, then, the upper circle of society did not take its
impulse from the people, the only remaining inquiry is, who
gave the revolutiona,ry impulse to that circle itself? It was
unquestionably Patrick Henry.
This is afiirmed by Mr. Jefferson ; it is demonstrated by the
resistance given to Mr. Henry's, measures, by those who were
afterward the stanchest friends of the revolution ; it is farther
proved, by the sentiment before noticed, with which Doctor
Franklin (who was then considered as the first American states
man) dismissed Mr. Ingersoll on his departure from London ;
a sentiment, which evinces beyond doubt, that Doctor Franklin
considered resistance to the British power to be, at that time,
premature ; and finally, this honour is assigned to Mr. Henry,
I perceive, by a late interesting historian of Massachusets, the

Patrick henry. 289
only state which has ever pretended to dispute the palm with
Virginia, The historian to whom I allude, is Mrs, Mercy Warren, who
is said to be the widow of the celebrated General Warren,
the hero of Bunker's Hill, These are her words: — "The
house of burgesses of Virginia were the first who formally re
solved against the encroachments of power, and the unwar
rantable designs of the British parliament. The novelty of
their procedure, and the boldness of spirit that marked the
resolutions of that assembly, at once astonished and discon
certed the officers of the crown, and the supporters of the
measures of administration. These resolutions were ush
ered into the house on the thirtieth of May, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty-five, by Patrick Henry, Esq,, a
young gentleman of the law, till then unknown in political life.
He was a man possessed of strong powers, much professional
knowledge, and of such abilities as qualified him for the exi
gences of the day. Fearless of the cry of treason, echoed
against him from several quarters, he justified the measure and
supported the resolves, in a speech that did honour both to his
understanding and his patriotism," &c. Mrs, Warren's History
of the American Revolution, vol, i.,p,28.
On this great occasion, then, it is manifest, that he did not
wait for the popular current ; but on the contrary, that it was
he alone, who, by his single power moved the mighty mass of
stagnant waters, and changed the silent lake into a roaring tor
rent. When it is remembered too, that he was then young and
obscure, and of course without personal influence — that this
step was the result of his own solitary reflection, and that he
was perfectly aware of the personal danger which must attend
it — we can require nothing farther to satisfy us, that he was a
bold, original, independent politician, who thought for himself,
and pursued the dictates of his own judgment, wholly regard
less of personal consequences,
2. Again, in the spring of 1775, that upper circle, which still
headed the revolution, were disposed to acquiesce in the plun
der of the magazine, and exerted their utmost efforts to allay
the ferment which it had excited. They had, in fact succeeded ;
and the people were everywhere composed, save within the im
mediate sphere of Mr. Henry's influence. The reader has already
seen, that it was he who on that occasion excited the people, not
who was excited by theni ; that he put them into motion, and
avowed to his confidential friends, at the time, the motives of
policy by which he was actuated; that he placed himself at
the head of an armed band, which he had himself convened for
the purpose ; and in spite of the entreaties and supplications
25

i90 wirt's life of
of the patriots at Williamsburgh, and in defiance of the threats
of Dunmore and his myrmidons, pressed firmly and intrepidly
on, until the object of his expedition was completely obtained.
3. So also in the state convention, the same year, the old
patriotic leaders were disposed still to rely on the efficacy of
petitions, memorials, and remonstrances; it was Mr. Henry
who proposed, and in spite of their opposition (which was of
so strenuous and serious a character, that one of them in ma
king it, is said to have shed tears most profusely) carried the
bold measure of arming the militia. This was not dictated by
the people.
The fact was, that at that day, the people placed themselves
in the hands of their more enlightened friends ; they never
ventured to prescribe either the time, the manner, or the meas
ure of resistance ; and there can be no room for a candid doubt
that, but for the bold spirit and overpowering eloquence of
Patrick Henry, the people would have followed the pacific
counsels of Mr, Randolph, Mr. Nicholas, Mr, Pendleton, Mr.
Wythe, and other men of acknowledged talents and virtue.
it was Mr. Henry, therefore, who led both the people and
their former leaders. The latter, indeed came on so reluc
tantly at first, that they may be said to have been rather drag
ged along than led ; they did come, however, and acquiring
warmth by their motion, made ample amends 'thereafter foi
their early hesitation.
The author has no intention, by these remarks, to impair in
the smallest degree, the well-earned reputation of those vete
ran statesmen. They had commenced the opposition to the
stamp act, and the other obnoxious acts of the British parlia
ment, before Mr. Henry made his appearance as a politician ;
they had commenced it too, on the same grounds, and would,
probably, at some later period, have been wrought up by theii
own principles and feelings, to a forcible resistance to those
measures. But the statements above are unquestionably correct ; they
did not approve of the immediate application of force ; Mr.
Henry's policy was condemned by them as rash and precipi
tate. The author is in possession of an original letter from
one of these statements, in which Mr. Henry is expressly and
directly accused of having precipitated the revolution, a gainst
the judgment of the older and cooler patriots. " Events, how
ever," as we have seen, " favoured the bolder measures of Mr.
Henry," and proved his policy to be the best.
4, About the close of the war, again, when he proposed to
permit the return of that obnoxious class of men called Brit-
iih refitgets and Scotch toriest did he follow the popular cur-

PATRICK henry. 291
rent ? So far from it, that he stemmed the current, and turnea
back its course, by the power of his resistance.
5. So in the case of the federal constitution, whither did the
current of the American people tend ? Most certainly to its
adoption, yet Mr. Henry, to use his own language, "with
manly firmness, and in spite of an erring world," with the re
vered Washington at their head, opposed its adoption with all
the powers of his eloquence.
The truth seems to be, that this charge is only a variation
of that conveyed by the opprobrious epithets of demagogue
and factious tribune, which we have seen that his rival long
since sought to fasten upon him ; and there can be little doubt,
that it proceeded from the writhings and contortions of the
same agonized envy. That a poor young man, issuing from
his native woods, unknown, unfriended, and comparatively un
lettered, should have been able, by the mere force of unassist
ed nature, to break to pieces the strong political confederacy
which then ruled the country, to annihilate all the arts and
^fiaesise of parliamentary intrigue; to eclipse by his sagacit)',
the experience of age ; and, by the sole strength of his native
genius, to throw into the shade all the hard-earned attainments
of literature and science, was entirely too humiliating to be
borne in silence.
It was necessary, therefore, to resort to some solution of
this phenomenon which should at once reduce the honours of
this plebeian up-start, and sooth the wounded feelings of those
whose pride he had brought down. Hence it became fashion
able, in the higher circles, to speak of Mr. Henry as a design
ing demagogue, a factious tribune, who carried his points not
by fair and open debate, but by violent and inflammatory ap
peals to the worst passions of the multitude ; and who fre
quently gave himself the air of leading the people, when in
truth he was merely following their own blind lead.
This cant has had its day, and its propagators. Truth has
set the subject to rights. Mr. Henry is alleged, by those
who had the best opportunities of knowing him, to have been
not inferior, either in public or private virtue, to any patriot of
the revolution : and he was confessedly superior to them all,
in that combination of bold, hardy, adventurous, splendid, and
solid qualifications, which are so peculiarly fitted to revolu
tionary times.
" He left," says Judge Winston, " no manuscripts." This
was to have been expected. We have seen that he could not
bear the labour of writing ; nor, indeed, of that long-continued,
coherent, and methodical thinking, without which, no success
ful composition, of any extent, can be produced. He thought,

293 wirt's life oF
indeed, a great deal ; but his thinking was too desultory and
irregular to take the form of coraposition.'
His mind had never been disciplined to wait upon his pen —
it still moved on — and its prismatic beauties were as evanescent
as they were beautiful. His imagination "bodied forth the
forms of things" much more rapidly than his unpractised pen
could " turn them to shapes ;" and it is not improbable, that
his own observation of the difference between the 'vigour with
which he thought, and the comparative decrepitude with
which he wrote, disgusted him with his first attempts, and pre
vented their repetition.
Yet this habit which he had of thinking for himself, and
looking directly at every subject, with the natural eyes of his
understanding, without using what has been called the specta
cles of books, was perhaps of advantage to him, both as a
statesman and an orator : as a statesman, it possibly exempted
him from that common error of scientific theorists, of for
cing resemblances between the present and some past historical
era, and accommodating their measures to this imaginary
identity; by his mode of considering subjects, no circumstance
was either sunk or magnified, or distorted, in order to bend
the case to a fanciful hypothesis ; nor, in deciding what was
proper to be done in America, did he look to see what had
been found expedient at Athens or Rome.
On the contrary, knowing well the people with whom he
had to deal, of what they were capable, and what was neces
sary to their happiness, how much they could bear, and how
much achieve, and looking immediately at the subject, (what
ever it might be,) with that piercing vision, that solid judgment
and ready resource, which characterized his mind — he seemed
to seize in every case, rather " luckily than laboriously," the
course which of all others was surest of success.
In short, this habit made him an original, sound and practi
cal statesman, instead of being a learned, dreaming, and vision
ary theorist. Not that Mr. Henry was deficient in historical
knowledge; he had enough of it for all the useful purposes either
of analogy or illustration ; but he never permitted it to inter
cept his proper view of the subject, or to take the lead in sug
gesting what was fit to be done. This he chose rather to de
rive from the nature of the case itself, and the character of the
people among whom that case occurred.
This habit of relying more on his own meditations than on
books, was, also, perhaps, a service to him as an orator : for
by this course, he avoided the beaten paths and roads of
thought ; and instead of exhibiting in his speeches old ideas
newly vamped up, and ancient beauties tricked off' in mod-

PATRICK HENRY, 293
ern tinsel, his arguments, sentiments, and figures, had all
ihat freshness and novelty which are so universally captivating.
In what did his peculiar excellence as an orator consist ? in
what consisted that unrivalled power of speaking, which all
who ever heard him admit him to have possessed? The
reader is already apprized, that the author of these sketches
never had the advantage of hearing Mr. Henry, and that no
entire speech of his was ever extant, either in print or writing :
hence, there are no materials for minute and exact analysis.
This inquiry, however, is natural, and has been directed, with
out success, to many of the most discriminating of Mr. Hen
ry's admirers. Their answers are as various as the complex
ion of their own characters ; each preferring that property
from which he had himself derived the most enjoyment.
Some ascribe his excellence wholly to his manner ; others, in
great part, to the originality and soundness of his matter.
And among the admirers, in both classes, there are not two
who concur in assigning the pre-eminence to the same quality.
Of his matter, one will admire the plainness and strength
of his reasoning; another, the concentrated spirit of his aphor
isms ; a third, his wit ; a fourth, his pathos ; a fifth, the intrin
sic beauty of his imagination : so in regard to his manner,
one will place his excellence in his articulation and emphasis ;
a second, in the magic power with which he infused the tones
of his voice into the nerves of his hearers, and riveted their at
tention. The truth therefore, probably is, that it was not in any
singular charm, either of matter or manner, that we are to
look for the secret of his power; but that like Pope's defini
tion of beauty, it was " the joint force and full result of all,"
If, however, we are to consider as really and entirely his,
those speeches which have already been given in his name to
the public, or are now prepared for them, there can be no diffi
culty in deciding, that his power must have consisted princi
pally in his delivery. We know what extraordinary effects
have been produced by the mere manner of an orator, without
any uncommon weight or worth of matter,
" Friar Narni, a capuchin, was so remarkable for his elo
quence, that his hearers, after a sermon, cried out mercy in the
streets, as he passed home : and thirty bishops, starting up
under a discourse, hurried home to their respective diocesses :
yet, when his sermons came to be published, they were thought
to be unworthy of his reputation ; which shows how much de
pends on action ; and how correct the sajring of Demosthenes
was on that subject,"— Bayle, Article Narni,
We have the authority, however, of those who heard the
identical speeches now professed to be given as his, for dti-
25*

294 wirt's life of
daring, that they are an extremely imperfect representation
of them ; and their ability to correct them so frequently from
memory, establishes the fact, that it was not the charm of de
livery merely, which constituted the difference between the re
port and the original.
This is not the only instance in which a great orator has
been injured, by imperfect attempts to represent him: for
(to say nothing of those modern proofs, which will easily
occur to the reader) we are told that the great Pericles
himself met with a similar fate, " Some harangues of Peri
cles were still extant in Quintilian's time ; but that learned
rhetorician, finding them disproportioned to the high reputa
tion of this great man, approved the opinion of those who
looked upon them as a supposititious work. An indifferent
harangue, however, being recited by an excellent orator, may
charm the hearers. Action is almost all !" Article Pericles.
Candour and justice, however, require us to repeat, that Mr,
Robertson's reports are unquestionable, in point of good faith;
and that they are highly valuable, on account of the accuracy and
fidelity with which they are believed to have preserved the
substance of the debates. It is with extreme regret that the
author has made a single comment to their disadvantage; but
justice to Mr, Henry has made it indispensable.
The basis of Mr, Henry's intellectual character was s^trong
natural sense. His knowledge of human nature was, as we
have seen, consummate. His wisdom was that of observation,
votlior iVian ^f rpajjippr. His faucy, although sufficiently preg-
nant to furnish supplies for the occasion, was not so exuberant
as to oppress him with its productions. He was never guilty
of the fault, with which Corinna is said to have reproached her
rival Pindar, of pouring his '^ase of flowers all at once upon
the ground ; on the contrary, their beauty and their excellence
were fully observed, frora their rarity, and the happiness with
which they were distributed through his speeches.
His feelings were Strong, yet completely under his command ;
they rose up to the occasion, but were never suffered to over
flow it; his language was often careless, sometimes incor*<
rect ; yet upon the whole it was pure and perspicuous, ^giv*
ing out his thoughts in full and clear proportion ; free from af
fectation, and frequentiy beautiful ; strong without effort, ant.
adapted to the occasion ; nervous in argument, burning in pas
sion, and capable of matching the loftiest flights of his genius.
It may perhaps assist the reader's conception of Mr. Henry's
peculiar cast of eloquence, to state the points in which he dif
fered from some other orators. Those which distinguished
him from Mr. Lee have been already exhibited. Colonel Innis's

PATRICK HENRY. 295
manner was also very different. His habitual indolence fol
lowed him into debate ; he generally contented himself with a
single view of his subject; but that was given with irresistible
power. His eloquence was indeed a mighty and a roaring torrent ; it
had not, however, that property of Horace's stream, labitur et
labetur, in omne volubilis avum — on the contrary, it com
monly ran by in half an hour. But it bore a striking resem
blance to the eloquence of Lord Chatham ; it was a short but
bold and most terrible assault — a vehement, impetuous and
overwhelming burst — a magnificent meteor, which shot majes
tically across the heavens, from pole to pole, and straight ex
pired in a glorious blaze.
Mr. Henry, on the contrary, however indolent in his gene
ral life, was never so in debate, where the occasion called for
exertion. He rose against the pressure, with the most uncon
querable perseverance. He held his subject up in every light
in which it could.be placed ; yet always with so much power,
and so much beauty, as never to weary his audience, but on the
contrary to delight them. He had more art than Colonel Innis :
he appealed to every motive of interest — urged every argu
ment that could convince — pressed every theme of persuasion —
awakened every feeling, and roused every passion to his aid.
He had more variety, too, in his manner ; sometimes he was
very little above the tone of conversation ; at others in the
highest strain of epic sublimity.
His course was of longer continuance — his flights better
sustained, and more diversified, both in their direction, and
velocity. He rose like the thunder-bearer of Jove, when he
mounts on strong and untiring wing, to sport in fearless majesty
over the troubled deep — now sweeping in immense and rapid
circles — then suddenly arresting his grand career, and hover
ing aloft in tremulous and terrible suspense — at one instant,
plunged amid the foaming waves — at. the next, reascending on
high, to play undaunted among the lightnings of heaven, or soar
toward the sun.
He differed too, from those orators of Great Britain, with
whom we have become acquainted by their printed speeches.
He had not the close method and high polish of those of Eng
land ; nor the exuberant imagery which distinguishes those of
Ireland. On the contrary, he was loose, irregular, desultory —
sometimes rough and abrupt — careless in connecting the parts
of his discourse, but grasping whatever he touched with gigan
tic strength. In short, he was the Orator of Nature ; and
such a one as Nature might not blush to avow.
If the reader shall still demand how he acquired those won-

296 PATRICK. HENRY.
derful powers of speaking which have been assigned to him,
we can only answer, with Gray, that they were the gift of
Heaven — the birthright of genius.
" Thine too, these keys, immortal boy !
This can unlock the sates of joy ;
Of horror, that, and tnrilling fears,
Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears."
It has been said of Mr. Henry, by Mr. John Randolph, of
Roaiioke, with inimitable felicity, that " he was Shakspeare
and Garrick combined !" Let the reader then imagine the
wonderful talents of those two men united in the same indi
vidual, and transferred from scenes of fiction to the business
of real life, and he will have formed some conception of the
eloquence of Patrick Henry. In a word, he was one of those
perfect prodigies of Nature, pf whom very few have been pro
duced since the foundations of the earth were laid ; and of
him may it be said, as truly as of any one that ever existed : —
" He was a man, take him for all in all.
Wis ne'er shall look upon his like again."

APPENDIX.

NOTE A.

It appears by the journals of the house of burgesses, of the 14th November,
seventeen hundred and sixty-four, (page 38,) that a committee was appointed
to draw up the following address, memorial, and remonstrance ; which com
mittee was composed of the following persons, to wit : Mr. Attorney, (Peyton
Randolph,) Mr. Richard Henry Lee, Mr. Landon Carter, Mr. 'Wythe, Mr.
Edmund Pendleton, Mr. Benjamin Harrison, Mr. Gary, and Mr. Fleming, to
whom, afterward, Mr. Bland was added. The address to the king is from the
pen of the attorney.* " To the king's most excellent Majesty.
" Most Gracious Sovereign,
" 'We, your majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the council and burgesses
of your ancient colony and dominion of Virginia, now met in general assembly,
beg leave to assure your majesty of our firm and inviolable attachment to your
sacred person and government ; and as your faithful subjects here have at all
times been zealous to demonstrate this truth, by a ready compliance with the
royal requisitions during the late war, by which a heavy and oppressive debt
of near half a million had been incurred, so at this time they implore permis
sion to approach the throne with humble confidence, and to entreat that your
majesty will be graciously pleased to protect our people of this colony in the
enjoyment of their ancient and inestimable right of being governed by such
laws, respecting their internal polity and taxation, as are derived from their
own consent, with the approbation of their sovereign or his substitute : a right
which, as men, and descendants of Britons, they have ever quietly possessed,
since, first by royal permission and encouragement, they left the mother king
dom to extend its commerce and dominion.
" Your majesty's dutiful subjects of Virginia most humbly and unanimously
hope, that this invaluable birthright, descended to them from their ancestors,
and in which they have been protected by your royal predecessors, will not be
suffered to receive an injury under the reign of your sacred majesty, ahready
so illustriously distinguished by your gracious attention to the liberties of tho
people. " That your majesty may long live to make nations happy, is the ardent
prayer of your faithful subjects, the council and burgesses of Virginia."
The author cannot learn who drew the following memorial ; but from tno
style of the composition, compared with the members of the committee, and
the distribution of its other ^labours, he thinks it probable that it was Mr. Pen
dleton ; possibly Mr. Bland. * On the authority of Mr. Jefferson.

298 appendix.

" To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament
assembled : —
" The Memorial of the Council and Burgesses of Virginia, now met in General
Assembly,
" Humbly eepresents,
" That your memorialists hope an application tcSybUr lordships, the fixed
and hereditary guardians of British liberty, will not be thought improper at this
time, when measures are proposed, subversive, as they conceive, of that free
dom, which all men, especially those who derive their constitution from Britain,
have a right to enjoy ; and they flatter themselves that your lordships will not
look upon them as objects so unworthy your attention, as to regard any impro
priety in the form or manner of their application, for your lordships' protection,
of their ust and undoubted rights as Britons.
" It cannot be presumption in your memorialists to call themselves by this
distinguished name, since they are descended from Britons, who left their
native country to extend its territory and dominion, and who, happily for
Britain^ and as your memorialists once thought, for themselves too, effected
this purpose. As our ancestors brought with them every ifight and privilege
they could with justice claim in their mother kingdom, their desceftdants may
conclude, they cannot be deprived of those rights without injustice.
" Your memorialists conceive it to be a fundamental principle of the British
constitution, without which freedom can nowhere exist, that the.people are
not subject to any taxes but such as are laid on them by their own consent or
by those who are legally appointed to represent them : property must become
too precarious for the genius of a free people which can be taken from them
at the will of others, who cannot know what taxes such people can bear, or
the easiest mode of raising them ; and who are not under that restrainti which
is the greatest security against a burdensome taxation, when the representa^
tives themselves must be affected by every tax imposed on the people.
" Your memorialists are therefore led into an humble confidence, that your
.ordships will hot think any reason sufficient to support such a power, in the
British parliament, vvChere the colonies cannot be represented : a power never
before constitutionally assumed, and which, if they have a right to exercise on
any occasion, must necessarily establish this melancholy truth, that the inhab
itants of the colonies are the slaves of Britons from whom they are descended :
and from whom they might expect every indulgence that the obligations of
interest and affection can entitle them to.
" Your memorialists have been invested with the right of taxing their own
people from the first establishment of a regular government in the colony, and
requisitions have been constantly made to them by "their sovereigns, ori all
occasions when the assistance of the colony was thought necessary to preserve
the British interest in America ; from whence they must conclude they cannot
now be deprived of a right they have so long enjoyed, and which they have
never forfeited.
" The expenses incurred during the last war, in compliatice with the demands
on this colony by our late and present most gracious sovereigns, have involved
us in a debt of near half a million, a debt not likely to decrease under the
continued expense we are at, in providing for the security of the people against
the incursions of our savage neighbours ; at a time when the low state of our
staple commodity, the total want of specie, and the late restrictions upon the'
trade of the colonies, render the circumstances of the people extremely distress
ful ; and which, if taxes are accumulated upon them by tho British parliamei;t,
will make them truly deplorable.

APPENDIX. 299
¦ " Your memorialists cannot suggest to themselves any reason why they
should not still be trusted with the property ot their people, with whose abihties,
and the least burdensome mode of taxing, (with great deference to the superior
wisdom of parliament,) they must be best acquainted.
" Your rnemoriahsts hope they shall not be suspected of being actuated, on
this occasion, by any principles but those of the purest loyalty and affection, as
they always endeavoured by their conduct to demonstrate, that they consider
their connexion with Great Britain, the seat of liberty, as their greatest hap
piness. " The duty they owe to themselves and their posterity, lays your memorial
ists under the necessity of endeavouring to establish their constitution upon its
proper foundation ; and they do most humbly pray your lordships to take this
subject into your consideration with the attention that is due to the well-being
of the colonies, on which the prosperity of Great Britain does, in a great
measure, depend."
Mr. "Wythe was the author of the following remonstrance. " It was done
with so much freedom, that, as he told me himself, his colleagues of the com
mittee shrunk from it as wearing the aspect of treason, and smoothed its
features to its present form."*
" To the Honourable the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses of Great Britain, in
Parliament assembled : —
" The Remonstrance of the Council and Burgesses of "Virginia.
"It appearing, by the printed votes of the house of commons of Great
Britain in parliament assembled, that in a committee of the whole house the
seventeenth day of March, last, it was resolved, that toward defending, pro
tecting, and securing the British colonies and plantations in America, it may
be proper to charge certain stamp duties in the said colonies and plantations ;
and it being apprehended that the same subject, which was then declined, may
be resumed and further pursued in a succeeding session, the council and bur
gesses of Virginia, met in general assembly, judge it their indispensable duty,
in a respectful manner, but with decent firmness, to remonstrate against such
a measure ; that at least a cession of those rights, which in their opinion must
be infringed by that procedure, may not be inferred from theii silence, at so
important a crisis.
" They conceive it is essential to British liberty, that laws, imposing taxes
on the people, ought not to be made without the consent of representatives
chosen by themselves ; who, at the same time that they are acquainted with
the circumstances of their constituents, sustain a portion of the burden laid on
them. The privileges, inherent in the persons who discovered and settled
these regions, could not be renounced or forfeited by their removal hither,
not as vagabonds or fugitives, but licensed and encouraged by their prince,
and animated with a laudable desire of enlarging the British dominion, and
extending its commerce : on the contrary, it was secured to them and their
descendants, with all other rights and immunities of British subjects, by a royal
charter, which hath been invariably recognised and confirmed by his majesty
and his predecessors, in their commissions to the several governors, granting a
power, and prescribing a form of legislation ; according to which, laws for
the administration of justice, and for the welfare and good government of the
colony, have been hitherto enacted by the governor, council, and general
assembly ; and to them, requisitions and applications for supplies have been
directed by the crown. As an instance of the opinion which former sovereigns
entertained of these rights and privileges, we beg leave to refer to three acts
• Mr. Jefferson.

300 APPENDIX.
of the general-assembly,/ passed in the thirty-second year of the reign of King
Charles II. (one of which is entitled 'An act for raising a public revenue for
the better support of the\govemment of his majesty's colony of Virginia,' impo
sing several duties for that purpose,) which being thought absolutely necessary,
were prepared in England, and sent over by their then governor, the lord
Culpepper, to be passed by the general assembly, with a full power to give
the royal assent thereto ; and which were accordingly passed, after several
amendments were made to them here ; thus tender was his majesty of the
rights of his American subjects ; and the remonstrants do not discern by-what
distinction they can be deprived of that sacred birthright and most valuable
inheritance by their fellow-subjects, nor with what propriety they can be taxed
or affected in their estates, by the parliament, wherein ()hey are not, and indeed
cannot constitutionally, be represented.
" And if it were proper for the. parliament to impose taxes on the colonies at
all, which the remonstrants take leave to think would be inconsistent with the
fundamental principles of the constitution, the exercise of that . power, at this
time, would be ruinous to Virginia, who exeirted herself in the late war, it is
feared beyond her strength, insomuch that to redeem the money granted for
that exigence, her people are taxed for several years to come ; this, with tho
larger expenses incurred for defending the frontiers against the restless Indians,
who have infested her as much since the peace as before, is so grievous, that
an increase of the burthen would be intolerable ; especially as the people are
very greatly distressed already from the scarcity of circulating cash among
them, and from the little value of their staple at the British markets.
" And it is presumed, that adding to that load which the colony now labours
under, will not be more oppressive to her people than destructive of the inter
ests of Great Britain : for the plantation trade, confined as it is to the mother-
country, hath been a principal means of multiplying and enriching her inhabit
ants ; and, if not too much discouraged, may prove an inexhaustible sourceof
treasure to the nation. For satisfaction in this point, let the present state of
the British fleets and trade be compared with what they were before the set
tlement of the colonies ; and let it be considered, that while property in land
may be acquired on very easy terms, in the vast uncultivated territory of
North America, the colonists will be mostly, if not wholly, employed in agri
culture ; whereby the exportation of their commodities to Great Britain, and
the consumption of manufactures supplied from thence, will be daily increas
ing. But this most desirable connexion between Great Britain and her colo
nies, supported by such a happy intercourse of reciprocal benefits as is
continually advancing the prosperity of both, must be interrupted, if the people
of the latter, reduced to extreme poverty, should be compelled to manufacture
those articles they have been hitherto furnished with from the former.
" From these considerations, it is hoped that the honourable house of com
mons will not prosecute a measure which those who may suffer under it cannot
but look upon as fitter for exiles driven from their native country, after igno
miniously forfeiting her favours and protection, than for the posterity of Britons,
who have at all times been forward to demonstrate all due reverence to the
mother-kingdom ; and are so instrumental in promoting her, glory and felicity ;
and. that British patriots will never consent to the exercise of any anti-consti
tutional |)Owet which, even in this remote corner, may be dangerous in its
example to the interior parts of the British empire, and will certainlv be
detrimental to its commerce."

APPENDIX. 301

NOTE B.

Council Chamber, October 17th, 1785.
Sib— Since the last session of assembly, I have received sundry acts, reso
lutions, and other communications from congress, which I transmit to the
general assembly, marked No. 1, and which will claim the attention of the
legislature, according to their nature and importance, respectively.
Tho execution of the militia law hath caused much embarrassment to the
executive. Compelled to name all the field officers throughout the state, and
possessing sufficient information as to the fitness of individuals for these offices
in a few counties only, they were constrained to search out proper persons, by
such means as accident furnished, and by letters addressed to the several
counties. In some instances, the gentleman io whom they were addressed,
refused to give any information. In many others, the answers came too late
to avail ; the law directing the commissions to issue the first of April. In this
situation, the business has been conducted : and from a partial knowledge of
characters in some counties, and a total ignorance of them in others, J am
sensible many who are worthy of command have been passed by, and others
less fit for office may have been commissioned. And notwithstanding a close
attention has been given to this business, many of the counties have not yet
been officered, for want of the recommendations of captains and subalterns.
Finding that the arms and ammunition directed to be purchased, could not
be procured except from beyond the sea, applicatioB has been made by me to
Mr. Jefferson and the Marquis de la Fayette, requesting their assistance to Mr.
Barclay, (who was commissioned to mfie the purchase,) in accomplishing this
important work ; and I have the satisfaction t<' find, that the affiir is in such a
train as to promise the speedy arrival of these much-wanted articles. For
more full information respecting this transaction, I send you sundry letters,
(No. 2,) by one of which you will see thaS our noble frienii the marquis offers
us his services, if there shall be occasion for them.
I transmit, herewith, n letter from the honourable Mr. Hardy, covering a
memorial to congress from sundry inhabitants of Washington county, praying
the establishment of an independent state, to be bounded as is therein express
ed. The proposed limits include a vast extent of country in which we have
numerous and very respectable settlements, which, in their growth, will form
an invaluable barrier between this country and those who, in the course of
events, may occupy the vast plains westward of the mountains, some of whom
may have views incompatible with our safety. Already the militia of that
part of the state is amoug the most respectable we have : and by these means
It is, that the neighbouring Indians are awed into professions of friendship.
But a circumstance has lately happened, which renders the possession of that
territory, at the present time, indispensable to the peace and safety of Virginia :
I mean the assumption of sovereign power by the western inhabitants of North
Carolina. If these people, who, without consulting then: own safety or any
other authority known in the American constitution, have assumed govern
ment, and while unallied to us, and under no engagements to pursue the objects
of the federal government, they shall be strengthened by the accession of so
great a part of our country, consequences fatal to our repose will probably
follow. It is to be observed, that the settlements of this new society stretch
on to great extent in contact with ours in Washington county, and thereby
expose our citizens to the contagion of that example, which bids fair to destroy
the peace of North Carolina.
In this state of things it is, that variety of informations have come to me,
stating that several persons, but especially Col. Arthur Campble, have used
26

SOf APPBNDTX,
their utmost endeavours, and with some success, to persuade the citizens in
that quarter to break off from this commonwealth, and attach themselves to»
the newly-assumed government, or erect one distinct from it. And in order tw
effect this purpose, the equity and authority of the laiws have been arraigned,
the collection of the taxes impeded, and our national character impeached.
But as I send you the several papers I have received on that subject, I need
not enlarge further than remark that if this most important part of our territory
be lopped off, we lose that barrier for which our people have long and often
fought, that nursery of soldiers from which fufure armies may be levied, and
through which it will be almost impossible for our enemies to penetrate : we
shall aggrandize the new state, whose connexions, views, and designs we know
not ; shall cease to be formidable to our savage neighbours, or reapectabJe to
our western settlements, at present and in future.
While these and many other matters were contemplated by the executive,
it is -natural to suppose, the attempt for separation was discouraged by every
lawful means ; the chief of which was, displacing such of the field officers of
miUtia, in Washington county, as were active partisans for separation, in order
to prevent the weight of office being cast in the scale against this state: to
this end a proclamation was issued, declaring the militia law of the last session
in force in that county, and appointments of officers Were made agreeable to it.
I hope to be excused for expressing a wish, that the assembly, in deliberating
on this affair, will prefer lenient measures in order to reclaim our erring fellow-
citizens. Their taxes have run into three years' arrear, and, thereby, grown
to an amount beydnd tlie ability of many to discharge, while the system of
our trade has been such, as to render their agriculture unproductive of money ;
and I cannot but suppose, tKat if even the warmest supporters of separatidn;
had seen the mischievous consequences of it, they would have retracted; and
condemned that intemperance in their own proceedings, which opposition in
sentiments is too apt to produce.
A letter from the countess of Huntingdon, and another from Sir James Jay,
expressing her ihtentions to attempt the civilixatibn of the Indians, are also
sent you. It will rest with the assembly to decide upon the means for execu
ting this laudable design, that reflects so much honour on that worthy lady.
By a resolution of the last assembly, the auditors were jjrevented from liqui
dating the claims of the officers and soldiers, after the first day of May last.
Although the wisdom of such a measure must be admitted, yet several cases
haye com^ to my knowledge where claims, founded upon the clearest principles
of justice, have been rejected by reason of that restriction : and when I con
sider that the claimants will be found to consist, in considerable degree, of
widows, orphans, and those who have been taken prisoners, I am persuaded
the assembly will think that a rigorous adherence to the forement.oned resolu
tion is improper, and that justice will be done to the claims of those few,
whose poverty, ignorance, or other misfortunes, prevented earlier applica
tions. By Mr. Ross's letter No. 5, the assembly will observe his deittand against
the state, and that it can be properly discussed only by the legislature. Al
though the post at Point of Fork has been long occupied, I cannot discover
the least trace of title to the ground vested in the public, or any previous
stipulation with the proprietor for the temporary possession of it. While tha
assembly are considering of a proper satisfaction to the ovfner for the time past,
1 trust provision will be made to secure a permanent repository for the public
arms and military stores, at that or some other place most proper for the
purpose. The honourable William Nelson hath resigned his office as a member of tho
council, as appears by his letter. No. 6.
The honourable Henry Tazewell, esq.; has been appobted a judge of th»

APPENDIX. 303
general court in the room of the honourable B. Danbridge, esq., deceased, until
the assembly shall signify their pleasure.
The honourable George Muter, esq., has been appointed a judge of the
general court in Kentucky, in the room of Cyrus Griffin, esq., who resigned
nis appointment.
Thomas Massie, esq., having resigned his appointment for opening a road
on the northwestern frontier, Joseph Neville, esq., has been appointed in his
room. The report of the commissioners for disposing of the Gosport lands. No. 9,
will explain to the assembly their transactions in that business.
Mr. Ren^ Rapicault, of New Orleans, exhibited an account against this
commonwealth for a considerable sum of money which appears to be due lo
him. But as it will be found by reference to his papers, No. 10, that this
(debt, however just, cannot be paid from any fund now existing, it is submitted
to the legislature to make such provision for its payment, as to them shall
seem proper.
The report of the commissioners for extending the boundary line between
Virginia and Pennsylvania, No. II, will explain the manner in which that
business has been executed.
By Mr. Jefferson's letters it appears, that the original sum granted to pro
cure a statue of Genera! Washington will be deficient. The further sum
wanting, together with the reasons for increasing the expense of the work,
will appear by Mr. Jefferson's correspondence. No. 12.
The crews of the boats Liberty and Patriot were ordered to be enlisted for
twelve months from August last, unless sooner discharged. This was done in
order that the assembly might, if they judged proper, determine to discontinue
them, or if they are retained, make suitable provision for their support : hith
erto, that has been defrayed out of the contingent fund. But the great variety
of expenses charged on that fund, make it necessary, in future, to provide some
other mode of support for them. The assembly will, no doubt, observe in the
course of their deliberations on the subject of revenue, that it is necessary for
the executive to commission the officers. The officer commanding one of these
boats has detected several persons attempting to evade the payment of duty,
and in compliance with the law, as he supposes, took bonds for the payments
of the penalties imposed for making false entries. But it seems there are great
difficulties in recovering judgment on these bonds, owing to ambiguity in the
law respecting the subject. The assembly will apply such remedy for this
evil as they think proper.
Application hath been, made to the executive, on the subject of paying into
the continental treasury, warrants for interest due on loan-office certificates,
and other liquidated claims against the continent. And although there can be
no doubt that payments made by the treasurer to the continental receiver, may
include the proportion of warrants specified by congress in their acts of the
twenty-eighth of April, seventeen hundred and eighty-four, yet the receiver,
when possessed of the cash, although it was unaccompanied by any warrants,
does not conceive himself justified in parting with any money in exchange for
them. So that until the assembly shall interpose, by making these warrants
receivable at the treasury, our citizens will suffer great injury, and be deprived
of a facility enjoyed by the citizens of the other states.
The sum of money allowed by the assembly in their resolution of the thir
teenth of June, seventeen hundred and eighty-three, for compiling, printing,
and binding the laws, has proved inadequate to the purpose ; five hundred
pounds having been expended in the printing, and two hundred and fifty en-
Igaged to be divided among the gentlemen who made the compilation ; so that
inothing is left to pay for the binding. _ v r i j
I cannot forbear informing the assembly, that many county courts have tailea

304 APPEXDIX.
to recommend sheriffs in the months of June and July. In consequence ef thisj
many of the counties will be without sheriffs, inasmuch as the executive think
they have no power to issue commissions in such cases. As this evil threatrti
so many parts of the state with anarchy, I have no doubt of the legislaturit
remedying it with all possible despatch.
I have the honour to be, with great regard.
Your most obedient, humble servant,
P. HENRY.
The Honourable the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

NOTE C.
Judge Tucker, in his edition of Blackstone, having fallen into Mr. Ran
dolph's mistake, in regard to the case of Josiah Philips, the following note has
been furnished to the author by the gentleman who was the chairman of the
committee : —
" The case of Josiah Philips, I find strangely represented by Judge Tucker
and Mr. Edmund Randolph, and very negligently vindicated by Mr. Henry.
That case is personally known to me, because I was of the legislature at the
time, was one of those consulted by Mr. Henry, and had my share in the pas
sage of the bill. I never before saw the observation of those gentlemen, which
you quote on this case, and will now, therefore, briefly make some strictures
on them.
" Judge Tucker, instead of a definition of the functions of bills of attainder,
has given a just diatribe against their abuse. The occasion and proper office
bf| a bill of attainder is this j when a person charged with a crime withdraws
from justice, or resists it by force, either in his own or a foreign country, no
other means of bringing him to trial or .punishment being practicable, a special
act is passed by the legislature, adapted to the particular case ; this prescribes
to him a sufficient term to appear and submit to a trial by his peers, declares
that his refusal to appear shall be taken as a confession of guilt, as in the ordi
nary case of an offender at the bar refusing to plead, and pronounces the sen
tence which would have been rendered on his confession or conviction in a
court of law. No doubt that these acts of attainder have been abused in Eng
land as instruments of vengeance by a successful over a defeated party, but
what institution is insusceptible of abuse, in wicked hands ?
" Again, the judge says, * the court refused to pass sentence of execution
pursuant to the directions of the act.' The court could not refuse this, because
it was never proposed to them, and my authority for this assertion shall be pre
sently given.
'" For the perversion of a fact so intimately known to himself, Mr. Randolph
can be excused only by our indulgence for orators who, pressed by a powerful
adversary, lose sight, in the ardour of conflict, of the rigotous accuracies of
fact, and permit their imagination to distort and colour them to the views of the
moment. He was attorney-general at the time, and told me himself, the first
time I saw him after the trial of Philips, that when taken and delivered up to
justice, he had thought it best to make no use of the act of attaimier, and to
take no measure under it; and that he had indicted him, at the common law,
either for murder or robbery, (I forget which, and whether for both,) that he
was tried on this indictment in the oidinaiy way, found guilty by the jury, sen
tenced and executed under the common law ; a course which every one ap
proved, because the first object of the act of attainder was, to bring him to a fair
trial. Whether Mr. Randolph was right in this information to me, or, when ia
the debate with Mr. Henry, he represents this atrocious offender as sentenced
and executed under the act of attainder, let the record of the case decide.

APPENDIX. 305
"•Without being confronted with his accusSrs and witnesses, without the
privilege of calling for evidence in his behalf, he was sentenced to death, and
afterward actually executed.' I appeal to the universe to produce one single
Instance from the first establishment of government in this state to the present
day, where, in a trial at bar, a criminal has been refused confrontation with his
accusers and witnesses, or denied the privilege of calling for evidence in his
behalf. Had it been done in this case, I would have asked of the attorney-
general, why he proposed or permitted it > But, without having seen the r'e-
cord, I will venture, on the character of our courts, to deny that it was done
But if Mr. Randolph meant, only, that Philips had not these advantages, on the
passage of the bill of attainder, how idle to charge the legislature with omitting
to confront the culprit with his witnesses, when he was standing out in arms,
and in defiance of their authority ; and their sentence was to take effect, only
on his own refusal to come in and be confronted. We must either, therefore,
consider this as a mere hyperbolism of imagination, in the heat of debate, or,
what I should rather believe, a defective statement by the reporter of Mr. Ran
dolph's argument. I suspect this last the rather, because this point in the
charge of Mr. Randolph is equally omitted in the defence of Mr. Henry. This
gentleman must have known that Philips was tried and executed under the
common law, and yet, according to this report, he rests his defence on a justifica
tion of the attainder only. But all who knew Mr. Henry, know, that when at
ease in argument, he was sometimes careless, not giving himself the trouble of
ransacking either his memory or imagination for all the topics of his subject, or
his audience that of hearing them. No man on earth knew better when he had
said enough for his hearers.
" Mr. Randolph charges us with having read the bill three times in the same
day. I do not remember the fact, nor whether this was enforced on us by the
urgency of the ravages of Philips, or of the time at which the bill was intro
duced. I have some idea it was at or near the close of the session. The jour
nals, which I have not, will ascertain this fact."
The -following proceedings against Josiah Philips and his associates, are
extracted from the records of the general court j and are followed by the notice
of the execution of these men, from the public prints of the day : which, it is
hoped, will put a final end to this mistake, so little to the honour of our revo
lution." VmorNiA, to wit :—
" The jurors for the commonwealth, upon their oath present: That Josiah
Philips, late of the parish of Lynhaven, in the county of Princess Ann, labourer,
on the ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and seventy-eight, with force and arms, at the parish aforesaid, in the county
aforesaid, in the highway of the commonwealth there, in and upon one James
Hargrove, in the peace of God and of the commonwealth, then and there being,
feloniously did make an assault, and him, the said James Hargrove, in bodily
fear and danger of his life, in the highway aforesaid, then and there feloniously
did put, and twenty-eight men's felt hats of the value of twenty shillings each,
and five pounds of twine of the value of five shillings each pound, of the goods
and chattels of the same James Hargrove, from the person and against the will
of the said James Hargrove, in the highway aforesaid, then and there feloniou.sly
and violently did steal, take and carry away, against the peace and dignity of
the commonwealth.
" Witness.— James Hargrove, Benjamin Griflin, William Lovett, Polly Davis,
Horatio Davis, and John Matthias. Sworn in court, Oct. 20th, 1778. John Mav."
The above endictment is thus endorsed : —
" An endictment against Josiah Philips for robbery," (in Mr. Randolph's
hand-writing.) " A true bill. Wm. Holt, foremaij."
26*

306 APPENDIX.
" VlRGlHIA^ " In the General Court, 20th October, 1778.
"Josiah Philips, late of the parish of Lynhaven, in the county of Princess
Ann, labourer, who stands endicted for robbery, was led to the bar in custody
of the keeper of the public jail, and was thereof arraigned, and pleaded not
guilty to the endictment, and for his trial put himself upon God and his coun
try. Whereupon came a jury, to wit : James Letate, Thomas Stanley, Gilliam
Booth, Stapleton Crutchfield, John Tankerley, John Draper, Leonard Henley,
Micajah Chiles, Richard Swepson, William James Lewis, Thomas Cowles,
and Ambrose Raines, who, being elected, tried and sworn the truth of, and
upon premises to speak, and having heard the evidence, upon their oath to say,
that the said Josiah Philips is guilty of the robbery afoi:esaid in manner and form
as in the endictment against him is alleged, and that he had neither lands nor
tenements, goods nor chattels at the time of committing the said robbery, nor at
any time since, to their knowledge ; and thereupon he is remanded to jail.
« October the 27th, 1778.
" Josiah Philips, late of the parish of Lynhaven, in the county of Princess
Ann, labourer, who stands convicted of robbery, was again led to the bar in
custody of the keeper of the public jail, and thereupon it being demanded of
him if any thing he had or knew to say for himself, why the court, here, to
judgment and execution of and upon the premises, should not proceed, he said
he had nothing but what he had before said. Therefore, it is considered by the
court, that he be hanged by the neck until he be dead.
" October 28, 1778.
" John Lowry, John Reizen, and Charles Bowman, for murder, Josiah Philips,
James Hodges, Henry M'Lalen, and Robert Hodges, for robbery, James Ran
dolph for horse-stealing, Joseph Turner, otherwise called Josiah Blankenship,
for Burglary, and John Highwarden, for grand larceny, being under sentence of
death by the judgment of the court yesterday passed against them for their said
offence : It is awarded that execution of the said sentence be severally made
and done upon them the said John Lowry, John Reizen, Charles Bowman, Jo
siah Philips, James Hodges, Henry M'Lalen, Robert Hodges, James Randolph,
Joseph Turner, otherwise called Josiah Blankenship, aud John Highwarden, by
the sheriff' of York county, on Friday the fourth day of December next, be
tween the hours of ten and twelve in the forenoon, at the usual place of execu
tion, " Copies— Teste, " Peyton Drew, C. G. C."
Extract from Dixon and Hunter's paper of October 30th, 1778.
" Williamsburgh — At a general court, begun and held at the capitol the
10th instant, the following criminals were condemned to suffer death : Charles
Bowman, from Prince George, for murder ; John Lowry, from Bedford, for
ditto ; Josiah Philips, James Hodges, Robert Hodges, aud Henry M'ljtlen, from
Princess Ann, for robbery : John Highwarden, from Fauquier, for grand larceny ;
Joseph Turner, alias Josiah Blankenship, from Albemarle, for burglary ; and
James Randolph, from Culpeper, for horse-stealing."
Extract from Dixon and Hunter's paper of December 4, 1778.
" WiLHAMsBUHGH — Thls day were executed, at the gallows near this city,
pursuant to their sentence, the following criminals, viz. : Josiah PKilips, Henry
M'Lalen, Robert Hodges, John Reizen and Josiah Blankenship."

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