Discover Patrick Henry's Williamsburg

Patrick Henry (1736–1799) was a successful lawyer, a prolific orator, and one of the Founders of the United States. He was also a lifelong enslaver and plantation owner. He eventually became the first elected governor of Virginia. Henry is shown here in a portrait from Colonial Williamsburg's collection by artist Thomas Sully.

Between 1760 and 1779, Patrick Henry spent much of his time in Williamsburg, the colonial capital of Virginia. It was in Williamsburg that he gained renown. Explore Henry’s life, both personal and political, through eight places in Williamsburg that shaped his life.

Young Patrick Henry was a failure. He failed at running a store. He failed at running a tavern. And so he first came to Williamsburg in 1760 to seek a new career path: as a lawyer.

Having made a name for himself as a lawyer, Henry was elected to the House of Burgesses, the lower house of Virginia’s legislature. Just weeks after he was sworn in, news arrived of the Stamp Act, a tax on paper goods imposed by the British Parliament that infuriated British colonists.

The fifth resolve passed by a single vote. Fearing negative consequences, Henry left Williamsburg that night. With Henry gone, the Burgesses voted the next day to rescind the fifth resolution, striking it from the official record.

Perhaps because he was going bald, Henry was a regular wig wearer, even after they fell out of fashion. But contemporaries commented that his brown wig sometimes looked scruffy, showing “no indication of great care in the dressing.” One recalled that Henry was known to “twirl his wig round his head" when excited.

Unlike many members of his class, Henry admitted that he saw slavery as “inconsistent with the Bible.” Yet he accepted his hypocrisy as the legal owner of dozens of human beings: “I am drawn along by the general inconvenience of living without them, I will not, I cannot justify it."

When the militia that Henry led was reorganized in 1776, he faced an effective demotion. Rather than accept command under a former subordinate, Henry resigned as commander-in-chief of the Virginia militia.

Henry's family moved with him, and his daughter Dorothea was born in the Palace in 1778. They were likely attended by enslaved workers, though records of enslaved peoples’ role in his time in Williamsburg remain elusive.

Colonial Williamsburg’s 20th-century restoration of Virginia’s 18th-century capital returned Patrick Henry to the town. Over the years, many men have portrayed Patrick Henry in the restored colonial city. In the 1957 film Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, Robert Carroll portrayed Henry.

At Colonial Williamsburg, historic interpreters bring 18th-century figures like Patrick Henry to life. For more than 30 years, Richard Schumann has portrayed Henry at Colonial Williamsburg.

Beginning in 2025, Nathaniel Lasley has appeared as Henry in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area.