Roundabout Plantation (ca. 1905) by UnknownPatrick Henry's Red Hill
A new chapter
Patrick Henry’s influence extended beyond Hanover County after a move to Louisa County and his newly built home at Roundabout plantation in December 1765.
By Alfred EisenstaedtLIFE Photo Collection
On May 20, 1765, Henry took his seat in Virginia’s House of Burgesses, representing Louisa County. The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act earlier in March, levying taxes on paper products to pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the French and Indian War.
On his 29th birthday, Patrick Henry introduced his Stamp Act Resolves to the House of Burgesses during their meeting in Williamsburg. Henry vehemently opposed the act, holding that American colonists held the same rights as the citizens of Great Britain, including the right to be taxed by their local representatives.
Patrick Henry delivering the Virginia Stamp Act Resolves on May 29, 1765. Henry (in the red coat) is surrounded by members of the House of Burgesses, including Edmund Pendleton, Peyton Randolph, George Wythe, and Speaker of the House John Robinson.
During this opposition, Henry delivered his contested “Caesar-Brutus” speech, in which he compared the tyrannical Julius Caesar of Rome to King George III of Great Britain, implying that King George risked Caesar's fate at the hands of Brutus.
His dynamic words successfully persuaded the burgesses to pass all five resolutions.
Watercolor of Scotch Town (ca. 1820) by UnknownOriginal Source: Preservation Virginia
Life at Scotch Town
Tending to more personal affairs, Patrick Henry bought and moved his family to Scotch Town plantation in Hanover County in 1771. Here, Henry oversaw 30 enslaved people who grew tobacco and wheat.
Tragedy strikes
Before the birth of their sixth child, Sarah Shelton began exhibiting symptoms of a debilitating mental illness. Sarah would die at Scotch Town in 1775, leaving behind six children.
Following the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, Parliament passed the Boston Port Act of 1774 to punish the city of Boston and Massachusetts colonists. It was one of five measures passed, which were referred to as the Intolerable Acts.
The First Virginia Convention convened in August 1774 after Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s royal governor, prohibited a demonstration organized by the Burgesses out of sympathy for Boston, and ultimately disbanded them.
"We must fight!"
In the wake of his wife’s death, Patrick Henry joined the Second Virginia Convention at John’s Church in Richmond on March 23, 1775.
Postcard:Interior of St. John's Church, Richmond , Virginia (1907)The Strong National Museum of Play
Here, delegates argued between peacefully resolving conflicts with Great Britain and preparing for military resistance. In closing, Henry impassioned his fellow delegates with his famous “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech.
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry, 1775.
Paper Cutter (1770/1775) by UnknownPatrick Henry's Red Hill
"He spoke as Homer wrote"
Henry made direct reference both to the final words of the Roman patriot, Cato the Younger and to his suicide by taking an ivory paper cutter and thrusting it towards his chest. This speech swayed the delegates in favor of arming a Virginia militia against Great Britain.
Postcard:The Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775 (ca.1915)The Strong National Museum of Play
The "shot heard 'round the world"
Less than a month after Henry’s speech, the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired on April 19, 1775.
Furious at these displays of insurrection, Lord Dunmore ordered his men to seize barrels of gunpowder from Williamsburg and load them onto the Magdalen in the James River on April 21. As violent sentiments brewed, Colonel Patrick Henry led his Hanover militia company to the city outskirts, demanding repayment of the seized gunpowder and arms. This became known as the Gunpowder Incident.
Delegates met at the Fifth Virginia Convention on May 6, 1776. Nine days later, Virginia declared itself independent of Great Britain, encouraging its delegation in the Continental Congress to do the same. They also adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, a precursor to the Bill of Rights. Henry then participated in drafting Virginia’s resolution urging Congress to declare the colonies independent.
Wartime governor
On June 29, 1776, Patrick Henry was inaugurated as Virginia’s first post-colonial governor while sick with malaria.
Through the 1776 Virginia constitution, the governor could not veto legislation and was required to act with approval by the Governor’s Council, which Henry believed weakened the governor during wartime, deeming it unwise. He was displeased with being so removed from the true power of the government, the House of Delegates, and instead posed as a figurehead. Nevertheless, he was elected for a second term as Virginia’s governor on July 2, 1777.
Caster Set (ca. 1733) by Thomas RushPatrick Henry's Red Hill
A second chance
Henry's social influence and support throughout the Commonwealth were strengthened after his marriage to his second wife, Dorothea Spotswood Dandridge, on October 9, 1777. Henry put Scotch Town up for sale at this time.
Dorothea came from a prominent and old Virginia family. She was the daughter of Nathaniel West Dandridge and Dorothea Spotswood, and her grandfather, Alexander Spotswood, had served as Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of the Colony of Virginia. She became the inaugural first lady and resided at the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg.
By Alfred EisenstaedtLIFE Photo Collection
Ten months after their marriage, Dorothea gave birth to her and Henry’s first child, Dorothea Spotswood Henry, named in honor of her grandmother. This was the first and only non-royal child born inside the Governor’s Palace.
Feeding the troops
While George Washington and his men were encamped at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777–78, Patrick Henry used his power to send aid in the form of livestock and food.
Henry was unanimously elected on May 29, 1778, for his third and final term.
Written and designed by Kelsey Limpert and Cody Youngblood
