Patrick Henry, speaking at the Virginia House of Burgess in Richmond, gave the famous line “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, on this date in 1775.
While a written record of the famous speech does not exist as it was not transcribed, William Wirt published a biography of Patrick Henry in 1819 that included a text of the speech reconstructed from interviews of the men that were present in St. John’s Church that day. As presented in the biography, the speech concluded with -
“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
A full text of can be found here.
Patrick Henry went on to be a colonel in the 1st Virginia Regiment, then served as the governor of Virginia during the American War for Independence.
4th Coy trivia/connection – Patrick Henry’s first cousin was married to a Colonel George Waller. The name “Colonel Waller” should be familiar to any member of 4th Coy, as he lent his name to my personal favorite hotel in Williamsburg. Finding that little tidbit when researching Patrick Henry just gets me a little bit more excited for Under the Redcoat.
