Authors: Harlow Giles Unger
Lion of Liberty (43 page)
Most of Patrick Henry's seventy-seven grandchildren simply blended into the rest of the American population, assuming the same range of skills and occupations as their countrymen as doctors, lawyers, teachers, ministers, legislators, judges, farmers, craftsmen, salesmen, and so forth. Quite a few served in the Confederate Army in the Civil War. One grandson became a U.S. Senator. A secondâattorney William Wirt Henry, the younger John Henry's sonâbecame a leader in the Virginia House of Delegates and a renowned historian. His remarkable effort to collect his grandfather's papers produced an epic, three-volume work published in 1891:
Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, William Wirt Henry also wrote a critically acclaimed book on the trials of Aaron Burr and Jefferson Davis, and he became president of the American Historical Association and of the Virginia Historical Society.
Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches.
A graduate of the University of Virginia, William Wirt Henry also wrote a critically acclaimed book on the trials of Aaron Burr and Jefferson Davis, and he became president of the American Historical Association and of the Virginia Historical Society.
Patrick Henry bequeathed Red Hill to his wife, Dorothea, for the duration of her life, along with twenty slaves. He owned at least six plantations when he died, totaling more than 26,000 acres: his Red Hill plantation (2,920 acres) in Charlotte County; two farms in Campbell County (1,000 acres and 2,500 acres); the 1,400-acre Seven Islands plantation in Halifax County; his 10,000-acre Leatherwood plantation; and 8,500 acres in North Carolina. He also owned 8,000 acres in the Dismal Swamp, south of Norfolk. In 1794, he transferred 1,000 acres each to his sons by his first wifeâall of them adults by then, of course, and, because John the older had died, Henry gave the land to John's son. As for his children by his second wife, Dorothea, Henry gave Dorothea the right to divide each of three properties in Campbell and Charlotte counties and his North Carolina lands as she determined between the six boys: Patrick, Fayette, Alexander, Nathaniel, Edward and John. Henry left each of his daughters from both marriages amounts varying from £500 to £2,000, along with some slaves.
“This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family,” he wrote at the end of his will. “The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.”
1
1
Notes
Introduction1
Bernard Mayo,
Myths and Men: Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson
(Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1959), 1.
Bernard Mayo,
Myths and Men: Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson
(Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1959), 1.
2
Merrill Jensen, John P. Kaminski, Gaspare Saladino, Richard Leffler, and Charles H. Schoenleber, eds.,
The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution
, (Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1976-[in progress], 22 vols. to date), IX:951-968 [Hereafter, DHRC].
Merrill Jensen, John P. Kaminski, Gaspare Saladino, Richard Leffler, and Charles H. Schoenleber, eds.,
The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution
, (Madison, WI: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1976-[in progress], 22 vols. to date), IX:951-968 [Hereafter, DHRC].
4
George Mason to Martin Cockburn, May 26, 1773, George Morgan,
The True Patrick Henry
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1907), 140.
Chapter 1. Tongue-tied . . .George Mason to Martin Cockburn, May 26, 1773, George Morgan,
The True Patrick Henry
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1907), 140.
1
William Wirt Henry,
Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891, 3 vols.), I:3.
William Wirt Henry,
Patrick Henry: Life, Correspondence and Speeches
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1891, 3 vols.), I:3.
2
Moses Coit Tyler,
Patrick Henry
(Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 2nd ed., 1898), 5, citing William Wirt,
Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry
(Philadelphia: 1818).
Moses Coit Tyler,
Patrick Henry
(Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 2nd ed., 1898), 5, citing William Wirt,
Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry
(Philadelphia: 1818).
4
Henry, I:10.
Henry, I:10.
5
Ibid., I:8-9.
Ibid., I:8-9.
6
Ibid., I:10, citing Nathaniel Pope.
Ibid., I:10, citing Nathaniel Pope.
7
Judge Spencer Roane's memorandum, Appendix B, in George Morgan,
The True Patrick Henry
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1907), 435-454.
Judge Spencer Roane's memorandum, Appendix B, in George Morgan,
The True Patrick Henry
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1907), 435-454.
9
Henry, I:17.
Henry, I:17.
10
Ibid., I:18-19.
Ibid., I:18-19.
11
William Iverton Winston to Nathaniel Pope Jr., in Robert Douthat Meade,
Patrick Henry: Patriot in the Making
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1957), 91.
William Iverton Winston to Nathaniel Pope Jr., in Robert Douthat Meade,
Patrick Henry: Patriot in the Making
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1957), 91.
12
Pretty Polly
, old Appalachian Mountain ballad, derived from a number of similar eighteenth-century English ballads. Carl Sandburg,
The American Songbag
(New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1927), 60-61.
Pretty Polly
, old Appalachian Mountain ballad, derived from a number of similar eighteenth-century English ballads. Carl Sandburg,
The American Songbag
(New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1927), 60-61.
13
Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) was, successively, a British member of parliament, speaker of the House of Commons, British attorney general, and chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Apart from his many important legal decisions, he gained renown for his epochal history of British law and court decisions relating thereto (
Reports
-1600-1615) and his four in-depth analyses of British laws entitled
Institutes of the Lawes of England, or, A Commentarie upon Littleton
(1628-1644). Littleton was Sir Thomas Littleton (1422-1481). Also spelled Lyttleton and Luttelton, Littleton was an English jurist and legal author who produced the earliest compilation of English land laws, which became a basic element of British legal education for more than three centuries. (
Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary
[Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1995].)
Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) was, successively, a British member of parliament, speaker of the House of Commons, British attorney general, and chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Apart from his many important legal decisions, he gained renown for his epochal history of British law and court decisions relating thereto (
Reports
-1600-1615) and his four in-depth analyses of British laws entitled
Institutes of the Lawes of England, or, A Commentarie upon Littleton
(1628-1644). Littleton was Sir Thomas Littleton (1422-1481). Also spelled Lyttleton and Luttelton, Littleton was an English jurist and legal author who produced the earliest compilation of English land laws, which became a basic element of British legal education for more than three centuries. (
Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary
[Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1995].)
14
The wildly popular eighteenth-century concept of “natural rights” sprang from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's
Le Contrat Social
(1762), which begins, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”
The wildly popular eighteenth-century concept of “natural rights” sprang from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's
Le Contrat Social
(1762), which begins, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”
15
William Wirt,
The Life of Patrick Henry
(New York: Derby & Jackson, 1860), 35-36, citing Judge (later Virginia Governor) John Tyler, who assured him that Henry himself had related the anecdote.
Chapter 2. Tongue UntiedWilliam Wirt,
The Life of Patrick Henry
(New York: Derby & Jackson, 1860), 35-36, citing Judge (later Virginia Governor) John Tyler, who assured him that Henry himself had related the anecdote.
1
Manuscript of Colonel Samuel Meredith memorandum made for William Wirt, in Henry I:57.
Manuscript of Colonel Samuel Meredith memorandum made for William Wirt, in Henry I:57.
2
Maury letter of December 12, 1763, in Ann Maury,
Memories of a Huguenot Family
(New York, 1872), 419-420.
Maury letter of December 12, 1763, in Ann Maury,
Memories of a Huguenot Family
(New York, 1872), 419-420.
3
Wirt, 43.
Wirt, 43.
4
Ibid., 41.
Ibid., 41.
5
Henry, I:39.
Henry, I:39.
6
Wirt, 23-27.
Wirt, 23-27.
7
Henry, I:39-40.
Henry, I:39-40.
8
Ibid., I:40.
Chapter 3. The Flame Is SpreadIbid., I:40.
2
Ibid., I:48.
Ibid., I:48.
3
Tyler to Wirt, Henry, I:47.
Tyler to Wirt, Henry, I:47.
4
Morgan, 433.
Morgan, 433.
5
Harlow Giles Unger,
John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000), 78.
Harlow Giles Unger,
John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000), 78.
6
Robert Douthat Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot in the Making
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1957), 155, citing G. E. Howard,
Preliminaries of the American Revolution
, 138.
Robert Douthat Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot in the Making
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1957), 155, citing G. E. Howard,
Preliminaries of the American Revolution
, 138.
7
Beeman, 33, citing Jack P. Greene, “Foundations of Political Power in the Virginia House of Burgesses,”
William and Mary Quarterly
, ser. 3, X (1959), 485-506.
Beeman, 33, citing Jack P. Greene, “Foundations of Political Power in the Virginia House of Burgesses,”
William and Mary Quarterly
, ser. 3, X (1959), 485-506.
8
Randolph, 167-168.
Randolph, 167-168.
9
Henry I:76-77, citing Paul Leicester Ford,
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson
(New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892-1899, 10 vols.), IX, 339, 465-466, and
Journal of House of Burgesses
, 1761-1765 (Richmond, VA: Colonial Press), 350-351 [hereafter, JHB].
Henry I:76-77, citing Paul Leicester Ford,
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson
(New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892-1899, 10 vols.), IX, 339, 465-466, and
Journal of House of Burgesses
, 1761-1765 (Richmond, VA: Colonial Press), 350-351 [hereafter, JHB].
10
Henry, I:77.
Henry, I:77.
11
Ibid., I:78.
Ibid., I:78.
12
Randolph, 178.
Randolph, 178.
13
From Patrick Henry's notes, in Henry, I:80-81.
From Patrick Henry's notes, in Henry, I:80-81.
14
Ibid.
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
Ibid.
16
Ibid., I:86. Edmund Randolph recalled the speech differently, saying Henry actually retreated at the end of his attack. Here is how Randolph recalled this part of the speech: “âCaesar,' cried he, âhad his Brutus; Charles the first his Cromwell, and George the third . . . ' âTreason, sir,' exclaimed the Speaker, to which Henry instantly replied, âand George the third, may he never have either.'” (Randolph, 169). But another burgess who heard Henry's speech rebuts Randolph: “If Henry did speak any apologetic words, they were doubtless uttered almost tongue in cheek to give him some legal protection” (Randolph, 169 38n-170n).
Ibid., I:86. Edmund Randolph recalled the speech differently, saying Henry actually retreated at the end of his attack. Here is how Randolph recalled this part of the speech: “âCaesar,' cried he, âhad his Brutus; Charles the first his Cromwell, and George the third . . . ' âTreason, sir,' exclaimed the Speaker, to which Henry instantly replied, âand George the third, may he never have either.'” (Randolph, 169). But another burgess who heard Henry's speech rebuts Randolph: “If Henry did speak any apologetic words, they were doubtless uttered almost tongue in cheek to give him some legal protection” (Randolph, 169 38n-170n).
17
From Henry manuscript, in Tyler, 85.
From Henry manuscript, in Tyler, 85.
18
Henry I:87.
Henry I:87.
19
Randolph, 168-169.
Randolph, 168-169.
20
Reverend William Robinson to the Bishop of London, August 12, 1765, Tyler, 87.
Reverend William Robinson to the Bishop of London, August 12, 1765, Tyler, 87.
21
Tyler, 85.
Tyler, 85.
24
Tyler, 82.
Tyler, 82.
25
Henry, II:305-309.
Henry, II:305-309.
26
Henry Lawrence Gipson,
The Coming of the Revolution, 1763-1775
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), 100.
Henry Lawrence Gipson,
The Coming of the Revolution, 1763-1775
(New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), 100.
28
Henry, I:100.
Chapter 4. We Are Slaves!Henry, I:100.
2
George Washington to Francis Dandridge, September 20, 1765, W. W. Abbott and Dorothy Twohig, eds.,
The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 1748-August 1755
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983-1995, 10 vols.), 7:395-396.
George Washington to Francis Dandridge, September 20, 1765, W. W. Abbott and Dorothy Twohig, eds.,
The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, 1748-August 1755
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983-1995, 10 vols.), 7:395-396.
4
From the original Henry manuscript, quoted in Henry, I:116.
From the original Henry manuscript, quoted in Henry, I:116.
5
George Washington to Robert Morris, April 12, 1786, W. W. Abbott, ed.,
The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992-1997, 6 vols.), 4:15-17.
George Washington to Robert Morris, April 12, 1786, W. W. Abbott, ed.,
The Papers of George Washington, Confederation Series
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992-1997, 6 vols.), 4:15-17.
7
Ibid.
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
Ibid.
9
Henry, I:117-118, citing Robert B. Semple's “History of Baptists in Virginia.”
Henry, I:117-118, citing Robert B. Semple's “History of Baptists in Virginia.”
10
Ibid., I:119, citing Spencer Roane.
Ibid., I:119, citing Spencer Roane.
11
Ibid., I:125-127.
Ibid., I:125-127.
12
Morgan, 116, citing Nathaniel Pope, Henry's intimate.
Morgan, 116, citing Nathaniel Pope, Henry's intimate.
13
Henry, I:123-124.
Henry, I:123-124.
16
George Washington to Bryan Fairfax, July 20, 1774, PGW Colonial, 10:128- 131.
George Washington to Bryan Fairfax, July 20, 1774, PGW Colonial, 10:128- 131.
17
For the complete text of Dickinson's
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
, see Paul Leicester Ford, ed.,
The Writings of John Dickinson
(1895), 307-406.
For the complete text of Dickinson's
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
, see Paul Leicester Ford, ed.,
The Writings of John Dickinson
(1895), 307-406.
20
William Nelson, York, to John Norton, London, November 14, 1768, in Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot . . .
, 266.
William Nelson, York, to John Norton, London, November 14, 1768, in Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot . . .
, 266.
22
Thomas Jefferson in conversation with Daniel Webster, 1824, ibid., IX:327- 328
Thomas Jefferson in conversation with Daniel Webster, 1824, ibid., IX:327- 328
24
Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds.,
The Diaries of George Washington
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976-1979, 6 vols.), 3:xiii-xiv.
Chapter 5. To Recover Our Just RightsDonald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds.,
The Diaries of George Washington
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976-1979, 6 vols.), 3:xiii-xiv.
1
Virginia Gazette
, March 8, 1770, reprinted from the
London Public Ledger
. See also
Letters of Junius
(Boston, 1827).
Virginia Gazette
, March 8, 1770, reprinted from the
London Public Ledger
. See also
Letters of Junius
(Boston, 1827).
3
Charles F. Adams, ed.,
The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author
(Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1850-1856, 10 vols.), I:349-350.
Charles F. Adams, ed.,
The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: With a Life of the Author
(Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1850-1856, 10 vols.), I:349-350.
4
Ibid., II:229-230.
Ibid., II:229-230.
6
Morgan, 245-246.
Morgan, 245-246.
7
Ibid., 242.
Ibid., 242.
8
Ibid.
Ibid.
9
Dr. Thomas Hinde, as reported, written, and published by his son in 1843, in Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot ...
, 281.
Dr. Thomas Hinde, as reported, written, and published by his son in 1843, in Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot ...
, 281.
10
Nelly C. Preston,
Paths of Glory
(pamphlet, Richmond, VA, 1961), 101-103, cited in Robert Douthat Meade,
Patrick Henry: Practical Revolutionary
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1969), 15-16.
Nelly C. Preston,
Paths of Glory
(pamphlet, Richmond, VA, 1961), 101-103, cited in Robert Douthat Meade,
Patrick Henry: Practical Revolutionary
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1969), 15-16.
11
Henry, I:151.
Henry, I:151.
12
William and Mary Quarterly
, ser. 2, 1921, 107-109, cited in Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot . . .
, 297-298.
William and Mary Quarterly
, ser. 2, 1921, 107-109, cited in Meade,
Patrick Henry, Patriot . . .
, 297-298.
13
Boston Town Records, 93, cited in William M. Fowler, Jr.,
The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John Hancock
(Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Company, 1980), 148.
Boston Town Records, 93, cited in William M. Fowler, Jr.,
The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John Hancock
(Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Company, 1980), 148.
14
Boston Town Records, 95-108, in Fowler, 149.
Boston Town Records, 95-108, in Fowler, 149.
17
Henry I:160-161.
Henry I:160-161.
18
Tryon to Lord Dartmouth, January 3, 1774, in Unger,
John Hancock
, 172. A British colonial administrator of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, where he crushed the Regulators' revolt of 1771, Tryon was governor of New York from 1771 to 1778.
Tryon to Lord Dartmouth, January 3, 1774, in Unger,
John Hancock
, 172. A British colonial administrator of North Carolina from 1765 to 1771, where he crushed the Regulators' revolt of 1771, Tryon was governor of New York from 1771 to 1778.
19
Edmund Burke,
First Speech on the Conciliation with America and American Taxation
before Parliament, April 19, 1774, as cited in John Bartlett, Justin Kaplan, eds.,
Familiar Quotations
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 16th ed., 1992)
,
331.
Edmund Burke,
First Speech on the Conciliation with America and American Taxation
before Parliament, April 19, 1774, as cited in John Bartlett, Justin Kaplan, eds.,
Familiar Quotations
(Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 16th ed., 1992)
,
331.
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