The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Cardinal News has embarked on a project to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role in the march to independence. As part of this, I’m writing monthly columns about the politics of the era, written the same way I’d write them today. The events described here took place in February 1776. You can sign up for our monthly newsletter here:
Patrick Henry is undoubtedly the greatest orator of our age.
In one of his earliest cases, he swayed a Hanover County jury to deliver a ruling that amounted to an intentional insult to the Anglican clergy — back pay of just a single farthing.
Just last year, he thundered those famous lines: “Give me liberty or give me death!” In truth, he may have actually said something else, but this is how the story is being told, so Henry gets the credit whether he said those precise words or not.
No one in Virginia has done more to rally Virginians and embolden them to stand against royal authority. As long ago as 1763, in his closing arguments in the so-called “Parson’s Cause” over how much the Colony owned its ministers, Henry intimated that King George III was a tyrant. In 1765, during the tumult over the Stamp Act, Henry came close to suggesting that the king be assassinated “Caesar had his Brutus; Charles the First his Cromwell; and George the Third … may profit from their example!”
When blows finally came, it was to Henry that Virginia turned to take up arms. He led the force that marched on Williamsburg when the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, seized the gunpowder from the town’s magazine and temporarily spirited it aboard a British vessel, allegedly for “safekeeping.”
More recently, Henry has led the recruiting and organizing of the Virginia militia as the Colonies have careened toward open rebellion against Great Britain. But is Henry truly a military man?
We may not get to find out.
Henry does have his detractors, who often think him too headstrong, too volatile even.
When Dunmore fled the capital of Williamsburg, and Virginia was left without a government, it was natural that the Committee of Safety put Henry in charge. However, that committee also kept a tight rein on Henry because some of the moderate members didn’t always trust his radical instincts.
When Dunmore set up operations in Hampton Roads late last year, the committee could have sent Henry to lead the Virginia military to roust him out. Instead, Henry’s rivals sent William Woodford of Caroline County. That choice can’t be disputed because Woodford’s force, augmented with some troops from North Carolina, won a great victory at Great Bridge that ultimately chased Dunmore out into the harbor.
The subsequent burning of Norfolk has left our great port city in ruins but given Virginians — indeed, all Colonists — a vivid demonstration of the dangers we face.
Over the course of the past month, someone — we don’t know who — has published a series of essays in The Virginia Gazette that make the case for why the time may have come for the Colonies to separate themselves from the king completely.
The anonymous author is signed simply “An American,” but the style and tone match up perfectly with that of Henry, so now we know where he stands, not that it was hard to guess.
Now the time has come to fight — if not for independence, then at least for something.
Henry, though, won’t be among them.
The Continental Congress wants to organize a truly national army. With that goal, the First Virginia Regiment that Henry organized has now been accepted into the Continental Line. However, its commander — Henry — was only offered the rank of colonel.
Insulted, Henry refused to accept what he considered a demotion and will stay home instead.
For some, this resignation — at a moment of crisis — shows exactly why Henry was not suited for the military. Too temperamental. It’s said that General George Washington, who knows Henry better than others, did not think him fit for a high command. Henry has never led troops into battle, not that many have, of course. Washington has made it clear that he will not follow the British custom of awarding officer positions based on social status but will instead award them only on merit.
That has left Henry sulking, although his critics whisper that the new Continental Army might be better off without him. Unfortunately, that’s not the view of many of the men he recruited — and say what you will about Henry, he was a masterful recruiter. Many wanted to quit the army if Henry could not, would not, lead them. To Henry’s credit, he has talked them out of that.
Still, this incident shows the difficulties that we Colonials face in organizing a resistance to the most powerful military on the planet. Aside from the lack of arms and the lack of trained men, we must contend with the pettiness of politics and personalities.
While we may never know whether Henry is overrated or underrated as a military commander, we know his political talents quite well. He had to sit out the Virginia convention that met in December due to his military service — the military must be subordinate to the civilian power — but another convention is set to meet in the spring, with elections in April. We expect Henry to offer himself for political service, and we’d expect him to win, so his powerful voice won’t be stilled for long.
A man of Henry’s talents should not be sidelined, but, as with a mechanical tool, must be used in the proper way to be useful.