At St. John's Church in Richmond, Patrick Henry addressed delegates debating whether to arm Virginia's militia against British rule. His closing appeal, ending in the famous ultimatum, helped tip the convention toward preparing for war just weeks before Lexington and Concord.
The Virginia Convention had convened in secret at St. John's Church because Williamsburg was too exposed to Royal authority. Delegates were split between cautious reconciliation with Britain and open defiance. Patrick Henry, a lawyer known for his oratory, rose to argue that petitions and pleas had failed and that war was already upon them in all but name.
No verbatim transcript survives; the speech was reconstructed decades later by biographer William Wirt from the recollections of elderly witnesses. Yet the core sentiment, ending with "give me liberty, or give me death," became etched into American memory as a founding expression of revolutionary resolve.
Thomas Jefferson and other delegates who heard it reportedly sat in stunned silence before erupting into calls for resolutions of defense. The convention voted to begin arming Virginia's militia, a decisive step that placed the colony firmly on the path to revolution just weeks before shots rang out at Lexington and Concord.