A Son Of Thunder Patrick Henry – Henry Mayer (1)

When Henry rode off to Scotchtown on March 27, he could count the convention as a great success. His legislative and rhetorical skills had achieved in Richmond what he could not obtain at Philadelphia: the commitment to armed resistance that the most ardent Whigs now believed indispensable. “You never heard anything more infamously insolent than P. Henry’s speech,” a Tory merchant in Norfolk reported to his superior in Glasgow. “He could not have been more completely scurrilous if he had been possessed of John Wilkes’s vocabulary,” the merchant added in an unintended compliment that any Whig would cherish.

Buoyant with success and spoiling for a fight, Henry carried the banner of “Liberty or Death” back into Hanover. “This creature is so infatuated,” the Tory merchant heard, “that he goes about praying and preaching amongst the common people.” Henry anticipated the advice then en route to Virginia’s Whigs from Samuel Adams in Boston.

“This is not a Time for us to relax our Measures,” Adams said. “Let us like prudent Generals improve upon our Success and push for perfect political freedom.” 1kitap1.com/en “A Man of Desperate Circumstances” In mid-April express riders galloped through the greening upland counties with startling news from Williamsburg. A detachment of royal marines, under orders from Lord Dunmore to proceed in the dark of the night, had stealthily removed a large quantity of gunpowder from the public magazine.

An alarmed and angry crowd, beating drums and bearing arms, confronted the governor later in the morning on Friday, April 21. He would talk only with the mayor and the Speaker, and only after they persuaded the independent company to stand at a distance during the colloquy. His Lordship suavely explained that, having had private information about a brewing slave uprising, he thought it prudent, as a trustee of the public safety, to remove the powder to a safe location.

Should the citizens desire it returned on some other occasion of need, it might be accomplished in half an hour’s time.

Copyright © 1991 by Henry Mayer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, or the facilitation thereof, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the pubclisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

First published in 1986 by Franklin Watts, New York and Toronto This Grove Press edition is published by special arrangement with the University Press of Virginia from their 1991 edition. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mayer, Henry, 1941– A son of thunder : Patrick Henry and the American Republic / Henry Mayer.

p. cm. Originally published : New York : Franklin Watts, 1986. eBook ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-9809-9 1. Henry, Patrick, 1736–1799. 2. Virginia—Politics and government —1775–1783. 3. United States—Politics and government—1775–1783. 4. United States—Politics and government—1783–1789. 5. Legislators —United States—Biography. 6. United States. Continental Congress— Biography. I. Title. E302.6.H5 M35 2001 973.3′092—dc21 [B] 00-066344 Grove Press an imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc. 841 Broadway New York, NY 10003 Distributed by Publishers Group West www.groveatlantic.com For Betsy and For Eleanor and Tommy 1kitap1.com/en CONTENTS Preface Prologue “The Great Adversary” PART ONE / 1736–1766 Chapter One Backcountry Gentry Chapter Two The Dilapidated Colonel’s Son Chapter Three “Bold License” Chapter Four “Ancient Rights and Privileges” Chapter Five “Young, Hot, and Giddy” PART TWO / 1766–1773 Chapter Six “We Are All in Parties” Chapter Seven “Hunting Out Good Land” Chapter Eight “Virtual Obedience” Chapter Nine “The New Boanerges” PART THREE / 1774–1776 Chapter Ten “Hurrying to an Alarming Crisis” Chapter Eleven “The Present Measures Lead to War” Chapter Twelve “The Busy Voice of Preparation” Chapter Thirteen “A Man of Desperate Circumstances” Chapter Fourteen “From the Senate to the Field” Chapter Fifteen “I Own Myself a Democrat” PART FOUR / 1776–1789 Chapter Sixteen “A Thousand Things to Mend, to Begin” Chapter Seventeen “To Do Good and Prevent Mischief” Chapter Eighteen “Great Divisions Are Likes to Happen” Chapter Nineteen “I Speak the Language of Thousands” Chapter Twenty “Overpowered in a Good Cause” Chapter Twenty-One “Playing the After Game” Epilogue “My Secluded Corner” Notes Acknowledgments Index A SON OF THUNDER 1kitap1.com/en PREFACE We don’t really know much about him.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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