[Editor's note: The following is a two part oral presentation performed by Dr. Sisson portraying Statesman Patrick Henry (1736-1799) delivering current updates to his contemporaries. These presentations are based on historical facts and writings of Patrick Henry, best known for his speech "Give me liberty, or give me death."]

Patrick Henry Speaks of Liberty and the Common Cause
(1765-1775)

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now the end of March, 1775. I am recently arrived from Richmond and have been asked to convey to you an account of some events of the past months. In the month of last June, I received a message from Speaker Peyton Randolph that we, the Virginia Burgesses, having been dissolved by "His Excellency," Lord Dunmore, the previous May, were to meet in Williamsburg in August to consider actions against Great Britain. Mr. Randolph's letter concluded that things seem to be hurrying to an alarming crisis and demand the speedy, united councils of all those who have a regard for the common cause. I repeat it, ladies and gentlemen ---THE COMMON CAUSE! It is no simple task to which we have pledged ourselves. For the last decade, we have struggled with the ministry and Parliament. But to what length shall we go to preserve a union with tyranny? As our friend, Colonel George Washington, has said, "No one should scruple or hesitate a moment to use arms in the defense of liberty." I repeat it---LIBERTY! What one word better defines our common cause?

My thoughts were upon those things as Colonel Washington, Ed Pendleton, and I journeyed together to Philadelphia. We were chosen in Williamsburg as Virginia's delegates, along with Peyton Randolph, Ritt Lee, Dick Bland, and Colonel Ben Harrison, to the Continental Congress held the first Monday of September last. We had a memorable first evening in Philadelphia at Smith's New Tavern with a delightful supper and many toasts and introductions to numerous gentlemen, many of whose names I cannot remember. I gained new friends there. I have particular admiration for the Boston cousins, John and Sam Adams. My Quaker friend, Robert Pleasants, with whom I have had much dealing, was very kind to send along letters introducing me to many prominent Philadelphia Quakers, whose hospitality I was very fortunate to enjoy.

Our first evening was spent in the home of Mr. Lee's brother-in-law, over much discussion. The following morning, after gathering at the Tavern, we made our way to the newly built Carpenters' Company Hall, where a Mr. Lynch of South Carolina proposed that we sit in the east room and then promptly nominated Mr. Randolph as President and a Mr. Charles Thomson of Philadelphia as Secretary of Congress, with much applause. We produced our commissions and spent the day discussing which sort of vote each colony should enjoy, an apparently sensitive topic amongst our brethren of the smaller Eastern colonies. The following morning, I made haste to remind the Congress that proportional representation is most fit for keeping democracy pure. After all, our treatment by Great Britain has reduced us to a state of nature. The distinctions, which once divided us, are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American. There are those who disagree. Perhaps I spoke prematurely, as I am often prone to do. In any event, it was agreed that each colony would have one vote, if for no other reason than that of unity.

At about the middle of that day, a messenger with news of a British attack upon Boston interrupted us. After an hour or two, we gathered ourselves, reassembled, and formed committees to state our grievances and to examine the possibility of trade restrictions. The following morning, after having heard a reading of the Psalms by a Reverend Duché and fervent prayers for Boston and indeed, all of America, we retired to committee work. Although the cannonade report proved untrue, we learned that General Gage had, in fact, confiscated ammunition near Boston.

Progress was exceedingly slow in Congress, but by the end of September we agreed upon both non-exportation and non-importation. Ritt Lee ruffled not a few feathers when he suggested that, since those Intolerable Acts were held to be for our defense, perhaps we could relieve Parliament of that expense by preparing our own militia. I joined him in reminding the Congress of our present state of nature. Ladies and Gentlemen, all government is dissolved, as is evidenced by the continued presence of His Majesty's fleets and armies, and a call to arms is in order as the present measures lead to war! There was much debate upon those things. My patience at times wore thin, but John Adams was quick to remind us of the importance of unanimity, so when asked to draft a petition to the King, I dutifully complied. As expected, it was rejected as "too harsh" and rewritten by Mr. John Dickinson.

Finally, by the end of October, we signed our Association, agreed to reconvene the following May, if necessary, and said our farewells. Afterwards, Mr. Adams produced a letter from a Mr. Joseph Hawley of Massachusetts, which I shall not soon forget. In it, Mr. Hawley proclaimed that it is now or never that we must assert our liberty. AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I AM OF THAT MAN'S MIND! As I have heard, it has been said by Dr. Ben Franklin, "Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you!"

Having left our proxies with Colonel Washington and Mr. Lee, the others and I returned to Virginia. In November, my brother-in-law, Will Christian, returned with the glorious news of triumph over the Shawnee savages, and we went about the business of gathering our Hanover county militia. By now, most of our Virginia brethren have formed militias and committees of safety. In January, I received an encouraging letter from Mr. Silas Deane in Connecticut that the eastern militias have also attained respectable footing. Mr. Deane predicts that America will and must be the most independent country on the globe, and "I" believe that the inevitable hostilities will not be borne by us alone. WHERE IS FRANCE? ------WHERE IS SPAIN? ------WHERE IS HOLLAND? -------. Will Louis the 16th be asleep all this while? Ladies and Gentlemen, believe me, HE WILL NOT!

A number of you are aware of the recent loss of my wife, Sallie. Your prayers and thoughts during her prolonged illness were greatly appreciated. Her death left me a distraught old man for a time, but when I received word from the Old Speaker that we were to meet to elect delegates to the next Congress and for other purposes of public security, I gathered myself and made my way, along with my brother, John Syme, to Richmond, a location we discretely chose to avoid Dunmore and his Tory friends.

We had three days of discussion concerning the work of the previous Congress, but on this bitter cold last Thursday, the 23rd of March, I felt the time was right! With our militia laws expired and our Governor's remissness in calling together the Burgesses, I proposed that our Colony be put immediately into a posture of defense and that we form militia. Ritt Lee seconded the motion, and as expected, Mr. Pendleton, Mr. Bland, and Colonel Harrison repeated their arguments, well rehearsed in Philadelphia. As requested, I shall now share with you my deeply felt response to those arguments------.

Soldier and Statesman
(1775-1777)

Ladies and Gentlemen, when last we met it was the end of March, 1775, and I had recently spoken those words to my fellow Virginia Burgesses. It is now 1777. I am in my second term as Governor of Virginia, and in such a capacity it is my honor to share with you some events of the two years past.

In the month of April, 1775, "His Excellency," Lord Dunmore, ordered gunpowder removed from the magazine in Williamsburg, claiming fears of a slave uprising and promising a later return of the powder. Having been informed from the north of General Gage's attempt to seize ammunition at Lexington and Concord, near Boston, the Governor's promise was greatly suspect.

Early that May, having been elected Commander of the militias gathered at Hanover County, I reminded them all of the fields of Lexington and Concord, still red with the blood of our countrymen and that we must now choose for ourselves and our children whether or not to live free. We began to march upon Williamsburg, and I sent a dispatch to demand payment for the gunpowder, with orders to take prisoners should we be refused. Dunmore sent word that unless our march was halted, he would arm the Indians and Negroes and reduce Williamsburg to ashes, but we continued and were met by Thomas Nelson, Senior, and Carter Braxton with a bill of exchange for the powder, which I accepted and gave receipt. We returned home to much cheering and applause.

I then began my journey to Philadelphia, where I took my seat in the State House, Congress having been in session for one week. Upon my arrival, I learned of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by a few of our New England brethren, drawing not a drop of blood. By the end of May, we had agreed upon the need to raise forces in the defense of our country. In June, we adopted measures to raise and support 15,000 troops, and we appointed General Washington as Commander-in-Chief. I served on the committee charged with securing and preserving the friendship of the Indian Nations, as Great Britain would certainly attempt their arousal against us. Doctor Ben Franklin, James Wilson, and I were to head the delegation for the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontiers. By the end of June, we learned that our forces had withstood two British advances before giving ground at a place called Bunker's Hill, or Breed's Hill, near Boston, prompting John Adams to state that "powder and artillery are the most efficacious, sure, and infallible conciliatory measures that we can adopt."

News arrived from Virginia that Dunmore had convened the assembly, but another conflict arose concerning arms in the magazine. Some companies of militia, including my brother-in-law, Sam Meredith, and others from Hanover County, marched upon the Capitol, forcing Dunmore to flee.

When a new convention met in Richmond in July, I sent word of my desire for a command in the Virginia forces, and upon my arrival in August I learned of my election as Colonel of the 1st Regiment of regulars and Commander-in-Chief of all Virginia forces to be armed.

Dunmore appeared to be directing raids from vessels near Norfolk. Much to my surprise, the Committee of Safety bypassed my command and gave the assignment to Will Woodward, commanding the 2nd Regiment. Fortunately, Woodward's, and Colonel Howe's North Carolina troops, repulsed the British charges, but the Committee had made it all too clear that my days in the field were numbered. That October, we were saddened by news from Philadelphia of the death of our worthy and patriotic Speaker, Peyton Randolph.

In February of last year, Congress took six Virginia regiments into the Continental Army. I was offered a commission as Colonel of the 1st Regiment but felt it more prudent at that time to resign. At a farewell dinner at Raleigh Tavern, I thanked my officers for their spirit, alacrity, and zeal, and was presented the following address:

To Patrick Henry, Junior, Esquire:

Deeply impressed with a greatful sense of the obligations we lie under to you for the polite, humane and tender treatment manifested to us throughout the whole of your conduct, while we have had the honor of being under your command, permit us to offer to you our sincere thanks, as the only tribute we have in our power to pay to your real merits.

Notwithstanding your withdrawing yourself from service fills us with the most poignant sorrow, as it at once deprives us of our father and general, yet as gentlemen, we are compelled to applaud your spirited resentment to the most glaring indignity. May your merit shine as conspicuous to the world in general as it hath done to us, and may Heaven shower its choicest blessings upon you.

My brother-in-law, Will Christian, and I spent the remains of the evening persuading the troops to continue in service, as my resignation had ignited among them apparent discontent and an unwillingness to serve another commander.

Following a few weeks' respite at home, I was once again called into the service of my country, representing Hanover County at the Virginia Convention gathering in early May. I received a message from Ritt Lee in Philadelphia, urging me to fully exert myself "to secure the peace and happiness of our country by the adoption of a wise and free government." With Ed Pendleton presiding, a week of necessary actions was attended before Thomas Nelson, Junior introduced my proposed resolution for independency. After much debate, an amended resolution, not quite so pointed as I had wished, was unanimously approved as follows:

THEREFORE, appealing to the Searcher of Hearts for the sincerety of former declarations, expressing our desire to preserve the connexion with that nation, and that we are driven from that inclination by their wicked councils, and the eternal laws of self preservation;

RESOLVED, unanimously, that the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress, be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent states, absolved from all allegiance to, or dependence upon, the crown or parliament of Great Britain; and that they give the assent of this colony to such declaration, and to whatever measures may be thought proper and necessary by the Congress for forming foreign alliances, and a confederation of the colonies, at such time, and in the manner, as to them shall seem best: Provided, that the power of forming government for, and the regulations of, the internal concerns of each colony, be left to the respective colonial legislatures.

As our Resolution made its way to Philadelphia for the consideration of Congress, we began work on a Declaration of Rights to serve as the basis and foundation of our new government. In early June, Ritt Lee moved our Resolution in Congress and returned to Williamsburg, where by the end of June, our Declaration of Rights was approved and our new Virginia Constitution unanimously adopted. Ladies and Gentlemen, the government of this country, as formerly experienced under the crown of Great Britain, is totally dissolved!

On the 29th of June, I was elected first Governor of the new State of Virginia and pledged my unwearied endeavors to secure the freedom and happiness of our common country. I fell ill and took the oath of office from my sick bed on the 5th day of July, one day after our Congress declared our independence, and I received the following congratulatory message from the 1st and 2nd Virginia Regiments:

Permit us, with the sincerest sentiments of respect and joy, to congratulate your Excellency upon your unsolicited promotion to the highest honours a grateful people can bestow. Uninfluenced by private ambition, regardless of sordid interest, you have uniformly pursued the general good of your country; and have taught the world, that an ingenuous love of the rights of mankind, an inflexible resolution, and a steady perserverance in the practice of every private and publick virtue, lead directly to preferment, and give the best title to the honours of an uncorrupted and vigorous state.

Still recovering at home, I met in August with young George Rogers Clark of Kentucky. Concerned with defending his lands, Clark desired ammunition, which he and his fellow frontiersmen would use against Indians unfriendly to the cause, so I sent him to Williamsburg with a letter requesting gunpowder.

In September, I returned to Williamsburg, where from morning to night I had not a minute from business---a thousand things to mend and to begin. I again became ill and was home for three weeks, returning to find that Dick Bland had died and that General Washington was on the retreat from New York---more great losses for the Common Cause! The British were marching upon Philadelphia, so we dispatched more cavalry and ammunition.

Early this January, we heard of General Washington's crossing of the River Delaware and the taking of Trenton in New Jersey. We continue to work feverishly to send him troops and supplies, but we are met with much deficiency and delay. What will you do, fellow patriots? As I spoke two years ago, I repeat it-----------------

It is in vain 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!

Dr. Gary N. Sisson completed his undergraduate work at West Texas State University and University of Houston. He received his Doctor of Optometry in 1982 from University of Houston, College of Optometry and served as officer in the Medical Service Corps of United States Navy from 1982-1985, then ran a private practice from 1985-1999 in Snyder, Texas and Dallas, Texas. Dr. Sisson now serves our Nation as a Veterans' Affairs optometrist and is a member of the TXSSAR where he has faithfully served the Dallas Chapter as Registrar, Treasurer, Secretary, 2nd and 1st Vice-President, and President. Dr. Sisson is also a member of the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation. He lives with his wife, Debbie, and has two children and two grandchildren.