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Patrick Henry holds a special place in my heart for various reasons, but I am not sure how many people who are not from Virginia have even heard of him.  Those of us who were lucky enough to be raised in this beautiful state memorized his great, “Give me Liberty, or give me Death!” speech in grade school.  Or maybe that was just my school.  Patrick Henry gave that speech at St. John’s Church in Richmond.  The church is still there, and they do re-enactments all summer.  Doing a little research for this post, I discovered something I never knew, that his speech to the Virginia Convention that day, March 20, 1775, arguing in favor of Virginia drawing up militia troops and preparing to defend itself against the British, was never actually transcribed.  The speech was re-created years later based on the memories of other men who were there to hear it.  In THAT case, I think I should have gotten a bit more leniency in my grade when I flubbed a line in the middle because you can’t prove to me he didn’t say, “Is life so dear, or peace so neat…”   With that caveat, I present to you the last part of the inspiring and timeless speech he (probably) gave that day.  Yes, it was said specifically for the British colonies in the Americas years ago, but it could be said for any civilization at any time; Liberty is always worth fighting for.

