page_title: Patrick Henry
section_title: Gunpowder incident
hierarchical_section_title: Patrick Henry / Revolutionary lawyer and politician (1760–1775) / Gunpowder incident
caption_attribution_description: English: Broadside discussing role of Patrick Henry and his followers as insurgents to British rule in Virginia. The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbpe:@field(DOCID+@lit(rbpe17801500))
context_page_description: Patrick Henry was an American attorney, planter, politician, and orator best known for his declaration to the Second Virginia Convention: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786.
  Henry was born in Hanover County, Virginia, and was for the most part educated at home. After an unsuccessful venture running a store, and assisting his father-in-law at Hanover Tavern, Henry became a lawyer through self-study. Beginning his practice in 1760, he soon became prominent through his victory in the Parson's Cause against the Anglican clergy. Henry was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he quickly became notable for his inflammatory rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765.
  In 1774 and 1775, Henry served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, but did not prove particularly influential.
context_section_description: On April 21, 1775, Governor Dunmore had the Royal Marines under his command seize gunpowder from the magazine in Williamsburg and take it to a naval ship. The gunpowder belonged to the government, to be issued in case of need, such as a slave uprising. Dunmore's actions outraged many Virginians. Henry had departed for Philadelphia, having been elected a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, but a messenger caught up with him before he left Hanover County, and he returned to take command of the local militia. Seeking the restoration of the powder, or that the colonists be compensated for it, on May 2, Henry led his troops towards Williamsburg with, as Dunmore wrote, "all the Appearances of actual War". By this time, word of the Battles of Lexington and Concord had arrived, and many Virginians believed that war with Britain had begun. With his troops reinforced by eager volunteers from nearby counties, Henry likely had force enough to take Williamsburg and deal Dunmore a humiliating defeat, but increasingly prominent messengers urging caution slowed his advance, and in New Kent County, still some 16 miles (26 km) from Williamsburg, three of Henry's fellow delegates to Congress helped persuade him to leave off his march. As Henry insisted the colonists be compensated, a member of the Governor's Council agreed to pay the value of the powder by bill of exchange.
  Although Dunmore issued a proclamation against "a certain Patrick Henry, of the County of Hanover, and a Number of his deluded Followers", 15 county committees quickly approved Henry's action, and when he finally departed for Philadelphia, he was escorted to the Potomac by militia who lined the shore, cheering, as his ferry pulled away. Not all approved; Henry's march appalled some moderates, who feared he might provoke a conflict in which Virginia stood alone against Britain's might. They also saw him as a threat to the sanctity of property, for anyone's might be taken by Henry and his troops. As popular support for independence grew, opponents either joined in the movement, or decided it was wiser to remain silent.
  Henry belatedly arrived at the Congress on May 18, 1775. Jefferson later stated that Henry played only a supporting role, and though there is not a complete record, the fact that he was not written of as having an impact appears to confirm that. The Congress appointed Washington as head of American forces, an appointment that Henry supported. At the end of the session, in August, Henry left Philadelphia for Virginia and would never again hold office outside its borders.
  While Henry was returning, the Third Virginia Convention in August commissioned him as colonel of the 1st Virginia Regiment, and he took up the appointment later that month. Although Henry had little military experience, this was not considered a major drawback at the time, and he was held to have distinguished himself in the march on Williamsburg. General Washington, though, felt that the convention had "made a Capital mistake when they took Henry out of the Senate to place him in the Field". In September, Virginia's Committee of Safety placed Henry in charge of all Virginia's forces. Despite the high title, Henry was placed under tight civilian control, and to an extent the willingness of moderates to go along with the appointment reflected a view that in that position, the volatile Henry would be contained.
  Henry moved to organize his regiment, and had no difficulty recruiting men. As commander, he organized a navy. In November 1775, Dunmore, who though he had abandoned Williamsburg still held Norfolk, issued a proclamation offering freedom to any black slave or indentured servant willing and able to serve in his forces, which already included several hundred former slaves. Henry wrote to all county lieutenants, stating that the proclamation "is fatal to the publick Safety" and urging an "unremitting Attention to the Government of the SLAVES may, I hope, counteract this dangerous Attempt. Constant, and well directed Patrols, seem indispensably necessary."
  Henry saw no action hims
caption: Royal proclamation against Henry, 1775
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