Patrick Henry (1736-1799)

by Thomas Sully, 1851, after a miniature from life.

Accession number: 1851.1

Henry was as complete a master of Virginia politics as Samuel Adams was of Massachusetts politics. Both were early advocates of independence. When independence came, Henry became the Commonwealth of Virginia's first governor. One of his most important acts was sending George Rogers Clark to expel the British from the Illinois country, then part of a Virginia county. Clark's success ensured that the Midwest became part of the United States rather than part of British Canada.

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