A Guide to the Patrick Henry Letters, 1777-1780
A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 20745
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia800 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219-8000
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© 2006 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Trenton Hizer
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Collection is open to research.
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Preferred Citation
Patrick Henry Letters, 1777-1780. Accession 20745. Personal Papers Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Acquisition Information
Loaned for copying by Ellen Bagby, Richmond, Virginia, May 1934.
Alternative Form Available
All letters except 28 May 1778 are published in Official Letters of the Governors of the State of Virginia , vol. I, pp. 117-118, 131-132, 168, 243-245, 303, 350; letters dated 10 March 1777, 29 March 1777, and 19 February 1778 are in William Wirt's Patrick Henry , vol. III, pp. 44, 53, 544; letter dated 1 January 1779 [1780] is in the Papers of Thomas Jefferson , Vol. 3, pp 258-259.
Biographical Information
Patrick Henry was born 29 May 1736 in Hanover County, Virginia, to John and Sara Winston Henry. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Virginia Convention, governor of Virginia 1776-1779, 1784- 1786, and delegate to the Virginia Constitution Ratification Convention, 1788. He was married to Sarah Shelton and Dorothea Dandridge. He died 6 June 1799 at his home on Red Hill Plantation, Charlotte County, Virginia.
Scope and Content
Letters, 1777-1780, of Patrick Henry (1736-1799), Governor of Virginia, to Colonel William Preston (1729-1783) of Montgomery County, Virginia, and to Colonel John Smith (1750-1836) of Frederick County, Virginia, concerning the protection of Virginia's frontiers, including Kentucky; supplies and horses for the Virginia militia; the murder of Shawnee Indians, possibly by tories and concerns of reprisals; and efforts to coordinate frontier defense with the Continental Army. Also includes letter, 1 January 1779 [1780] erroneously attributed to Henry, but written by his successor as governor, Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) to Colonel George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) containing instructions for military plans against the British at Detroit and the Indians in the Northwest Territory. There are two copies of this last letter.
Adjunct Descriptive Data
Location of OriginalsOriginals of letters dated 10 March 1777, 29 March 1777, 28 May 1778, 6 August 1778, and 1 January 1779 [1780] are owned by the Virginia Historical Society. The location of letters dated 3 July 1777 and 19 February 1778 is not known.