Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry

by William Wirt

IT is almost unnecessary to state that the display which Mr. Henry had made in "the parsons' cause," as it was popularly called, placed him, at once, at the head of his profession, in that quarter of the colony in which he practised. He became the theme of every tongue. He had exhibited a degree of eloquence, which the people had never before witnessed; a species of eloquence too, entirely new at the bar, and altogether his own. He had formed it on no living model; for there was none such in the country.

Genres: Biography, American History, History

472 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1857

About the author

American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.

He became a candidate for President in 1832, nominated by the Anti-Masonic party.

Wirt County, West Virginia, is named in his honor.

Reviews

[Eben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lest one forget: Thomas Jefferson shelved William Wirt's biography of his friend Patrick Henry under "Fiction" in his personal library. Likewise, Henry's old comrades decried Wirt's book as an imaginary portrait. It's amusing that Wirt's posthumous reconstruction of Henry's famous "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech is now accepted as gospel by uncritical historians.