In March 1775, delegates gathered at St John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, for the Second Virginia Convention where Patrick Henry delivered a speech that would become a defining moment in American history. On March 23, Henry urged the assembly to establish and arm a militia to defend the colony against British rule, famously declaring, “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Henry, a Hanover lawyer and elected official, spoke with urgency and passion, emphasizing that negotiations with Great Britain had reached a dead end and that Virginians must be prepared to fight to secure their freedom. His resolution to form a “well-regulated militia” narrowly passed at the convention and gained stronger support later that year after clashes between British troops and colonial militias at Lexington and Concord ignited the Revolutionary War.

The speech proved pivotal in rallying Virginia—a powerful and populous colony—to join the revolutionary cause alongside Massachusetts and others in opposing British governance. It helped transform the rebellion from a regional dispute centered in New England into a united colonial movement for independence.

St John’s Church, still an active place of worship, now serves as a historic site commemorating the American Revolution. The site draws about 35,000 visitors annually, many of whom witness reenactments of Henry’s speech held roughly 100 times each year. Stephen Wilson, executive director of the St John’s Church Foundation, highlighted the speech’s impact in swaying hesitant delegates toward support for revolution, noting that without Henry’s intervention, the uprising might have remained localized.

“Henry realized that some delegates were loyalists unlikely to change their minds,” Wilson said. “It took a dramatic moment—a dramatic speech—to persuade enough of those in the middle to support revolution.”

Henry’s call underscored the belief that liberty was worth fighting and dying for. He would go on to serve five terms as Virginia’s governor and fathered 17 children. Thomas Jefferson later remarked that Henry was uniquely aware of the precarious moment facing the colonies and possessed the courage to acknowledge it.

St John’s Church was the largest church in Virginia outside Williamsburg at the time and often functioned as a civic meeting space. The grounds include the grave of George Wythe, Virginia’s first signer of the Declaration of Independence. Today, the site remains an important historical landmark and cultural draw, contributing to the local tourism industry as visitors come to connect with a seminal moment in the nation’s founding.