New York; war was inevitable; Virginia must be protected. Rather
ingeniously he argued that a well-armed Virginia militia would
eliminate the need for a standing army of British regulars in the
colonies. "A well regulated Militia, composed of gentlemen and yeoman
is the only Security of a free Government." To Bland, Robert Carter
Nicholas, and Edmund Pendleton it was too soon for an armed militia.
Such an action would be a direct affront to the king. More to the
point, they were concerned that the colony was yet too unprepared to
meet the full force of British arms which would certainly be brought
down upon Virginia for such an act of rebellion. Time was necessary to
prepare for this warlike act.

Henry would hear none of it. On March 23 in perhaps his greatest
speech, he swept up the reluctant delegates with his fervent cry:

Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace,--but there is no peace. The war is
actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring
to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in
the field! Why stand we here idle? Is life so dear, or peace so
sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery: Forbid
it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for
me, Give me Liberty or Give me Death.[31]

[31] As with Henry's other great speeches no correct text
remains. There seems little doubt that the exact words in the
speech were lost and that as time went on, they were improved.
But the debate over the exact text should not obscure the basic
fact that Henry's oratory stirred men's hearts with phrases in a
manner no other Virginian, perhaps no other American, has ever
done.

Backed by Jefferson, Thomas Nelson, Jr., and Richard Henry Lee, who were
determined that Virginia should not be as timid as the Continental
Congress had been, Henry carried the day by a close vote. A committee of
12 was elected and included Henry, Lee, Washington, Andrew Lewis of
Botetourt and Adam Stephens of Berkeley, fresh from victories over the
Indians in Dunmore's War just a few weeks earlier, William Christian of
Fincastle and Isaac Zane of Frederick, both experienced Indian fighters,
Jefferson, Nicholas, Benjamin Harrison, Pendleton, and Lemuel Riddick of
Nansemond.

The committee was a consensus of all opinions. It was a mark of the
Virginia legislatures, both the burgesses and the conventions, th