Every American History student learns about Patrick Henry’s famous Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death speech at the Second Virginia Revolutionary Convention
meeting at St. John’s Church, Richmond, Virginia, on March 23, 1775. But did you know that 250 years later, you can visit the church or hear the famous speech during a reenactment?
On a recent trip to Virginia’s capital, I visited the lovely church and took the tour headed by a period-dressed guide.
I learned that the church’s footprint has expanded, but the guide shows guests the original church dimensions and explains what was happening at this time in history.
As tensions grew between the colonies and Great Britain in the 1770s, Virginia held a series of meetings to organize its protests against the mother country. In March of 1775, the Second Virginia Convention, held at the church, included Patrick Henry, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Peyton Randolph, and other prominent Virginians who came to hear arguments about what to do with Great Britain’s oppression.
Before our tour, several period-dressed men waited outside the church to present a reenactment to a group of schoolchildren.
What a powerful lesson for the children.
As we waited our turn for the church tour, we wandered through the graveyard surrounding the church.
As the first public cemetery in Richmond, dating to 1741, many of the graves are those of early settlers to the colony of Virginia and the first citizens of a new country. Many were born in England, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Spain.
Several Virginia governors, Elizabeth Poe, the mother of Edgar Allan Poe, and George Wythe, signer of the Declaration of Independence, are also buried here. Heroes of the American Revolution and the War of 1812 rest here, as do many children and infants.
When our tour began, our guide painted a vivid picture of what it was like during the meeting, who attended, and Henry’s powerful speech.
After he explained every element of this history lesson, I took a few minutes to photograph the stained glass in the extended part of the church.
Tours occur on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday after services, and Monday. There is a large and well-stocked gift shop where tour tickets are purchased.
For more information, click here. For more information about visiting Richmond, click here.
