GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME...A TREE.In 1990 my friend Rick Grouse grouse, common name for a game bird of the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 18 species. Grouse are henlike terrestrial birds, protectively plumaged in shades of red, brown, and gray. , who is senior vice president for marketing at AMERICAN FORESTS American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization that promotes healthy forests and urban tree planting. The organization was established in 1875 as the American Forestry Association, by physician/horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens introduced me to a magnificent tree. The osage-orange, planted in the early 1800s at Red Hill, Patrick Henry's Virginia home, was at that time one of the two largest of its species in the U.S. What a grand tree it is! Huge and rambling, it's well known throughout the region and well-remembered by those who see it. Rick shipped cuttings to my Florida nursery, and it was very satisfying when they rooted and grew tall. The story behind that tree--and behind Patrick Henry's life at Red Hill--is fascinating, and the osage-orange has become one of my favorites. In the 1700s the Winston family of Virginia was known for having the gift of oratory. After Braddock's terrible defeat during the French and Indian War French and Indian War North American phase of a war between France and Britain to control colonial territory (1754–63). The war's more complex European phase was the Seven Years' War. , his soldiers were hungry, ragged, and freezing. They were ready to desert and run until William Winston, a young lieutenant, addressed them with stirring words about liberty and patriotism. Said one eyewitness, "So forceful was his speech that the recruits were now anxious to meet the dangers which shortly before had almost produced a mutiny." Billy Winston's oratorical or·a·tor·i·cal adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of an orator or oratory. or  a·tor gift was shared by his nephew Patrick Henry, That was fortunate, for young Patrick had little formal education and was not a great reader. He was, from all accounts, a champion at fishing (just like my buddy Rick), able to sit beneath a shady tree for hours awaiting a bite. He was also quite a prankster. Neither skill helped him make a living; Patrick failed at two businesses and started spending his wife's dowry dowry (dou`rē), the property that a woman brings to her husband at the time of the marriage. The dowry apparently originated in the giving of a marriage gift by the family of the bridegroom to the bride and the bestowal of money upon the bride by . When the children began coming, Patrick realized he needed a profession and fast. He had long admired preachers and lawyers for their oratorical skills and had studied for the bar himself. (The examiners let him pass but told him to keep studying.) Once in the courtroom, though, his natural wit and speaking gifts made him a great success. Like his Uncle Billy, Patrick Henry had strong convictions and the gift of a stirring voice. It's easy to forget that the American Revolution American Revolution, 1775–83, struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States. It is also called the American War of Independence. was not a foregone conclusion. Virtually all the colonists involved in government were of English descent, and many considered unfair English decisions like the Stamp Act Stamp Act, 1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other irritating policies that could be borne and would eventually be reversed by England's Parliament. The idea of totally breaking from their friends and family back in Britain--in fact, waging war on them--seemed impossible. The idea of raising an army from backwoods colonists seemed laughable. Patrick Henry was a delegate to the second Continental Congress when these issues came to a head. At the meeting in St. John's Church St. John's Church may refer to: In Armenia:
But Patrick Henry's response would change the course of history. "There is no longer any room for hope," he said. "If we wish to he free, we must fight!--I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms ! a summons to war or battle. See also: Arms and to the God of Hosts, this is all that is left us. ... 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!" Henry's motion passed by five votes. Those favoring revolution submitted a plan the next morning. (In fact, Thomas Jefferson had written it well in advance.) It was adopted and the Continental Army formed. Patrick Henry went on to have a distinguished career that included five terms as Virginia's governor. As he grew older, Patrick's priorities shifted. To say he was a family man would be an understatement. He had two wives (the first died), 14 children, and 60 grandchildren. He also began buying land, hoping to leave each son a "country seat." As he neared 60, he bought Red Hill plantation and moved the family there. The land itself was lush and remarkable, but the house was small and Henry still had teenaged daughters and six very young sons at home. Visitors used to find Patrick with "little ones young children. See also: Little climbing all over him in every direction, or dancing around him with obstreperous ob·strep·er·ous adj. 1. Noisily and stubbornly defiant. 2. Aggressively boisterous. [From Latin obstreperus, noisy, from obstrepere, mirth, to the tune of his violin, while the only contest seemed to be who should make the most noise," a grandson noted. And he reveled in nature. Many mentions are made of him playing his violin under the broad trees in front of Red Hill. After his death at the age of 63, it's entirely fitting that Lewis and Clark gave an osage-orange tree to one of Patrick's daughters, who immediately planted it at Red Hill. The trees were unknown in the East until Lewis and Clark sent them back from their journey. If you're ever in the vicinity of Red Hill, stop in and see this remarkable tree. If you know anyone blessed with the gift of oratory, an offspring of this tree might make a fitting tribute to him or her, as well. Jeff Meyer Jeffrey A. Meyer is an Associate Professor of Law at Quinnipiac University School of Law in Hamden, CT. Jeffrey Meyer began teaching at Quinnipiac Law School as an Associate Professor of Law in January 2006, following many years of legal practice experience. , Director, AMERICAN FORESTS' Famous & Historic Trees project |
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