Henry County was named in 1798 for Patrick Henry, born 1736 and died 1799, a patriot and orator remembered for the words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1765, in the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, and as Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and from 1784 to 1786. He opposed Virginia’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788 without a Bill of Rights, which was later added, and he declined appointments as U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, Chief Justice, and Minister to France.