Reenacting the American Revolution in Florida
by Ben Gunter
Theater with a Mission (TWAM) is commemorating America 250 by reenacting events that changed 13 British colonies into the United States of America – events which also confirmed British Florida as unchangingly loyal to King George. One of these events took place on March 23, 1775, when Patrick Henry delivered a speech that concluded with the famous phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death.”
TWAM is putting Patrick Henry’s speech onstage. We have cast, rehearsed, and costumed 10 actors to play people who lived in Florida during the American Revolution. These historic Floridians read the speech out loud, responding to Patrick Henry’s rhetoric as they read. In the process, we’re finding surprising connections to Florida, then and now.
The speech makes it clear that 250 years ago, Americans were just as divided about their government as Floridians are today. The Convention that Patrick Henry addressed contained representatives who deeply and fundamentally disagreed with his proposal that Virginia approve the formation of militias and prepare to deploy them against British troops. Since TWAM’s research is turning up dramatic evidence of feuds that split Florida families into Patriots who followed George Washington into battle deeply and fundamentally disagreeing with Loyalists who marched with King George’s troops, we find it instructive to study and stage “Give me liberty, or give me death.”
We particularly admire how Patrick Henry proposes to deal with deep disagreements. The third sentence of the speech argues, “This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.” During the 250th anniversary of the USA declaring independence, TWAM considers it a patriotic duty to stage a speech which calls for a free, public, and principled exchange of ideas about how to fulfill our responsibilities to God and country.
We are also finding passages that shed light on Florida’s pivotal, and underappreciated, role in the American Revolution. In the middle of the speech, Patrick Henry urges his audience to think hard about “the warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.” He asks, “Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world,
to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?” TWAM’s characters from Florida answer, “No. France was defeated in the French and Indian War, and Spain was pushed across the Mississippi into Louisiana.” Patrick Henry drives his point home with, “These troops are meant for us!”
This reference to British troops and Spanish involvement in the Revolution provides a thumbnail history of the nation-making difference that Florida made in the War for American Independence. From British St. Augustine, troops marched north to reconquer Georgia and South Carolina for the Crown – troops that contained Native Floridian warriors, East Florida Rangers from Native, Black, Minorcan, and White backgrounds, as well as British army regulars. In British Pensacola, Bernardo de Gálvez’s dynamic combination of diplomacy and military strategy wrested West Florida from the Crown, distracted the British from supporting Cornwallis in Virginia, and turned the tide of the War.
One other connection to Florida delights us about this speech. It was William Wirt, a man whose whole family moved to Florida in the 1830s, who reconstructed Patrick Henry’s speech for posterity. Evidently listeners were so caught up in the moment that no one took notes when the speech was first delivered – including Patrick Henry. Eyewitness Thomas Marshall reported that the speech was “one of the boldest, vehement, and animated pieces of eloquence that had ever been delivered,” but no one had a transcript. Forty years later, when William Wirt began work on Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (published in 1817), this Florida founder collected reminiscences of the speech from many eye-witnesses and then, as a famous orator himself, filled in the gaps.
The history of this historic speech reminds us that much of what we know about our roots is reconstruction and encourages TWAM to keep reconstructing through reenacting. You can take part in this process of rediscovery and reconnection. Visit TheaterwithaMission.com to join our research team and find out how to bring Patrick Henry to your community. Long live liberty!
