"[William] Wirt recorded the conclusion of Henry’s 1765 speech in the Virginia House of Burgesses denouncing the Stamp Act. “It was in the midst of this magnificent debate,” Wirt wrote, “while he was descanting on the tyranny of the obnoxious act, that he exclaimed, in a voice of thunder, and with the look of a god, ‘Cæsar had his Brutus – Charles the first, his Cromwell — and George the third — (‘Treason,’ cried the speaker—’treason, treason,’ echoed from every part of the house. It was one of those trying moments which is decisive of character. Henry faultered not for an instant; but rising to a loftier attitude, and fixing on the speaker an eye of the most determined fire, he finished his sentence with the firmest emphasis) may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.”"
"To make the importance of the moment clear, a gauntlet lies on the floor in the right foreground, symbolizing Henry’s challenge to British tyranny."
