Patrick Henry ( May 29 , 1736 - June 6 , 1799 ) served as the first post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 . Patrick Henry ( May 29 , 1736 -- June 6 , 1799 ) was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s . A Founding Father , he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently , from 1784 to 1786 .