Note 50 — Chapter II · Origin of the Term Lynch-law

William Wirt: “Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry” (1818), p. 372. Mr. Matthews, in his article in the Nation, Dec. 4, 1902 (75: 439), remarks that it is uncertain whether the note was written by Roane or Wirt. In William Wirt Henry’s “Life of Patrick Henry,” Vol. II, p. 482, the “MS. Letter of Judge Roane to Mr. Wirt” is given, but the note is not included. The note was undoubtedly written by Wirt.