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Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
: Declaration of Independence?
:
: Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured
: before
: they died.
:
: Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons
: serving in
: the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
:
: Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the
: Revolutionary War.
:
: They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their
: sacred
: honor. What kind of men were they?
:
: Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were
: farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But
: they
: signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the
: penalty
: would be death if they were captured.
:
: Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships
: swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and
: properties to
: pay his debts, and died in rags.
:
: Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move
: his
: family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and
: his
: family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and
: poverty
: was his reward.
:
: Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer,
: Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
:
: At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British
: General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.
: He
: quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was
: destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
:
: Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed
: his
: wife, and she died within a few months.
:
: John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their
13
:
: children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid
: to
: waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning
: home
: to
: find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he
died
:
: from
: exhaustion and a broken heart.
:
: Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories
and
:
: sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed,
: rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and
: education.
: They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall,
: straight,
: and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration,
: with
: firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually
: pledge
: to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
:
: They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books
: never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We
: didn't
: fight just the British.
:
: We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
:
: Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.
: So,
: take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently
: thank
: these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
: Remember:
: freedom is never free! >>
: