Independence Day
This is pretty profound...
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 of what happened in the
Revolutionary War. We
didn't
just fight 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...We
shouldn't.
So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your
4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's a small thing
to do for the price
they
paid.
This is pretty profound...
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 of what happened in the
Revolutionary War. We
didn't
just fight 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...We
shouldn't.
So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your
4th of July holiday and
silently thank these patriots. It's a small thing
to do for the price
they
paid.
