Author UNK

REMEMBERING INDEPENDENCE DAY

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!

The Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics,
baseball games, and fireworks.

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