Subject: Patriots
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!
I
hope you will show your support by please sending this too as many
People
as you can. It’s time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and
the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.
