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 Continental 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!
It's time we get the word out that patriotism is not a
sin. The Fourth of July is about much more than beer, picnics, and baseball games.