The Price of Freedom
July 4th is the day that the United States celebrates Independence Day.
But
what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured and tortured by the British before they died.
They
were considered traitors. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army while
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.
They were men of means and well educated.
They signed the Declaration of Independence with the full knowledge
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 harassed 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 his reward was poverty.
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 British jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.
John Hart was forced to leave his wife's bedside as she was dying.
Their 13 children fled for their lives.
His fields and his gristmill were destroyed. 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.
These are only a few of the sacrifices of the American Revolution.
These were not wild,
deranged, trouble makers.
They were soft-spoken men of means and education.
They had security, but they valued liberty more.
Standing tall, straight, and proud 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 us a free and independent America.
The history books don't tell the complete accounts of what happened during the
Revolutionary War. They didn't simply fight the British.
At the time, they were British subjects and fought their own government!
Many of us take our freedom for granted...
We shouldn't.
Take a couple of minutes while enjoying the 4th of July
holiday and say a prayer of thanks to these patriots.
Their lives paid for the freedoms that we enjoy today............
"Freedom isn't Free"
--Major Kelly Strong--
