Independence Day Remembrance

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

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.

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, yet 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.

So take a few minutes while enjoying the 4th of July holiday to appreciate these patriots for the price they paid, because liberty should never be taken for granted….Freedom is never free!

quote:

Originally posted by Lee:
Freedom is never free!

God Bless America.

Lee, thank you for the history lesson.

Bill N.Y.

Thank-you Lee! It is sad that I never learned about this growing up, thanks again for posting it. We should certainly pause to think about these patriots and those that have served and are serving still, enabling us to remain free.

Ditto to Bill NY: GOD Bless America.

HERE is some more information on the fates of the signers.

Good for you, Bill. There's a lot of stuff circulating on the internet. Whenever something hits my in-box that sounds too good, or too bad to be true, I check it with Snopes.com. Usually I get the real facts.

quote:

Originally posted by olroy:
Good for you, Bill. There's a lot of stuff circulating on the internet. Whenever something hits my in-box that sounds too good, or too bad to be true, I check it with Snopes.com. Usually I get the real facts.

Usually, Snopes will confirm or deny the truth of an E Mailing. In this case, it simply edits and clarifies.

The basic truth (and certainly the premise) of the Emailing is intact, and does indeed remind us that freedom is not free.

Having received the piece in my E-mail a few times, I also went to snopes to check it out. The first part of the snopes piece regarding Jefferson and Adams was interesting enough to read a couple of times. They both believed it necessary to embellish reality to make history more interesting or at least more tollerable for future generations.
While disputing much of the factual content of this little piece of "history", snopes shows how these things work and in no way degrades or downplays the courage and fortitude these first Americans displayed, in the face of overwhelming odds, and the fact that today we celibrate our great Nation and our gratitude to them. Happy 4th and God Bless America! [Canada too ]

quote:

They both believed it necessary to embellish reality to make history more interesting or at least more tollerable for future generations.

I think Adams was refering to "Cherry Picking" not lying like things are today.