Posted by Kent on July 04, 2000 at 07:11:12:
> 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 of
> his 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 us a lot about what really happened in the
> Revolutionary War.
> We didn't fight just the British.
> We were British subjects at that time, so we fought our own government!
> Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.
> So, please take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and
> silently thank these patriots. It's not too much to ask for the price
they
> paid. Remember: 'freedom is never free!'
> I hope you will show your support by sending this to 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 a lot more to it than picnics, fireworks and
> baseball games.