THINK OF IT
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.
These men were!
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 of what happened in the
Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight 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,
"WE SHOULDN'T"
So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your 4th of July
holiday and silently thank these patriots.
IS THIS TO MUCH TO ASK?
NO, LOOK AT THE PRICE THEY PAID
