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 sons captured.
Nine, of the fifty-six signers, 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.
All were 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 Brampton, 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 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,"
What would YOU do today if they tried to take away guns from the people or continue to abort babies? Or if the Federal Government ordered you to go to an unjust war occupation like Iraq? What would YOU do today Gen-X/Y? (Millennial Generation).
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!
Today, some of us take these liberties so much for granted... We shouldn't as we are letting our own government take them away while our borders are open and we waste $1B/a week in a needless occupation of Iraq.
So, take a couple of minutes, while enjoying your 4th of July holiday, and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask, for the price they paid.