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 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, Gwinett, 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 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 and straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of the 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 told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just 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, but we shouldn't. So take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: Freedom is never free! I hope you show your support by sharing this with 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 more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.
~Author Unknown~
Contributed by: Harry Updegraff, Jr.
COMMENTS:
GDAEman said...I'd like to think the founder's motives were noble and pure, but I suspect the Revolutionary War was another fight among the elite (white men on this side of the Atlantic wresting control from the same on the other side of the Atlantic).
A 4th of July reading from Howard Zinn's "A people's History of the United States" tells a different story.
Labels: Price of Freedom
posted by Gadfly @ 7/01/2008 09:43:00 PM
...and our 'latter-day patriots' pose for photo-ops aboard mighty military machines, never having placed themselves in harm's way.
To such depths we have sunk.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 4:16:00 AM
Rocks were their pillows when they gave it all up so we could eat shitty burnt hot dogs and get so drunk we can't stand for the playing of the anthem when the band goes by on Main Street...(:
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 5:08:00 AM
Not enough people know what the founding fathers went through. Heck (wow, it's really hard for me to say words like heck), ask the average joe on the street and they won't even know what the 4th is all about.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 8:55:00 PM
Hi, Kvatch! It's good to hear from our multicolored frog. Your new blog is doing great, last time I checked. Greetings to the Frogette. Come back again, soo. You are missed. You are soooo right about our photo-op "patriots" today.
Yes, Dan'l, so damned true. Too many of us citizens won't even take the time and trouble to email our reps to raise hell for them to represent the will of the people instead of the lobbying big businesses and special interest groups.
Beltway: Read on:
When the downstairs "whittlers and tobacco spitters" were ganged up planning their barbecue and (sneaky) beer bash, I asked them what the 4th was all about. A couple said, "holiday", "celebrate". One said, "independence day". I asked "independence from what?" Blank looks, then one said questioningly, "from England?" And another said, "Oh yeah!" and started singing, "In 1814 we took a little trip, down with colonel jackson on the mighty mississip, we took a little bacon and we took a little beans and we fought the bloody british in a town called new orleans...."
Right church but the wrong pew.
And these were not jr high kids! These were grandparents ages. Sheesh!!
To most people it means parades, barbecue, beer bashes or beaching it.
Thursday, July 03, 2008 4:31:00 AM
Or a backyard bbq which is what we have in mind.
Nevertheless, I do know that old Johnny H. was singing about the War of 1812.
Happy 4th everyone.
Thursday, July 03, 2008 7:54:00 AM