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,
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 the 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. It's not much to ask for
the price they paid......
The
author to who put this information together is unknown.
