Don't Take Your Freedom for Granted....
As this story tells us...you will find it very interesting.
Men of Conscience and Principles
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.
In the face of the advancing British Army, the Continental
Congress fled from Philadelphia to Baltimore on December 12,
1776. It was an especially anxious time for John Hancock, the
President, as his wife had just given birth to a baby girl. Due
to the complications stemming from the trip to Baltimore, the
child lived only a few months.
William Ellery's signing at the risk of his fortune proved only
too realistic. In December 1776, during three days of British
occupation of Newport, Rhode Island, Ellery's house was burned,
and all his property destroyed.
Richard Stockton, a New Jersey State Supreme Court Justice, had
rushed back to his estate near Princeton after signing the
Declaration of Independence to find that his wife and children
were living like refugees with friends. They had been betrayed
by a Tory sympathizer who also revealed Stockton's own
whereabouts. British troops pulled him from his bed one night,
beat him and threw him in jail where he almost starved to
death. When he was finally released, he went home to find his
estate had been looted, his possessions burned, and his horses
stolen. Judge Stockton had been so badly treated in prison that
his health was ruined and he died before the war's end. His
surviving family had to live the remainder of their lives off
charity.
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. It's not
much to ask for the price they paid..............
