I received this from another list and thought some you would enjoy this . . . > 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 about 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 will show your support by please sending this to 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. >