This came to me from the Dobbs Co. list via the Grimes surname list. I thought it was interesting and wanted to share with the other list members. Were any of these men from NC? Hunter Ferrell Louisville, KY [email protected] ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 31, 1999 6:52 PM Subject: Fwd: [GRIMES-List] "The rest of the story" > > --part1_21fdd694.24846cc5_boundary > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > In a message dated 5/30/99 2:41:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time, > [email protected] writes: > > << War between the States.... not between the Colonies and England. > The perspective is quite different depending on which side of the > 'pond' one calls home. > > Enjoy, > > Lisa Grimes > For more on the American Revolution on the Internet.... > americanrevolution.org > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >The Fate of the Signatories > > by Gary Hildreth, courtesy of Paul Harvey > > > >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 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 that > >time and we fought our own government! Perhaps you can now see > >why our founding fathers had a hatred for standing armies, and > >allowed through the Second Amendment for everyone to be armed.. >> > > Thought everyone might like to see this.