Got this from another list..........thought it was worth sharing .........the cost of Freedom was high!!! Remember them on this July 4th!!!! ----- Original Message ----- From: Sandra Long <slong@bwn.net> To: <PATTERSON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, July 03, 1999 8:12 PM Subject: [PATTERSON-L] Declaration > Sandra J.Newberry Long > > 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 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.............. > > >