I got this from another list, I hope it is not out of line. >THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE > >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 McKean 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 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 this year 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! It's time we get the word out that >patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than picnics, > >and baseball games. >