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Sacrifice
Independence Day
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 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-rousin 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!
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