Posted on 07/04/2008 10:16:25 PM PDT by Chong
The 4TH OF JULY
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. 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!
We still have men of this caliber in America. Unfortunately, many of the men and women we raise up to lead us nowadays are of a low character who think only of themselves and not the nation.
I’m watching “1776” right now as I do every 4th of July.
Could you be referring to “For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country” type people?
Very apropos. I love that show. I've also seen a few live performances of it.
What is 1776—documentary or movie, movie? I watched a documentary series early this morning on the Military Channel about the Revolutionary War. It was pretty good.
This is a movie. It’s a musical also. Very well done. For anyone who does not fully understand what happened in Philadelphia, this is a great history lesson.
I just asked my 6 yr old what the Fourth of July celebrates.
I gave him several choices. His first guess was fireworks.
His second guess was the Decoration of Indepellets.
I think I have some work to do.
Thanks for your reply—I’ll have to check out that movie if I run across it. I saw the John Adams mini-series on HBO several weeks back and really loved it.
Don’t choo be talking about barrack INSANE oSama oBama’s of this kountry, dang diddley?
michelle, michelle......
This sucks. I miss the good old days when posts were displayed instantly and replied to...
Are you having trouble seeing your responses? I was having the same thing happen a few weeks back—delayed time—and had to contact the admin moderator to have it fixed.
Walmart had a bunch of patriotic themed movies for the 4th. This was one of them so you could probably still find it there. It is definitely worth the 10 bucks at Walmart. I bought my DVD from Amazon a number of years ago and paid a lot more than that for it.
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