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 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 God for these patriots. It's
not much to ask for the
price they paid. Remember: freedom is never free!
I hope you will show your support by recommending this to as many people as
you can. It's time we get the word out that
patriotism is NOT a sin, and the
Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics,
and baseball games.
Author unknown
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men
who signed the
Declaration of Independence?
