Have you ever wondered what happened to the
fifty-six 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 fifty-six 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 sort 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 full
knowing that the penalty would be death were they
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 thirteen 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.
These are the stories and sacrifices of the
American Revolution. These were not wild eyed,
rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken
men: men of means and education. They had
security, yet they valued liberty more.
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 us, you and me, a free and independent
America. History books never told us much of what
took place in the Revolutionary War. We didn't
just fight the British. We were British subjects
at that time, and we fought our own government.
Many of us often take these liberties for granted.
Should we?
While
enjoying our 4th of July holiday, pause and
silently thank these patriots.
It
isn't that much to ask for the price they paid.
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