|
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 leave 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 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 of
what happened in the
Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight 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. We shouldn't.
So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying
your day and silently
thank these patriots. It's not much to ask
for the price they paid.
|
