Who Were These Men?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, while 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 similiar 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 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, but we
shouldn't.
So, take a few minutes while enjoying your holiday, and
silently thank these and other patriots like them. And remember: Freedom
is never free!
[The original of this script was written by and is
broadcast by Paul Harvey by radio every Independence Day.]
__________________________
Submitted by
Andy
Smith
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