WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? [courtesy of Paul =
Harvey]
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, Rutledge, 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 talk 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 these patriots. It’s not much to =
ask for the price they paid. Remember: Freedom is never =
free!
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] www.grif.net =
"Jesus Knows Me, This I =
Love!"