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Just sharing, Donna

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, 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 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 picnic or party on the 4th of July this year and silently
thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

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