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Author Topic: Ever wonder what happened to the signers of the declaration of independence?  (Read 452 times)

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Offline Flyin6

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Remember: freedom is never free!
 Our 4th Of July:

 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.

 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!  We thank these early patriots, as well as those patriots now fighting to KEEP our freedom!
Site owner    Isaiah 6:8, Psalm 91 
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Offline cudakidd53

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Great post - never knew this!
2012 Silverado LTZ - Duramax
Christian since 1975 - Field Trial Brittanys - NRA Lifetime Member

"When you're dead, you don't know you're dead. Hence, dealing with this fact is not difficult. It is only hard for those still living around you.....It's the same when you're stupid."

Offline Flyin6

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Freedom has never been free!

To those who take advantage of what others have paid for dearly, and struggled for, and suffered to provide

And have no feelings of indebtedness...

To them is a shallow life, without meaning or significance. They will not stand tall with us, ever! They are the mindless sheep.
Site owner    Isaiah 6:8, Psalm 91 
NSDQ      Author of the books: Distant Thunder and Thoren

 

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