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From: <>
Subject: [NJHUNTER] The 4th
Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2000 20:26:03 EDT

I received this from a friend, just thought I would pass it along.

The real meaning of the 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. 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 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!
>I hope you will show your support by please sending this to as many
>people as you can. It's time we get the word out that patriotism is
>NOT
>a
>sin,
>and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and
>baseball
>games.
>
>

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