A Gardeners Forum
Posted By: JV 4th of July: Did you ever wonder - July 4th, 2005 at 12:24 AM
4th of July, food for thought Duh


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. Their13

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.

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 sending

this to as many people as

you can, please. 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 thumbup
Happy fourth
This was E-Mailed to me.
Jimmy
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