F ive 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 h is 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!
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 i s NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer picnics, and baseball games.
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 i s NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer picnics, and baseball games.
"IN GOD WE TRUST"
8 comments:
what would you expect from a tyrannical government. Don't make the mistake of getting in this governments way or they will rob you of your property and possessions and even your life at the point of a gun! Nothing has changed. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss!
the cost of freedom is not 'priceless'. but, that was a time when 'men were men'.
We have all been fooled again ..so it appears. REP DEM no longer makes a diff
It still happens today - everyday. Stand up for what you believe in and you will be without a job. Then you will lose your home....go along to get along
To Arms, To Arms
The Socialists are coming.... oops Are Here
God Bless these men, who risked EVERYTHING for freedom.
Now, the Gestapo searches us without warrant, monitors everything we saw, watches and records everywhere we go, uses armed agents at Nazi "checkpoints" (and all we do is roll the window down and "comply", or risk getting shot. They shoot ANYONE they want to, including children and women.
Reporters are jailed because judges don't want their bribery schemes exposed. Our "leaders" pass laws without even knowing what they say. They pass laws such as the Patriot Act and thumb their nose at the Constitution.
Radioactive devices are used to roam U.S. neighborhoods, looking at, and inside, your home. FBI and other police use devices to secretly listen in on ALL phone conversations, AMERICAN CITIZENS are SECRETLY charged, arrested, tried, and convicted in VERY secret courts and then imprisoned in SECRET PRISONS.
Property is taken by force from citizens (by armed government agents) and given to rich people and corporations so they can make more profit.
The list is much much longer than that, but I ask ---
What do you think Jefferson would say??? How about the men who lost their lives, wives, children and all their wealth to codify the rights that, today, we surrender so willingly and cheerfully that it's a wonder Jefferson hasn't jumped out of his grave and started shooting.
What do you think THOSE men would say to any of that?
HINT: There would be NO cheering. Crying, perhaps. And CERTAINLY another revolution. And a whole lot of "representatives" hanging from trees.
Most of you are sorry examples of American freedom. You shortsighted lemmings. You brainless sheep. You wanna-be Nazi's. You collaborators with
totalitarianism. Your time will come.
Until then, KEEP CHEERING!!!
"So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."
Imclain, and anyone else who may be interested, when they tossed God out of this country's schools for example, and there are many other examples as well, when one rejects God, you can't expect Him to save your ass just because. Even though He wishes all would return to Him and share love, He IS a father who knows how to discipline His children. As well as unending love, He does have that wrath thing too. Not to mention He is also a jealous God. We all have free choice, and there are consequences and rewards for whichever choice we make.
There is no doubt things have gotten worse, not only in this country but in the world. I expect them to get much worse before they get any better. We are being judged by those choices we have made and with the measures we have judged others by. As it is written, so shall it be.
John 15:2
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
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