Subject: Interesting Stories about Independence Day


Interesting Stories about Independence Day, The Price of
Freedom

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.