Independence Day

I received this today as a forwarded email.  I felt it so important to remember, that I wanted to post it here for everyone to read!

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 were tortured cruelly before they were executed.

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. 

Our “patriots” were their enemies.

In British history books, these people were called an “assemblage of notable persons.”  We just think of them as old, dead, white men – some of whom wrongly supported slavery.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and a 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.   I ask you, who among you would do this?

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.

All these are lessons in how life itself and the pursuit of liberty are not always fair.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4^th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots.  It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember:  freedom is never free.  It requires both constant nurture and unlimited opportunity to grow for everyone or it is invalid!

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, fireworks and baseball games.  All things related to pride should be about substance and not silliness.

One other note:  The two remaining signers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826.  They had been allies, and political enemies, but had ended their lives as friends and their letters prove it.  In the end, their pride was replaced by their mutual respect and love. 

This, too, is the American I believe in and miss.  We have never been perfect and we will likely never be perfect because we have yet to learn how to truly love one another and respect our differences without seeking to gleefully attempt to destroy anyone who disagrees with our “personal” beliefs.

Happy July 4^th!  God Bless and help the United States of America and let her come to the fullness to the promise of justice for all AND PREJUDICE TOWARD NONE.