Reflections of History: A Message for the Fourth of July
Reprinted from the TSRA Sportsman (May/June 2000)
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 before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War, and another had two sons captured. Nine fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war.
They signed and pledged their lives, fortunes and honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-two were lawyers and jurists, eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; they were men of means and well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton, 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 forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay and he kept his family in hiding. His possessions were taken and his reward was poverty.
Vandals and solders looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge and Middleton.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that British General Cornwallis had taken over his home as headquarters. Nelson urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. This wife was jailed by the British where she died a few months later.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children had to flee for their lives. His fields and gristmill were destroyed. For more than a year he lived in 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 are the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These patriots were men of means and education who had security, but they valued liberty more.
Standing tall 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 us, you and me, a free and independent America.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On a side note;
The penalty the Revolutionists suffered, at the hands of the British Army when captured, was not a quick death. They were asphyxiated by slowly being drowned in molasses.
Skyhawk
Reprinted from the TSRA Sportsman (May/June 2000)
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 before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary War, and another had two sons captured. Nine fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war.
They signed and pledged their lives, fortunes and honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-two were lawyers and jurists, eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; they were men of means and well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton, 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 forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in Congress without pay and he kept his family in hiding. His possessions were taken and his reward was poverty.
Vandals and solders looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge and Middleton.
At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that British General Cornwallis had taken over his home as headquarters. Nelson urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. This wife was jailed by the British where she died a few months later.
John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children had to flee for their lives. His fields and gristmill were destroyed. For more than a year he lived in 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 are the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These patriots were men of means and education who had security, but they valued liberty more.
Standing tall 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 us, you and me, a free and independent America.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
On a side note;
The penalty the Revolutionists suffered, at the hands of the British Army when captured, was not a quick death. They were asphyxiated by slowly being drowned in molasses.
Skyhawk