Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
 
      

       
 
 

HAPPY 4th OF JULY !!!!!!




Wishing you the best 4th of July .......EVER !!!!!!!!!
 

 

The Declaration of Independence
 
 
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 McKean 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 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 this year 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!
 









PLEASE VISIT ... Proses and Poems

........ OR .....Meet People from around the World!!

....... OR ......Sing-A-Long..Gospel Music

....... OR ......Pages dedicated to the Internet Community!

....... OR ......Pages for all Occasions!




copyrighted by Vicki Russell 2000!!


OR go to next HOLIDAY pageNext Stop: GrandParents Day .. In September

YOU are number to visit this page! THANK YOU!!!
This page was created on July 1st, 2000 THANK YOU for visiting !!!!









THIS banner does let you email several friends at a time ...
and it also takes you thru a couple of pages to introduce you
to MAILBITS..please feel free to choose ONLY what YOU want to choose!!
at the end ... YOU can click on URunforgettables PROSES and POEMS
and it will take you back to my site's !!!
THANK YOU FOR USING this EMAIL PROGRAM !!