Take a moment to silently thank our nations
TRUE Patriots on this July 4th, 1999

Thanks to Bob Aldrich for sharing this

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.

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 of what happened in the Revolutionary War.

We didn't just fight 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.....we shouldn't.

So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots...

 I loved the post but thought I'd check out the truth to it b/c it seemed incredibly dramatized even for Revolutionary War times.

We should appreciate what our forefathers did and sacrificed for us. I'm sure many of us don't understand the depths they went to secure the future of America for us.

Check out the link though. Paul - This is not a discredit to you at all.

 http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp

No problem, this was one posting that I forgot to SNOPE!!...Ooops...

Brother, army; brother, air force; nephew, marine corp.  They have risked it all.

Others in the family ... gave all.

We should do no less.

God bless the U.S.A.

To all those who have served and who are now in service to this great country, thank you. Thank you to the families of these heroes, for their support and sacrifices. Our country is the best in the world, because of the unselfish efforts of so many, who have given so much.

Lee Greenwood with his "God Bless the USA" says it so well.

Gard

I don't have any friends that wouldn't.  And only one quiestionable family member, but we didn't get to pick him!