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.
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 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, and baseball games.
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.
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 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, and baseball games.
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5 comments:
I don't have time to research this, but I think it is fairly accurate. And good on them to remind their wingtarded pals that it took a lot of effort and sacrifice to make this nation happen.
Sadly, given the emails we see here, I don't see these people being willing to "sacrifice" much, if anything. Don't forget that this is the same group of teabaggers whining about the obscenely wealthy having to pay more taxes (boo hoo hoo).
So I certainly can't see this crowd coming to close to sacrificing like our founders had to. Plus it wasn't just MEN who sacrificed; their wives and kids did, as well. Although mentioned in this forward, it mainly focuses on the men, but that's just my feminist rant of the day.
Onwards. Not an epic fail, but mainly just a sop to make them feel ever so patriotic for about 5 seconds before turning the teevee channel to the monster truck rally.
PS hustle on over to DailyKos for this one about the 30 or so teabaggers who turned out for their whine about whatever it is they're whining about now:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/6/750370/-Teabagging-In-Tennessee-
Losers! Guess some of the teabaggers in Austin, TX booed Gov Rick Perry bc instead of threatening TX succession, he pledged to uphold the US Constitution! Ha!
LOSERS!!
Hey, the first forward I've personally received! ...from my left-wing mom. Gonna have to put a stop to that, since she even sent it to me twice, along with a warning about hackers watching you through your cell phone.
Here's the first hit for this story and Snopes, by the way. Unsurprisingly, there are problems with their account, although at least not libelous ones for a change.
"Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army;"
Good to see the proportion of politicians with skin in the game has remained more or less consistent over the centuries.
As for all these horror stories, call me a tory, but unlike the Congressionals, the Tories never tarred and feathered anybody.
And- horror of horrors- had we lost the American revolution we would have ended up...like Canada. And abolished slavery about 30 years ahead of schedule without ever having to fight a war over it.
Wait, who said patriotism was a sin?
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