Thanks Bill I'm very grateful for the information. I had never known. It is definitely something to reflect upon not only on the 4th but throughout our lives while we live in this country.
Dave Perkins "enjoy being" email: [email protected] web site: www.betterwayhealth.com ----- Original Message ----- From: BILL D <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, June 25, 2000 1:46 PM Subject: CS>56 MEN > 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. > 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 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 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 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. 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. > The doorway to freedom is framed in muskets! > -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
