OT: The Price of Freedom

[Guest guest]

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. Braxton of

Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the

seas by the Royal Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts

and died in rags. 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, , Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis

had taken over the home for his headquarters. He quietly urged

General Washington to open fire on his home. The home was

destroyed and died bankrupt. Francis had his home and

properties destroyed. The British jailed his wife and she died within a

few months. Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was

dying. Their thirteen 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 Revolutionaries.

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 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. Some of us take them so much for granted

that we feel free to give aid and comfort to our enemies, and tout how

shameful it is to fly a flag, or raise the concept of Divine Providence.

Some of us even intentionally attempt to demoralize our nation in the

name of " news " .

Freedom isn't free, it's paid for with blood, from the blood of man to

the blood of the Lamb.

Regards, -----------------------

Geoff ** Usual Disclaimers **

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