In a message dated 7/1/00 11:02:27 AM EST, [log in to unmask] writes:

My niece sent me this.  I'd never heard any of this before and it just shows
how little we're taught of our own history in school.  I don't suppose it
ever occurred to me to wonder what happened to the men who stood up for and
put their names to what they believed.  Food for thought-----
Eleanor
<<

 The 4th of July
 REMEMBERING INDEPENDENCE DAY

 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 week 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 fougnt 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.

 Author Unknown.

 Remember: freedom is never free!

 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.
   >>