Don't Take Your Freedom for Granted....
As this story tells us...you will find it very interesting. 

Men of Conscience and Principles

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.

In the face of the advancing British Army, the Continental 
Congress fled from Philadelphia to Baltimore on December 12, 
1776. It was an especially anxious time for John Hancock, the 
President, as his wife had just given birth to a baby girl. Due 
to the complications stemming from the trip to Baltimore, the 
child lived only a few months.

William Ellery's signing at the risk of his fortune proved only 
too realistic. In December 1776, during three days of British 
occupation of Newport, Rhode Island, Ellery's house was burned, 
and all his property destroyed.

Richard Stockton, a New Jersey State Supreme Court Justice, had 
rushed back to his estate near Princeton after signing the 
Declaration of Independence to find that his wife and children 
were living like refugees with friends. They had been betrayed 
by a Tory sympathizer who also revealed Stockton's own 
whereabouts. British troops pulled him from his bed one night, 
beat him and threw him in jail where he almost starved to 
death. When he was finally released, he went home to find his 
estate had been looted, his possessions burned, and his horses 
stolen. Judge Stockton had been so badly treated in prison that 
his health was ruined and he died before the war's end. His 
surviving family had to live the remainder of their lives off 
charity.

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 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. It's not 
much to ask for the price they paid..............

Are there any among us who would do likewise? 

-Author Unknown
 

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