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- May 28, 2021
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This info is not original with me, but certainly worth the read. Have you ever wondered what happened to those 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
5 signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. 12 had their homes ransacked and burned. 2 lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had 2 sons captured. 9 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war.
What kind of men were they? 24 were lawyers and jurists. 11 were merchants, 9 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.
They signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
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 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 Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnet, 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. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. 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 gristmill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the was to find his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingstone suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wide-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. These were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they pledged liberty more. Standing tall, straight and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with a 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 us an independent America. Can we keep it?
5 signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died. 12 had their homes ransacked and burned. 2 lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had 2 sons captured. 9 fought and died from wounds or the hardships of the war.
What kind of men were they? 24 were lawyers and jurists. 11 were merchants, 9 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.
They signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
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 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 Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnet, 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. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. 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 gristmill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the was to find his wife dead, his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.
Norris and Livingstone suffered similar fates.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wide-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. These were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they pledged liberty more. Standing tall, straight and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with a 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 us an independent America. Can we keep it?
