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.
So, take a few minutes – hope you enjoyed 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! We thank these early
patriots, as well as those patriots now fighting to KEEP our freedom!
–Joe Smith
