Mail Bag
By
Mail Bag
New Page 1
July
4th gives us an opportunity to hit the PAUSE Button
on life and
reflect
Once
again on the Freedoms, Choices and Options we have.
Thank
you for being a part of our lives even though many of you may
be far away, we
pray for your well-being and Success.
56 Men Who Signed
Have
you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed
the
Declaration
of
Independence
?
They
gave us 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....
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 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."
*****MAY
ALL WHO COME BEHIND US FIND US FAITHFUL*******
| 
