gjensen
Heliman
Location: Littleton, CO
| ComancheDriver's comments reminded me that I had this bit of text which was sent to me on the 4th of July a couple of years ago. While the U.S. isn't the only free country in the world, like all countries that offer freedom to their citizens, it got that way and stays that way through tremendous sacrifice.
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Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the
Declaration of Independence? They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. But 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.
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.
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 McKean 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 Ellery, Hall, Clymer,
Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge and Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British
Gen. Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters.
He quietly urged Gen. George Washington to open fire. The home was
destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The British
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. Morris
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.
It easy for us today to take these
liberties so much for granted. Fourth of July holiday is a perfect
time to take a minute and silently thank these patriots. I think
you'd agree with me that we owe these courageous men
literally all we have.
Freedom is indeed never free.
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The wonder of it all is how close the relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain is. After all, at some level, the U.S. constitution could be considered a rewrite of the Magna Carta.
Long live the Queen!
Gary |
