July 4th

[old salt]

                                                4TH OF JULY


   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, ninewere
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.
   Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.
   So, take a few minutes while enjoying 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!

[ThunderHeart]

Thank you for this post! 

[Micanopy]

Always good to remember that good men gave everything they had to birth this nation, least we forget them!

[heatherhistorian]

Great one Harry!  We all need reminding what our ancestors went through so that we can be free. 

[old salt]

 

   Yes we need to remember the ones that took up arms to make this a free nation, and those who have fought to keep us a free nation.
But on the other hand we need to remember that they were no alone in
their sacrifices, when they went to war they left families, mothers and fathers, wives and sweethearts or children be hind and they to had to make sacrifices also.
  So I would ask that during this holiday weekend You ask the Great Sprit to bless and protect then also

[William]

Unfortunately this essay is loaded with falsehoods and halftruths.
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp

                                                4TH OF JULY


   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, ninewere
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.
   Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.
   So, take a few minutes while enjoying 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!

[Spitunia]

 

[Red Badger]

Fact or fiction, it is events like this that made us the country we are.... No one can ever know the whole truth unless they lived it, and even then the truth is oft colored by our preceptions....

[William]

Fact or fiction, it is events like this that made us the country we are.... No one can ever know the whole truth unless they lived it, and even then the truth is oft colored by our preceptions....

I'm not trying to downplay the sacrifice that the founding fathers and their families paid, but the events described in this article either didn't happen or have been exagerated to the point that there is barely a shred of truth in them.  There are plenty of factual events on record that are equally heroic and exemplify valor, sacrifice and love of country; why pass on something so blatently fictionalized and fraught with non-facts? 

[Spitunia]

'Cause people pay people to write stuff and put it in blogs and in emails just like they have always paid people to write stuff in newspapers. Ever wonder where all those circulating emails come from that urge you to pass it on? Cui bono?