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 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 lawers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Decloration 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 Ellery, 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, out lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about 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, 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!

It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

Nice passage, but...

You should quote when copying from other sources, even when the original author is unknown, otherwise it gives the misleading impression that the copy is your own writing.

I recognized the text immediately and quickly found it on a whole bunch of different web pages. Some had variations of names and/or ended differently, though most were for the most part consistent through "we fought our own government".

Quite a few had a different ending that suggested that the passage supported the "individual right" interpretation of the second amendment.

The interesting part about this version is the "patriotism is NOT a sin" part. So I'm wondering...who says patriotism IS a sin? (opinion on that Roadglide or anyone else?)

I Googled it, and the references I found suggested that either the Church (Christian) or the Bible (or both) said that patriotism is a sin. I'm just curious about the context that this version was originally submitted in.

An old friend e-mail'd it to me a few years ago. With this being the 4th I felt it was appropriate to post it.

d'Art; Please do not take offense at my use of the word sin. It just reads better than "patriotism is not a bad thing".

I don't have a problem with God. It's his cheerleaders that I can't stand.

Plagiarism in the defense of cheap patriotism is no vice.

Interesting, its a shame weve gone backwards since then. And while were on the subject lets not forget that people already lived here.

The main reasons for the revolution was pretty much to avoid taxation, not totally but it was a big part of it and if you study the history of these men ,for the most part they werent good men they were not heroes ,I agree that you cant go by the account that we were all taught in school. The fact that they were punished for their actions doesnt make it right.

I love America by default, I love the lifestyle it affords me , its my home but if you read the real history its kind of hypocritical slavery, indentured servitude, debtors prisons , genocide, these guys believed in freedom for themselves and had no problem inflicting the same pain on others that they were trying to escape from. So its kind of like a big joke when you think about it. Man is evil and self-serving at his core and will always be ,you cant change that , you can only omit the true accounts of what happened from the history books ,and tell the type of fluff stories we all know by heart, chopping down chery trees, and telling the truth, flying kites with a key, etc.

If you want to know the quality of our forefathers character just remember they were slave owners who pushed the Idea that all men are created equal. sounds crazy to me , but maybe im fucked up.


Read "A peoples history of the united states of america" by howard zinn