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From: "James C. Woodard" <>
Subject: Re: [HANCOCK-L] July 4th, 1776--kinda off subject
Date: Sat, 3 Jul 1999 08:58:32 -0700


I saw this posted on soc.culture.scottish. It is worth thinking about in
conjuction with the declaration.
Jim

From: Jeff Ramsden (MacLeid) <>
Subject: For the Americans on the 4th...
Date: Thursday, July 01, 1999 4:39 PM

Okay, I realise this is completely off-topic, but it's worth a read
anyhow.
==========================================

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, 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."

They gave you and me 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.

--

----------------------
Jeff Ramsden
Clann MhicLeid Ledhais (MacThorchadail)
"I Birn Quhil I Se" - "Vivat Rex"

D. Spencer Hines wrote in message
<7lkg25$a0u$1@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>...
>Vide infra.
>
>Quite true and worth remembering.
>
>Thank you for reminding us.
>
>D. Spencer Hines
>
>Lux et Veritas
>--
>
>D. Spencer Hines --- "You are a warrior, Clarice. The enemy is dead,
>the baby safe. You are a warrior. The most stable elements, Clarice,
>appear in the middle of the periodic table, roughly between iron and
>silver. Between iron and silver. I think that is appropriate for
>you. Hannibal Lecter." _Hannibal_, Thomas Harris, Delacorte Press,
>[1999], p. 32.
>

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