PAFAYETT-L Archives

From: Wes Campbell <>
Subject: The Price They Paid
Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 21:10:13 -0500

Tomorrow is July 4, the date we celebrate our independence, something that
we take for granted.

The attached message is I believe is very appropiate for this occasion. It
list what happen to several of the brave men that dared meet and craft the
structure of a new nation.

How fortunate we are to be Americans.

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>Having seen the message relative to the contributions of the Scots &
>Irish, I thought that I might share the following which I received.
>A reflection for the 4th of July! I hope you will read it.
>
>Enjoy your 4th of July !
>Gloria Pinkerton
>
>
>These men were among the first to pay the price for the freedom we
>currently enjoy. Are we willing to pay the price to keep it???
>
>
> The Price They Paid
>
>
>Have you ever wondered what happened to those 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 in the Revolutionary Army, another
>had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died
>from wounds or the hardship of the Revolutionary War.
>
>
>What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and
>jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large
>plantation owners, all 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.
>
>
>They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and
>their sacred honor.
>
>
>Carter Braxton of Virginia, wealthy planter and trader, saw his
>ships swept from the sea 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 Congress
>without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions
>were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
>
>
>Vandals or soldiers or both, looted the properties of Ellery,
>Clymer, Hall, 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. The owner quietly urged General George
>Washington to open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed,
>and Nelson died bankrupt.
>
>
>Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy
>jailed his wife, and soon after she died.
>
>
>John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.
>Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his grist
>mill were laid waste. For more than a year he lived in forests
>and caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead,
>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. There 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 a firm reliance on
>the protection of the Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to
>each other, our lives, our fortune and our sacred honor."
>
>
>They gave us an Independent America. Can we keep it?
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
Wes Campbell
(512) 343-8113

This thread:

• The Price They Paid by Wes Campbell <>