The Price of Independence
By The Fastest Squirrel Posted in History — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
[Promoted by Jeff]
From an email from a friend... many years ago...
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Read on . . .
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 about what happened in the Revolutionary War.
We didn't fight just 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!
Please see corrective link in the comments below.
I know it's a U-S-A, U-S-A kind of feel good post, but it's mostly made up.
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp
I happen to be a guy who doesn’t get up every morning hating my country. Roger Ailes
"Sent me an e-mail" is always a clue for these...
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We would also like to know your advice for somebody like my daughter, who's going to graduate in two years, advice that you would give a young person.
SEC. RUMSFELD: Advice for a young person. Study history.
Thanks posting the link. I contend that most folks remain unaware about most of the Signers, and now it is out there to read.
BTW - the Urban Legend writer is whiny and the guy who probably boorishly corrects people at dinner parties. Just sayin'.
Snopes is the most reputable, unbiased, source of legend/myth busting on the web. With all the disinformation out there, we need a site like this to shed some light on all of these fabrications.
I know you only have the best intentions, but this should be taken down from the front page...I bet the lefties would get a good chuckle from it if they saw it. Probably because, if it were true, it would make them cry because it said something good about our country's founding fathers!
I happen to be a guy who doesn’t get up every morning hating my country. Roger Ailes
I would only caution that Snopes has been wrong before and actually failed to correct the record on several occasions.
Realizing the data programmer and his wife from LA, turned expert on everything is praised roundly by the MSM should provide at least some pause.
Even in the introduction for this piece, Snopes uses a personal characterization provided by J. Ellis as a setup. Certainly Ellis does a fair degree of research, but his conclusions have sometimes been questionable. Should we therefore just accept the Snopes premise unquestionably? Hardly.
Even the first paragraph about the "five signers" is somewhat disputable. For example, I know several well studied historians who would question the conclusions about their treatment made here. Frankly, I trust them more than some folks gathering content off the internet.
Overall, I believe the intent was noble in pointing this out. However, at a minimum the source unfortunately requires further scrutiny.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
Contributor to The Minority Report
as being a bit boarish.
I have often found truthorfiction.com to be just as reliable as Snopes, but with a little more tact.
Here is their write up-it isn't as detailed-as in it doesn't really go point by point as the Snopes article did, but there is a real difference in attitude from the writer.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/patriots.htm
Also, towards the end of the piece they provide links to places to find further information.
In the end-it appears that somebody was writing a piece of inspiring propoganda-they didn't entirely lie, but they definitely twisted some facts-something that they really didn't have to do or need to do.
It doesn't say what your post or what it is trying to imply does. The signers were all wealthy significant men who knew perfectly well that signing that document would bring them hardship and pain. All the "Refutation" does is try to minimize the sacrifices these people were willing to make.
Carter Braxton is a good example. The man was active in the shipping industry. You can damn well bet he knew a blockade was coming when he put pen to paper.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
This always makes me wonder if the cost of freedom is something elusive to those who have not served it's purpose; a seeming anachronism often out of vogue and under appreciated.
It also makes me worry about todays heros whom keep aloft the mantle of freedom; are their efforts under appreciated and fleeting, subject to the whims, distraction and patronizing of our populace?
It further makes me worry about those who have served on today's battlefield; where are they at night in the silence? How do they explain to their children the detestable things which are sometimes said about them? How do we differentiate those who truly understand such sacrifice from those who take it away with their specious, hidden motives?
But most of all, I wonder how I can let them know the opposite is true; that their is no better epitome of what freedom means; no better example of courage and fortitude; and above all how I can repay their sacrifice.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori"
Contributor to The Minority Report
think of suffering is if they ever have to wait in a security line with us peasants, can't get enough big screen HD TVs in their office fast enough, or have constituents who want to express their opinions.