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The 4th of July!!


Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men
who signed the Declaration of Independence? Their story. . .

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.
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!

I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many
people as you can, please. It's time we get the word out that patriotism
is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July means more than beer,
picnics, and baseball games. True "reflection" is a part of this country's
greatness. Please be a participant.

It's starting to mean something we are going to have to do again. And unless it is done again by us, soon, it won't be done.

It's starting to mean less and less to me. I'll have a much better sense of patriotism when they stop spying on me.

More and more, this portion of that declaration we celebrate on the 4th.


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

RWL99,

Your quoted text from Paul Harvey's narrative is exactly what July 4 means to me. I ponder the sacrifice that was made for me both from our forefathers & ultimately from God, The Father & His Son which has preserved us a nation.


You left this part out of your text:
John Hancock of Massachusetts, history remembers best due to a quirk of fate rather than anything he stood for. That great sweeping signature attesting his vanity towers over the others. One of the wealthiest men in New England, he stood outside Boston one terrible night of the war and said, "Burn Boston, though it makes John Hancock a beggar if the public good requires it." He, too, lived up to the pledge.

It's America's Birthday. One of my favorites. Screw azzwipes that want to down play it's importance.

i live in an area that is rich in history from that era and i appreciate it more all the time. those guys had serious balls to do what they did. they were the original "greatest generation"

great post, thank you for that

It means my father's, my aunt's, and my country's birthday.
May they rest in peace.

America's birthday but it's also my wife's birthday. It's kinda nice for me, it's harder to forget!

Thanks a lot for posting this. To many people the 4th is just another reason to get knee walkin' drunk and blow up some firecrackers. Just because that's what a lot of others will be doing.

A little extra for me is that my only grandson will turn 13 on the fourth. He is one heck of a good kid and really enjoys being in the Young Marines!

The time to do anything is when the time is right, and when the time is right...there will be no doubt. It may be tomorrow, or never... but it is what it is.

Means to me the sacrifice that has been made for for close to 240 years to ensure our freedom that our current Govt is trying tear apart Fugg them

it should be a wake up call for americans to get together and save this country.

Thanks Ron for posting this! America needs to wake up before its to late!

I have a saying that I always use, "you've got to learn something new every day".

Thanks to you, I learned something new today.

Lord knows, I didn't learn this in school.

Agreed

I'll be spending the 4th with family. I'll be sure to remind them what this day means.

One thing is that John C. Pemberton, a dumbazz from Pennsylvania who was Confederate CG at Vicksburg, Mississippi at 10:00 a.m. on July 4 surrendered the city and his army to Grant! He surrendered 2,166 officers and 27,230 men, 172 cannon, and almost 60,000 muskets and rifles to Grant! The South...hasn't forgiven him to this day!!

America Birthday and my sister Birthday