Signers of the Declaration of Independence (general, Washington, slave, historical)

[Okiegirlfriend]

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.
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!

[Grandstander]

The above is an unattributed lifting from this source:
The Price They Paid

[Irishtom29]

Urban legend and BS.

Reminds me of those maudlin "Letter From a Prom Queen who Never Made it to the Prom Because She Was Killed by a Drunken Driver" things Ann Landers prints.

[ovcatto]

More accurate bios

Index of Signers by State

[jertheber]

The "founding fathers" were a group of upper class men who knew the Brit's were incapable of defending the status quo, they never intended to establish a "free" nation, as was obviated in the fact of their condoning slave labor and excluding Women and non land owning folk's from participating in "their" government...........

[Dd714]

On thing I can't stand more than historical revisionist is the people that come in here lifting verbatim passages from wikipedia (which is often wrong) or from other internet sources.

Guys - the internet is NOT reliable as a source of information. And it is plaigerism as well as, simply, in bad taste (and a TOS issue). We can tell, sometimes things are posted that are a little too polished, a little too long.

Use the internet for research, or if needed to quote from (with the source referenced) in support of a debate point, not as a posting tool. I admire the responders here more that say "I read in this book...", etc. It shows they have a basic knowledge and interest of the subject rather than how to use a search engine.

[OrionsAngel]

Does anyone here believe that there was a "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence",North Carolina, May 20, 1775? (I do).